The Cow with a Teapot for a Shoe!

Today, author extraordinaire Sarah Musa writes about her real life experience that inspired her book Ahmed and the Very Stuck Teapot:

Long ago when I was a little girl, we had a farm with cats, chickens, rabbits, and even a sheep for a little while (but never any cows). But our neighbor had a herd of cows and they all grazed just on the other side of our fence.

One day we threw out an old teapot, but instead of going into the garbage, this teapot ended up forgotten in a valley at the base of our hill. 

One summer night, right after our guests had left and while the smell of coffee still hung in the air, I heard the clunk, crunch, scrape, clunk, crunch, scrape of something outside!

When I peeked out the window, I was shocked to see a massive cow standing at the bottom of our front steps. She had come to complain about that old, forgotten teapot. She had stepped right into it and it was stuck on her hoof!

My father called the farmer to tell him what was going on. My father couldn’t pull that teapot off. Cows are big strong animals and if they are upset they might kick.

The farmer rushed over with his horse trailer. He loaded up his cow and took her home to get the teapot off.

That story has stuck with me for decades. I still remember the sound of the teapot on the rocky soil, the smell of the coffee, and the sight of that cow with a teapot for a shoe!

It’s amazing that a cow would come to our front door to get help. But what’s even more amazing is that beyond that night and spanning these decades, fate was at play. If that cow never showed up at my front door, I would have never written Ahmed and the Very Stuck Teapot.

Allah is firmly in control of our fate, or sustenance, and our future. So lighten your grip on the reins, and trust in Allah. He knows everything, and we know so little.