Saladin and his mother

He sat staring at his plate of boiled spinach, sliced and diced legumes, and three pale shades of cabbage, when Mother came into the room,

“If you don’t eat up your greens, you’ll never grow up to be Saladin, Sultana of Egypt!”

ad-Din sighed; Mother always made him eat up his greens; he didn’t want to, though, in his heart, he knew that he would thank her one day.