Theodore sat alone in the playground, his chin in his hands, tears rolling down his chubby, cute face. Not one kid wanted to play with him.
“Hey, fatty! You can’t play ball. You can’t even run,” mocked Jason, sticking out his tongue and making funny faces at Theodore.
“Hey, Theodore! Catch the ball.” Louis threw the ball hard and hit Theodore on the head.
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“Ouch! That hurt. You’re so mean. Leave me alone,” cried Theodore.
A lesson learnt
Mrs. Philips saw what Louis had done and came running to help Theodore. “Are you alright, Theodore? Does your head hurt?”
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“Right here, Mrs. Philips,” and Theodore pointed to his forehead.
“Let’s go to the nurse, dear. As for the rest of the class, go back to the classroom and read chapter four of the history book. And, Louis and Jason, Mr. Crossway will escort you to the Principal’s office. I have had enough of this behaviour.”
Mrs. Philips took Theodore to the nurse. Theodore had a headache so the nurse had him lie down and called his mother to come pick him up.
Mrs. Philips spoke to her class.
“We usually have our history lesson in the afternoon. But not today, because we’re having a lesson in humanity, kindness and understanding.
Theodore is on the chubby side, and that’s how God made him. He has medical problems.
Theodore is a wonderful boy with a lot of interests and a loving family. He volunteers at the Nursing Home and brings books and flowers to old people.
He’s learning to play the violin and loves to do crossword puzzles. When you look at someone, you don’t judge them because they don’t look like you.
I want to see all of you being nice to Theodore. Be his friend. You can learn something from him. Now let’s get on with our history lesson.”
The next day, Theodore came to class as always. Sarah came over to sit next to him. “Want to ‘text message’ one another? I’d like to be your friend.”
“Me too,” smiled Theodore.