Egypt—Abu Regi Maslokha [The Children's Crusade, 1212]
Mother was a woman who never hid Egypt the ugly side of life. And, as a grown up, Egypt would be eternally grateful for it. Not only did she teach him to write or traditions or how to behave, things anyone could teach him, things that were written in the books: she wanted to prepare him for what he would encounter later on in his life. The sooner he knew this, the best: the world was a cruel place, there wouldn't always be someone to save him, there were monsters in every corner, and he needed to be wise and never do something stupid.
Take Abu Regi Maslokha's cautionary tale, for instance.
He didn't listen to his parents and burnt to a crisp. Now his scorched corpse goes around at night catching and eating every naughty child like him.
The world needed more mothers like his...
Egypt thought of this when he saw the children at the market of Alexandria. Little flea-bitten bums who bawled and trembled while the dealers praised their supposed skills, strength or beauty and men from all around the globe bid. Surely they didn't look this bad when they ended up in his land. Egypt was sure that they looked radiant when they left their homes, chanting and laughing.
Christians. He had sent his slave to find out where all those thousand children came from. The Pope had promised everyone who could steal Jerusalem from Turkey, or even tried (tried, that was the right word, because he knew Turkey and he knew they would have to pry it from his cold dead hands) a direct pass to Heaven. They said there was no Christian in Europe who didn't dream about going there, to have their names written on their god's book, so there they went, thousands, millions of them. It seemed not even children had resisted the charm.
Children...
Egypt looked at them, how they cried and resisted going with their buyers.
What did they intend to do once they got to Holy Land? Melt Turkey's heart? As if Turkey hadn't disposed of all children in his way...Fight? They didn't look like fighters. He saw not one resisting the capture, or a single sword on them.
Stupid children end up very badly. Look at Abu Regi Maslokha. Oh, but surely in Europe they don't know Abuut him. Else, they wouldn't have gotten into the ships those rascals were offering with such generosity, they wouldn't have willingly, happily given themselves up to all the Abu Regi Maslokhas out there.
Egypt looked at them sobbing and whimpering as they were sent to work as servants, to the mines, as prostitutes, and thought of their mothers, wherever they came from, and his own. And felt so, so lucky he had such a good mother who warned him about what happens to children who misbehave.