A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE

the small town of Okeville, there lived a 15-year-old girl named Amara who loved playing basketball. She practiced every evening after school and dreamed of leading her team to the regional finals.

One afternoon, while changing after practice, Amara noticed a tiny tear along the side of her basketball jersey. It wasn’t very big — just a small rip near the seam.

“I’ll fix it later,” she said to herself. “It’s not that serious.”

Her grandmother, who was visiting that weekend, overheard her.

“Amara,” she said gently, “a stitch in time saves nine.”

Amara smiled but shrugged it off. The next day at practice, the tear grew slightly bigger. Still, she ignored it. She had homework, chores, and training — sewing felt unimportant.

Two days later came the biggest match of the season.

As the game grew intense, Amara leaped for a rebound. Suddenly, she heard a loud ripping sound. Her jersey tore wide open at the side. The referee had to pause the game while she rushed off the court, embarrassed and frustrated. By the time she changed into a spare jersey, her rhythm was gone. Her team struggled without her focus and eventually lost by just two points.

That evening, Amara sat quietly while her grandmother carefully stitched the torn jersey.

“If you had fixed the small tear when you first saw it,” Grandma said kindly, “it would never have grown this large.”

Amara nodded. She understood now. A tiny problem, if ignored, can become a big one.

From that day forward, Amara learned to handle small issues immediately — whether it was schoolwork, friendships, or even a torn jersey.

Because truly, a stitch in time saves nine