I am currently reading the book Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors. It is a fiction book about a boy with  the magical ability to talk to people in pictures, who goes to school with other kids with other special abilities. It is a fiction fantasy book and I believe it is as good as the Harry Potter Series. it is not very popular, but 99 percent of the people who read it say that it is a wonderful book, and I myself belive that too. It is about 400 pages long and its the 5th book in the Charlie Bone Series. Jenny Nimo, the author of the Charlie Bone Series, has also written other books about people with magical powers, like the Snow Spider trilogy. I have learned from reading the series not to become to curious about something because you can get in real big trouble for it.

If I could have had a different part in the Roman Simulation, I would be a barbarian. The barbarians had so many soldiers, nobody could take them down. They also took the rest of our resources and our men. All the provinces were totally destroyed because of them. And once they got to Rome, thee barbarians outnumbered their forces too.That's when Rome broke up into two parts, and the western Roman empire was destroyed. If I had to be a certain type of barbarian, I would either be a Hun or a Goth barbarian. Even though the Goths went through so much until they finally rioted against Rome, it would be sweet revenge once they sacked Rome. And the Huns were just awesome, fearless, and vicious and nobody could stop them. There is no way I would want to be a province again if we did the simulation again.

I was walking down the dirt path leding to my family's tent, when I spotted far off in the distance, camels with people... a caravan! I knew it was my uncle because of the colorful flags on his camels. I ran inside and yelled to everybdy that he was here. Everybody knew that my uncle brought many wonderful things from many lands, far and close. The real reason why I was happy was because I knew he wuold tell me stories of the outside world. Once he arrived, he hugged everyone, and then traded some other traders some exotic foods and what- not. I asked him if he would tell me a story or two of the outside world. Then he smiled, and had asked me if I wanted to explore the outside world and see it for myself, since I was old enough. I felt so happy!
 I had always wanted to see the outside world for myself, but I knew that the previous years I was just too young. I definitly wanted to go. I ran into my ran to my parents' tent, yelping with joy. I told them about the great news. After I told them, they seemed sad and worried. They said that they think I'm still a little too young to leave them, but that I was old enough to make my own decision. I left the tent, feeling angry that they thought I was too young to take care of myself. Then I saw my little brother, crying how I'll never see him again. Then I started to feel sad, for two reasons. One, I didn't want to leave my family and only see them every 6 months. On the other hand, I didn't want to stay here at this place much longer, I just can't stand it.
My uncle saw me me in the morning and asked me what my final dicision was. I had thought about it long and hard the night before. I knew that the caravan was probably already too large, and I knew I was barely ever going to see my family. A tear rolled down my cheek as I said the words I thought I was never going to say to my uncle, especially after offering me a chance too leave and be free,"No thank you". My uncle seemed confused at first, but then just turned away and headed back to the ready- to- leave caravan. I felt so empty and lonely, but about three months later we got a letter saying that my uncle was one of the few survivors in a harsh sand storm, that completely destroyed the caravan. 

I think Muhammad was a very religious man. He was very kind and he helped the poor, by giving them money. He also pushed others to do so, even though most didn't really want to. That just shows how great of a man Muhammad was. What else do you need to know to know that this man was a great man? I also think he was very brave for telling people about God, trying to convert them, even though he knew that most people didn't want to change, or give to the poor. Another act of braveness was when he still talked about God, even after rich merchants of Mecca threatened to kill him. And after being threatened, he still went to another city and continued preaching about God, and that city was call Medina.

I think some people were intrested in what Muhammad had to say because the things he was teaching were probably more godly than what they were believing in. I would have probably questioned my religion if it were to believe in many gods and godesses and not be shown any moral values. I would have wondered, why am I believing in gods and godesses if all they do are fight and don't teach us how to be good people, help the poor or how to be right and fair to each other. In my opinion, several gods and godesses fighting each other and doing wrong to each other just sounds like a fairy tale, or a bedtime story to me. Another reason why people beilieved in Muhammad might be that Muhammad himself was a pretty rich man. Why, out of nowhere, would this rich man want to help the poor? And why would he just come up with some religion, knowing that his life was in danger if he told everyone?  Those are the two things I would think about.

I believe the hardest rule to not break in the Five Pillars of Islam, would be to fast on the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. During Ramadan ( November) Muslims must fast all day long. They are to only eat and drink before the sun rises, and after the sun goes down. This is a practice that every Muslim does during Ramadan. During Ramadan, when youn feel hunger or thirst, they are supposed to think of Allah, the Muslim one God, and ask him for power to keep going. After Ramadan is over, there is a big feast and you can eat all you want, but you are also supposed to give some to the poor and weak as well. Most Muslims start to fast during Ramadan at the age of 12 or 13. Younger children just give up their favorite foods, like candy or soda. In other words Ramadan is pretty much like Lent.

de was one of the key things that helped Islam spread. How? Well, I'll tell you. Arabia was already a "Crossroads Location" and so there were many traders coming in and out of Arabia. After Muhammad preached the word of God, many Arabians converted to Islam. Since there were so many traders, many of the traders converted to Islam too. After that, it just spread like a desease. Traders were telling everyone they came in contact to about Islam, and what there beliefs were. Many of the people who heard about this questioned there own religions and converted to Islam. After that friends told friends about Islam and it just rapidly grew. If there were no traders in the first place, Islam might have not grown so quikly. Traders went all different directions and places tooo, so it wasnt like only one part of the continent was converting, but the whole contenent because of their trade routs, and the number of traders there were.