A pet lion, an injured horse and a lost baby gazelle are among the characters featured in the new children’s book penned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
Entitled My Little World, the book is a collection of five illustrated short stories that are based on the early life experiences of the Dubai ruler. The book, which is available in English and Arabic, was launched last month and had its release celebrated at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature on Friday, February 5.
The stories in My Little World all feature a young Sheikh Mohammed as the protagonist as he overcomes a series of challenges that help him glean valuable life lessons.
One story in the collection, titled My Friend, the Lion tells of how Sheikh Mohammed wakes up in his room one day to find the friendly farm lion standing over him. Wanting to go back to sleep, the young sheikh shows the lion the door and the window but the lion only makes itself more comfortable by his side. After a number of unsuccessful attempts at trying to get the lion out of the room, Sheikh Mohammed realises that the friendly beast is following his every move.
“I move right, he moves right,” Sheikh Mohammed writes. “I step back, he steps back. Where I want him to go, I must go first.”
The young sheikh then jumps out of his bedroom window and, sure enough, the lion leapt after him. In the time it took the lion to circle back around, Sheikh Mohammed jumps back into the room through the window and slammed it shut.
“When solving a problem and it feels like a test, the simplest solution could be the best,” Sheikh Mohammed writes.
Another story in the collection My Mother, Like No Other recounts how as a child, Sheikh Mohammed would go out into the desert with his Bedouin mentor Humaid, camping with him and his family for several nights.
“I liked spending my free time watching the wildlife,” he writes. “One day I saw a baby gazelle that was all alone.”
Sheikh Mohammed adds that he remembers learning how gazelles often left their newborns alone during the day before returning to check up on them and keep them safe from bigger animals.
“I sat watching in the distance because I didn’t want to disturb the little gazelle, keeping an eye on it to make sure it was safe,” he writes.
It was nearly sundown and the gazelle’s mother had still not returned. “Where did she go? Why didn’t she come back?” Sheikh Mohammed writes.
The young sheikh carefully walked up to the baby gazelle and scooped it up in his arms, keeping it close. “That’s when an idea popped into my head,” he writes. “This baby needed a mother to take care of it. But who could replace someone so special?”
In that moment, the young sheikh begins to think of his own mother, about how kind and caring she is. “I remembered she cares for baby gazelles, just like this one,” he writes. “Her little herd followed her everywhere. They adored her. And she loved them too.”
As Sheikh Mohammed prepared to return home, he decided to take the gazelle with him as a “gift for someone special.”
“I had been in the desert for a few nights and really missed my mother,” she says. “I jumped out of the car to greet her as I handed her the baby gazelle her face lit up with joy. She was so happy.”
Watching her, the young Sheikh Mohammed realised that bringing happiness to the people you love is also a “brilliant way to bring happiness to yourself.”
“Sure enough, the baby gazelle followed my mother everywhere, she cared for it until it was older and stronger and could look after itself. My mother really is one of a kind,” Sheikh Mohammed concludes. “There really is no one like her.”
My Little World is available across bookstores in the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More on animal trafficking
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Australia World Cup squad
Aaron Finch (capt), Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Equinox
Price, base / as tested: Dh76,900 / Dh110,900
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: Torque: 352Nm @ 2,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.5L / 100km
AIR
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
More coverage from the Future Forum
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
- Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
- Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
- Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
- Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
The five pillars of Islam
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Day 2, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dinesh Chandimal has inherited a challenging job, after being made Sri Lanka’s Test captain. He responded in perfect fashion, with an easy-natured century against Pakistan. He brought up three figures with a majestic cover drive, which he just stood and admired.
Stat of the day – 33 It took 33 balls for Dilruwan Perera to get off the mark. His time on zero was eventful enough. The Sri Lankan No 7 was given out LBW twice, but managed to have both decisions overturned on review. The TV replays showed both times that he had inside edged the ball onto his pad.
The verdict In the two previous times these two sides have met in Abu Dhabi, the Tests have been drawn. The docile nature of proceedings so far makes that the likely outcome again this time, but both sides will be harbouring thoughts that they can force their way into a winning position.
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
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TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
