Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully (2 page)

“Once, a long time ago, there was a secret forest sprinkled in yellow stones. The stones were round and polished, big and little, and smooth enough to hold. Every animal in the forest collected and treasured them.

“One day, an animal found a blue stone! It was very exciting since no animal had ever seen a blue stone. But the blue stone was rough and dull, without any polish or shine. And it had sharp prickly points sticking out of it, making it very hard to hold.

“Careful not to hurt their paws, the animals carried the stone to the center of the forest and placed it atop a tree stump where everyone could see it.

“‘Perhaps the stone is blue because it popped out of the ground too soon,' suggested a fox. So the animals waited and watched for many days and nights to see if the blue stone would turn yellow. But the stone remained blue, and its outer shell remained sharp and pointy.

“‘I believe the stone is blue because that is the color it is meant to be,' said a very wise snake. ‘Therefore, we shall treasure the blue stone for the color it is. But if we want to hold the stone, as we do our yellow stones, we'll have to work together to smooth its outer shell.'

“So first the woodpeckers took turns chipping off the stone's sharp prickly points with their beaks. Then the chipmunks rolled the stone with their noses, while other animals shined and buffed the stone with tree bark and fluffy tails. In time, the blue stone was as smooth and shiny as the yellow stones.”

Mrs. Raccoon smiled down at the young animals listening to her story. “The badger at your school is just like that blue stone,” she explained to Chester and his schoolmates. “He
is
a badger, and that is the way he is meant to be. But if you work together, I think you can smooth out his bullying ways.”

The next day at school, when the recess bell rang, all of the little animals went outside together.

But as the pack got nearer and nearer to him without a hint of fear, the badger's expression changed. His eyes widened. His jaw dropped open. His knees grew weak and wobbly. Suddenly it was the bully who was scared.

He began to whimper and squeal and he thought, “They're coming to get me back.” But there was nowhere to run. He just stood there, with his back up against a tree as his schoolmates drew closer and closer and closer.

Finally Chester was nose to nose with the trembling badger. He narrowed his eyes and looked as serious as his little furry face would allow. Then, without hesitation, he held up the ball, looked straight into the bully's eyes, and asked . . . “Want to play?”

“Huh?” The surprised bully stopped shaking. He looked at his classmates, who were laughing and offering friendship. “You want
me
to play with
you
?” he squealed with delight. He gently took the ball out of Chester's hands. “Okay,” he told them. “I'll play.” So in one short moment, the badger softened, and the bully became a friend. The badger didn't need to bully anyone ever again.

Chester glanced toward the wooded path and saw his mother watching and smiling. She placed a kiss in her palm and showed it to her son. Chester did the same and then joined in the fun.