PRAYERS

Once upon a time on the island of Java there was an old woman who was so poor, she lived in a hut of bamboo and straw. She owned nothing but a pot. The woman collected wood in the forest to sell for rice. In this way she stayed alive.

One day she awoke feeling weak, unable to imagine how she would work. The day was already stifling, the sun burning hot in the sky, but she roused herself and stumbled outside to begin her search for firewood.

Before long she came to a dry riverbed. There she saw, in a tiny puddle, three fish struggling to stay alive.

The old woman was overjoyed; these fish would make a fine meal. But when she bent down to scoop them up, she heard them praying.

"Allah, please," the fish gasped, "send us rain so that we might live. Praise Allah!"

She ...