One day a very old man came to the gates of a magnificent house. But the children who lived in that house were rude and naughty.
"Please can I have some water," the old madala said.
"No!" the children shouted, "Go away!"
The madala went to the next house. It was a beautiful house and the children were smartly dressed. But they were not kind.
"Excuse me," he said, "Can I have some water?"
"No," the children said, “Go away.”
And they walked inside the house and closed the door.
"It's very hot on the road outside," the madala said wiping his head with an old handkerchief.
He was pushing a bicycle that was loaded down with different kinds of plants. He had pots of lilies, daisies, geraniums, palm tree shoots and wildflowers.
He was pushing his bike past the third house, when a girl and boy came out. It was a very small house and the children’s clothing was old and worn, but they smiled.
"Hi," they said
"Hello," he said
"Do you want a drink of water?" the boy asked.
"Yes, please. Thank you." the madala said.
The children fetched a bottle of water and watched while the old man drank it all.
Then he said, "I will tell you a secret. I am not just a poor, old madala, selling my plants, I am a fairy god-madala and I can grant you three wishes."
"Really?" the children said, their eyes wide as saucers.
"Yes," he said. "It's true."
The children looked at each other and then they said, "We know our wishes because we say them every night as prayers too."
"Then that should be easy," the madala said, "What would you like?"
The little girl tucked her hair behind her ears and said, "For the first wish, we would like our dad to get a job."
The madala said, "Okay, carry on."
The little boy said, "For our second wish, we want our mommy to be happy."
"Right," said the madala, "These seem like straightforward wishes."
"And the last wish," the little girl said, "Is that we wish for a puppy to play with."
"Okay, okay," the madala said as if he were thinking, then he nodded his head. "I can do it for you," he said, "All of your wishes will come true.”
He gave the children a mulberry plant that was as high as the boy’s knee.
“This is a mulberry tree,” the madala said, “Plant this in your garden and when you see the mulberries growing like little red worms, your wishes will come true.”
The children were very excited. They took the mulberry plant and planted it in a secret corner of the garden. Every day, they watered the plant and told it their wishes.
The boy and girl's parents wondered what had happened. Their children were suddenly so much more friendly and helpful and polite. They didn't fight or shout.
They said, “Please” and “thank you” and helped to make their beds and wash the dishes.
Every day, the children saw that the mulberry tree was getting a little bit bigger. And it was not long before they saw tiny red mulberries growing on their tree. Then they saw the old madala again. He came past, pushing his old bicycle and the children gave him a bottle of water.
“Give this to your father,” he said, handing them a white card.
“What is it?” the little boy asked.
“It is a magic card,” the madala said, “Tell your father he must phone that man.”
The children ran inside excitedly and gave their father the card.
“Where did you get this?” he asked.
“From the fairy god-madala,” the little girl said, “He said you must phone this man.”
Their father laughed and said, “Okay.” And he phoned the man. The children heard him talking in a very surprised voice. Then they heard him call their mom and say, “Guess what? I’ve just been offered a job!”
“Our first wish,” the little boy said, “It came true.”
The next day, their mother was singing in the kitchen.
“Our second wish,” the little girl said, “It came true.”
They stood at the gate of their house that afternoon.
“What about the third wish,” the little boy said.
“Maybe it is too much to expect three wishes to come true,” the little girl said.
Then they saw the old madala again. But this time, he didn’t have any plants on his old bicycle basket. There was a wriggling ball of fur.
“A puppy!” the little boy shouted excitedly.
“This is from another magic lady up the road,” the madala said, “She said this puppy is looking for a home.”
The children were so excited they rushed inside to ask their mother if they could keep it. And the most magical part was that she said, “Yes”.
That night when they were saying their prayers, their mother asked the children what they were thankful for.
“We are thankful that our wishes were granted,” the little boy said, “By the fairy god-madala.”
Then their mother smiled at them and read them a very special verse in the Bible.
It said: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2)
“Do you mean to say he was an angel?” the little girl asked very doubtfully.
“Well, if he wasn’t an angel, he certainly helped some miracles along,” Mum said.
Just as they were falling asleep, her brother said to the little girl, “You don’t suppose there will be a castle at the top of the mulberry tree one day?”
“Maybe,” the little girl said sleepily, “An ice-cream castle! Goodnight!”.
