In a village surrounded by hills and forests, there lived a boy named Ahmed. He was only 12, but he had already faced many challenges. His mother had passed away when he was very young, leaving him and his father to manage on their own. His father worked hard as a woodcutter to provide for them, but it was hardly enough to meet their basic needs.

Ahmed helped his father with their daily tasks and learned his trade. But a sad day came when his father fell seriously ill. With little money, they could not afford his father’s treatment and his illness got worse until he finally passed away. Now, Ahmed was all by himself, without any family to turn to for support.

The village was ruled by a harsh and greedy landlord, known for taking advantage of the vulnerable. Because Ahmed was still a child, he couldn’t legally inherit his father’s house. Seizing this opportunity, the heartless landlord wrongly laid a claim to their home. He made up a story about Ahmed’s father owing him money, and so took the house as a payment for that debt. The villagers felt sorry for Ahmed, but they couldn’t do much to stop this unfairness.

Now with no place to live, Ahmed was left to the mercy of the elements. One day, as Ahmed sat under a big tree, pondering his future, a kind man from a nearby village passed by. This man, named Ali, was known for being generous and well-off. When Ali learned about Ahmed’s situation, he offered him a job looking after his sheep and helping with various tasks. In return, Ali provided Ahmed with a small place to live. Ahmed quickly agreed and went with Ali. The boy now had a safe haven in this tough world.

Ahmed loved to draw and paint, but he couldn’t afford the proper tools. Undeterred, he used whatever he could find. While looking after Ali’s sheep in the forest, he’d often draw on the ground with his fingers or a stick. He even crafted a brush from an old oak tree’s wood, and like magic, it made Ahmed’s art truly exceptional. Whatever he drew with the brush was always very life-life, and beautiful.

With time, Ahmed’s simple sketches turned into wonderful works of art. One day, he meticulously drew an eagle on a rocky outcrop, so lifelike that even the sparrows took flight, fooled by its uncanny realism.

With practice and the help of his magic brush, Ahmed’s drawings got even better. In his free moments, he also made intricate tools, beautiful decorations and finely sharpened axes to sell. At first, his special talent and magic brush was secrets known only to a few.

Eventually, the news of his talent slowly spread through the village and to the neighbouring area, including Ahmed’s old village. Everyone was amazed at his talent but they also knew about the enmity the cruel landlord had with Ahmed, so they tried to protect Ahmed from the mean landlord who would want to use and harm him.

However, trouble brewed when some mischievous boys found out Ahmed’s talent of possessing exceptional artistic skills. They told the landlord, hoping for a reward. In no time, the landlord’s helpers caught Ahmed while he was tending to the sheep. They brought him to the mean landlord, who locked him in a dark, windowless room. The landlord’s cruel plan was to let Ahmed starve so he could take the magic brush and use it for his own mean purpose.

A week passed and the landlord, expecting the worst, opened the door. To his surprise, Ahmed was sitting there healthy, with a basket of fruits and a water bottle — clearly brought to life by the magic brush. Ahmed was calm, biting into an apple.

This sight made the landlord furious. He ordered his helpers to take away the food and take the brush, and lock Ahmed up again.

Now with the brush in his possession, the landlord’s greed overcame his fear. He now wanted to use the power of the magic brush to his own advantage. So he drew a sparrow on a piece of paper, but something terrible happened. An eagle came to life, flew around the room and landed on the landlord’s head, pecking at him. The room filled with the landlord’s screams as he waved around his arms to make the eagle go away. His servants quickly arrived on hearing the screams, but it was a struggle to get the eagle out of the room.

Days later, undeterred by this scary experience that had injured him, the landlord tried to use the magic pen again. This time, he drew money on a slate. But instead of money, black snakes appeared and the landlord narrowly escaped with his life and his helpers struggled to catch the snakes.

Despite facing so much trouble while using the magic brush, the wicked man did not give up. Seeing that the brush only worked perfectly with Ahmed, the landlord came up with a wicked plan. He threatened Ahmed, saying he’d hurt him unless he drew a mountain of gold. Ahmed agreed, and asked that he be given sometime since it was a tedious task. So Ahmed was left alone to work on the landlord’s order.

After an hour, the landlord came back, filled with excitement and greed. He opened the door, but the room was empty. There was only a ladder against the far wall. Ahmed had drawn a window and a ladder, and escaped! The landlord’s dreams of getting rich were shattered.

The landlord quickly sent his servants to go after Ahmed and catch him, but despite their best efforts, they came back without Ahmed. They said he was nowhere to be found. Witnesses said they saw a boy on a horse, holding a strange brush, racing towards the forest.

From then on, people talked about Ahmed, coming up with different stories about what would have happened to him. Some thought he started a new life somewhere else. Others believed he used the brush to help people in need. Some even said the brush took him to a magical world, far from the harshness of this one.

As the years went by, the legend of Ahmed and his magic brush lived on. People spoke of his adventures with respect, adding new stories to his legend. Ahmed’s memory, like his brush, seemed touched by magic, leaving a lasting mark on the village and the hearts of those who heard his tale.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 7th, 2023