SMART SINDARA’S BACK-TO-SCHOOL PROTEST

Smart Sindara lay in bed, thinking about returning to school in a few days.

“Hmm,” she sighed.

Last term, everyone had returned to school with something new.

Halima had new scarves and sweaters. Chuks had new shoes. The twins, Tara and Tia, had new schoolbags. Everyone seemed to have something new—everyone except Sindara.

“I don’t want to be the only girl without something new again this year,” she said.

Papa always told her, “You must learn to take care of your belongings so they last. Repair them when necessary, and only replace them when they can no longer be used.”

“But that is not cool!” Sindara declared. “I have to protest!”

She jumped out of bed, found a large piece of cardboard and made a giant sign. Across it, she wrote:

BACK-TO-SCHOOL PROTEST!

Then she stood outside the front door, holding up her sign and waiting for her parents to return from work.

“I want new shoes!
I want a new schoolbag!
I want new socks!
I want everything new!
Everyone in my class is going to have something new!”

When Papa arrived and saw her, he burst out laughing.

“Smart Sindara, you are such a funny girl!” he said. “But I understand how you feel. I was once a child like you, and I remember what it felt like to be the only one who did not have as many new things as everyone else.

“But that is part of what makes you special. There is nothing wrong with having new things. When your friends bring something new, you can admire it and be happy for them. But if you do not need something, then you simply do not need it.”

“But I do need new things!” Sindara insisted.

Mama smiled and joined them.

“Sindara, a need is something you absolutely cannot do without,” she explained. “A want is something you would like to have, even though you already have another option. So, what do you truly need?”

Sindara became quiet.

She thought about her shoes, her bag and her uniform. After a long pause, she lowered her protest sign.

“Papa, Mama—you are right,” she admitted. “I don’t really need anything. My school shoes are still in very good condition. My schoolbag is almost new. My uniform is neat, and I haven’t outgrown it.”

Then her eyes brightened.

“But may I make one small request?” she asked. “Could I please have a new pencil case, just so I can also have something new this term? After all, it is a new term!”

Papa smiled.

“Yes, you may,” he said. “You will get your new pencil case—and something extra for thinking carefully and understanding the difference between a need and a want.”

Sindara’s face lit up.

“You may also have a new sparkling sweater!”

“Thank you, Mama! Thank you, Papa!” Sindara cheered.

She happily put away her protest sign. Now she understood that she did not need to replace perfectly good belongings simply because other children had new things.

It was okay to want something new, but it was important to know the difference between a want and a need.

And that was one lesson Smart Sindara would never forget.

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