King 👑 Ahasuerus once ruled a huge kingdom called Persia, and within Persia there lived a beautiful 😻 young Jewish girl named Esther. She was being raised by her cousin Mordecai, who had taken care of her since she was a little girl. 👧🏼 Mordecai loved Esther like a daughter and taught her to be kind and brave.

 

At that time, the king 👑 was looking for a new queen. 👸🏼 Many young women were brought to the palace, and Esther was among them. She was special - gentle, kind, and very beautiful. 🤩 Mordecai had told her to keep her Jewish heritage a secret. 🤫 When it was Esther's turn to meet the king, he was so impressed by her that he chose her to be his new queen! 

But not everyone in the kingdom was happy. 😠 The king had a mean advisor named Haman who didn't like the Jewish people. Haman was angry 😤 because Mordecai would not bow 🙇‍♂️ down to him. So Haman made a terrible plan - he wanted to get rid of all the Jewish people in the kingdom. He even convinced the king to make a law 📝 that would hurt Esther's people.

 

When Mordecai heard about this terrible 😣 plan, he was very sad. 😢 He sent a message 💬 to Esther, telling her what Haman was trying to do. At first, Esther was scared. 😳 Speaking to the king without being invited could mean death, 😵 even for the queen! 👸🏼 But Mordecai reminded her that maybe she had become queen for just this important moment.