The Story of Fasting in Childhood

As a child I felt eager to fast, though I didn't yet know left from right. A devout man, one of the neighborhood's pious, taught me how to wash my hands and face. First, by tradition, say 'In the name of God'; second, form your intention; third, wash your palms. Then rinse your mouth and nose three times, and clean your nostrils with your little finger. Rub your front teeth with your forefinger, though this is forbidden while fasting after noon. After that, splash three handfuls of water on your face, from the hairline down to the chin. Next wash your arms up to the elbows, reciting whatever prayers and remembrances you know. Then wipe your head, and afterward wash your feet; that is all, and close it with the name of God. No one knows this ritual better than I; don't you see how frail the village elder has grown? They repeated to the village headman what he had said, and the headman sent him a private message: You with ugly deeds and pretty words, first do yourself what you preach to others. You said using a toothbrush while fasting is wrong; so is it fine for a human to eat the dead? Tell the mouth that first washed away food to wash away, too, the things that shouldn't be said. When someone's name comes up in talk, call them by their finest name and title. If you always say that people are fools, don't imagine they'll speak kindly when your name comes up. Speak of my character in the street only as you could say it to my face. And if you're ashamed before the eye of a watcher, aren't you blind? The Knower of secrets is right here. Are you not ashamed before yourself, yet unbothered by Him while ashamed of me?