O
ne day, Farooq's uncle took him somewhere he had been
wanting to visit for a very long time. This was the zoo, where
he could see in real life the animals he had always read about in
books and magazines and watched on television. The journey was
long, but fun. On the way his uncle explained to Farooq the signs of
Allah in nature and gave examples from the Qur'an. At last they ar-
rived at the zoo. Farooq's eyes widened in wonder. He had never
seen so many different animals together in one place. When they
came to the bird section Farooq left his uncle's side and went to the
ducks' cage. "What a beautiful bird," he said about one of them.
"Thank you," a voice answered; Farooq looked around, but there
was nobody else there. Then he realized it was the duck he was look-
ing at which had spoken.
"Hello," said the duck. "Thank you for your kind remark. As well
as having a handsome appearance I have other interesting charac-
teristics. Did you know that?"
Farooq answered in excitement, "No, but I'd really like you to tell
me about them, please."
The duck settled down on a comfy branch and began: "Did you
know we can fly very fast? When flying, ducks can travel at more
than 30 miles (50 km) an hour. What's more, we continually change
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