More Than A Hero (by ullas)

The following incident took place when Muhammad Ali's daughters arrived at
his home wearing clothes that were not modest. Here is the story as told
by
one of his daughters:

When we finally arrived, the chauffeur escorted my younger sister, Laila,
and me up to my father's suite. As usual, he was hiding behind the door
waiting to scare us. We exchanged many hugs and kisses as we could
possibly
give in one day.

My father took a good look at us. Then he sat me down on his lap and said
something that I will never forget. He looked me straight in the eyes and
said, "Hana, everything that God made valuable in the world is covered and
hard to get to. Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground,
covered
and protected. Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the
ocean, covered up and protected in a beautiful shell. Where do you find
gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock.
You've got to work har d to get to them."

He looked at me with serious eyes. "Your body is sacred. You're far more
precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too."

Source: Taken from the book: More Than A Hero: Muhammad Ali's Life Lessons
Through His Daughter's Eyes.