Bob was a young boy who loved to learn. He learned this habit from his parents, who were both scientists.

He loved history because he learned how people acted and treated each other in ancient times.

He loved science because he learned how things were put together and how they moved.

He loved chemistry because he learned that things could go boom; but only for fun. His parents were very firm about those lessons.

He loved math. Math helped him to learn how much chemical stuff to mix together to make things go boom.

But as much as Bob loved to learn, he still hated school.

It was not because he did not like his teachers. In fact, he really liked his math teacher, Miss Jones.

And it was not because his school lunches were bad either. His mom always packed a tasty sandwich, fresh fruit, and some delicious cheese. He even got a chocolate candy bar every so often.

No. Bob hated school because of Brutus. Brutus was a bully. He would pick up the smaller children by their legs and shake them till all of their lunch money fell out. But he was always careful not to be seen by any of the teachers.

But Brutus really seemed to like bullying Bob. He would try to catch Bob on the way home from school to rub the top of his head hard, while he called him mean and hurtful names.

Bob did not know why Brutus liked to pick on him so much. So Bob tried different ways to avoid him. He’d wear disguises. He’d follow other teachers. He’d volunteer to stay after class to clean the whole school.

Whenever Bob got back home, his mother would ask him. “How was school today, Bob?” and give him some milk with a freshly baked cookie.

And every day Bob would reply “Horrible! Terrible! Really, really bad!” with a scowl on his face and a wave of his arm. “I need a bodyguard!”

“Do we know any ninjas?” asked Bob excitedly. “Brutus would never touch me with a ninja ready to body-chop him, would he?”

“NO,” said his mother forcefully. “We are not going to get a ninja to body-chop Brutus.” She chuckled.

How about some Secret Service Agents?” Bob inquired. “They could tie Brutus up while I go to my class.”

“Not a chance!” his mother snorted. “We couldn’t even find one.”

“Sumo wrestler?” asked Bob hopefully. “He could just fall on Brutus every day while I run to and from my classes,” he said as he grinned widely at his mom.

“Nope, and I doubt that the school would allow him to just fall on Brutus every day.” She laughed.

“What about a professional wrestler instead?” Bob asked hopefully. ”He could put Brutus in a headlock while I get into the school.”

His dad, who had been listening quietly to the conversation, finally spoke up. “I have been working on something that I think is the answer to your bodyguard problem,” he said with a thoughtful look. “Stay here and I’ll be right back.”

He soon came back with what looked like a small, friendly, furry dog. But it had a big white stripe down its back and tail.

“This is a dunk!” he declared with pride. “His name is Sam and he is the best friend and protector you will ever find!”

The next morning Bob nervously walked to school with Sam trotting happily beside him. “Just how is Sam supposed to protect me?” He wondered.

But as they arrived just outside the schoolyard fence, Brutus jumped out in front of them. This scared Bob and made Sam growl.

“Hey Bob, what did your mom make me for lunch today?” He jeered as he reached for Bob’s lunchbox.

Sam barked sharply at him at first. But then he swiftly turned around and sprayed Brutus with a stream of foul-smelling liquid.

All the other kids gathered around, but at a distance, pointing and laughing at Brutus. They held their noses watching him desperately trying to wipe the stench off with his hands.

At first, Bob grinned at the sight too, while patting Sam. But then he began to see how Brutus’ face was turning more and more red with shame and anger.

“Please, STOP!” Bob yelled, surprising everyone. He took out some wipes his mom had packed and gave them to a startled Brutus. “Here, these may help!”

Brutus stopped picking on Bob after that day. He even managed to make friends with Sam. He didn’t want to be sprayed by Sam again.

But that didn’t stop Sam from growling at Brutus or anyone else who started to bully others on the playground. One growl from the dunk and everyone behaved.

The principal and teachers quickly saw the change in how the kids behaved. They were shocked to see how a small influence could get kids to treat each other better.

Because everyone behaved around Sam, the teachers and school made a special place for Sam in the classroom with Bob.

And as long as Sam kept going to class, no other child ever got bullied at school again.

His name was Timothy but even his mom called him Tim.

Tim had many moods, and all of them were bad.

Whenever Tim got mad his mom would yell.

“TIM, take off your angry pants and settle down!”

Whenever his brother and sister got a special treat Tim would sulk and pout. His mother would sigh:

“Tim, I want no more of your jealous pants! Time to change.”

At parties, Tim would rush to the table to grab all his favorite treats.

His shocked mother would grab his arm and whisper sternly: “TIM, you and greedy pants can go sit in the corner. You need to learn to share.”

Whenever they sat at the supper table TIM would pile a huge stack of food on his plate.

His mother would warn him “TIM, there is no place at the table for you and your piggy pants.”

On the weekends Tim would stay in his pajamas all day and would drape himself over the sofa to watch TV.

“TIM,” his mother would finally yell, “get out of your lazy pants and clean your room.”

Whenever Tim came home with a good grade from school he would swagger around the house, looking very pleased with himself.

“TIM”, his mother would say in an embarrassed voice “you need to take off your ego pants!”

His mom finally got tired of Tim’s mood.  She decided that it was time for a new special pair of pants for Tim.   She went from store to store looking for the right pair of pants. She finally found them in a second-hand store.

They were an old pair of pants with shiny knees, lots of pockets, and large loops for a wide belt.

She wrapped them up carefully and presented them to Tim with a flourish.  “Tim!” she said, “these are your special Christmas pants.  They will help you see the world in a different way.”

A few days later his mom declared “Tim, it’s time to put on your Christmas pants. We visit a special place tonight.” Tim reluctantly put on the pants.  “They look silly on me!” he grumbled to his mom who just smiled as he grabbed his favorite sweater.

They arrived at a homeless shelter. Some of the waiting children looked curiously at him. But he just scowled back at them and thought to himself “At least I have better clothes at home than them.”

His mother sent Tim to help hand out plates to the people lined up for the food.  As he handed them a plate, they would nod their head and say, “Thank you!” with a small sad smile.

“It’s just a plate?” Tim muttered to himself somewhat confused. But Tim would force himself to smile back and say, “You’re welcome.”

He watched intently as many people said “thank you” for only a small bowl of soup.  This confused Tim.  He always had lots of food and always took all he wanted, even if he couldn’t eat it. He wondered if all the other children even got enough food to eat. He felt bad. He decided he would stop taking so much.

As the people finished their small meal, they brought their dishes to the counter. His mom asked him to take the dishes from the counter to the kitchen to be washed.

Again, many of the people said, “Thank You!” to Tim as they dropped off the dishes.  Tim shook his head thinking about how he always let his brother and sister clear the dishes.

But Tim kept on clearing the counter and bringing the dirty dishes to the sink because the dishwasher told him he was doing a great job. And that made him feel good.

As the evening passed Tim kept seeing other small children with dirty and ragged clothes.  One young boy had only a thin, threadbare pullover.  Tim could tell he was cold even inside the shelter.

Tim looked at the boy, then at his favorite warm sweater, and then back at the cold boy.  With a big sigh, Tim pulled off his sweater and walked over to the boy.  “Here!” he said with resignation in his voice.  “This will keep you warmer.”

Then he fled back to the kitchen before he changed his mind.

Later that night, as Tim and his mom were leaving the shelter, Tim looked across the street and stopped, shocked, dead in his tracks, startling his mom.

He saw a church across the street with a Nativity scene. The baby Jesus was lying in the manger surrounded by statues of cows, sheep, shepherds, and wise men looking down at him. Even a couple of stray cats and dogs lay nearby on the straw.

“Mom” Tim whispered.  “I didn’t know that Jesus had no house to be warm in when he was born.  He was homeless too, wasn’t he?”  he said as looked sadly up at his mom holding his hand.

His mother nodded knowingly and replied, “He came with nothing. But he was loved and adored while still a homeless, helpless infant.  People looked at the promise of what Jesus would become.“

Tim looked at his mom with a tear swelling up in one eye.  “I didn’t realize I had so much. And yet so many, including Jesus, had so little” he blubbered.  It made Tim think about how he had behaved and treated his family, his friends, and even the homeless.

After that day, Tim tried to treat others with more patience and tried to be grateful for what he got. He tried to be more helpful around the house instead of yelling and screaming, as he used to do to get his own way.

But there were days he didn’t always succeed at it. He would storm back to his bedroom, slamming the door only to see the “Christmas pants” hanging from a hook in the wall. And he would remember the day at the shelter and the lessons he learned.

As Tim grew up and grew out of his clothes, he always kept his “Christmas Pants” in a prominent place at home. It reminded him that Humility, Patience, Sharing, Contentment, Self-Control, Willingness to Work, and Kindness made his life and the lives of those around him better for everyone.

Gus and Jess had been friends forever. They had grown up in the same small, quiet village doing everything together.

Every day they would go to the corner store to look at all the treats being sold there. But their allowance never seemed to be enough to buy all of the goodies they wanted.

So, they looked for ways to make some more money. They tried doing odd jobs. Like walking and washing the neighbor’s dogs.

They tried mowing lawns and trimming bushes. But the mowers were hard to control and the bushes were too tall for them to trim.

But when they did get paid they would rush to the store for their favorite treats. And today they found something new. An extra fizzy soda in a snazzy colorful can.

Both the boys grabbed a can and paid the clerk. They rushed outside to the park to enjoy their brand-new drink.

“AHHH!,” sighed Jess as he finished a long drink from the can. That is so-o-o-o good. But Gus looked strange as he rubbed his belly. “It makes my tummy feel weird,” he complained. “Too much gas for me!”

But then Gus began to rise off the ground, floating slowly upwards as Jess watched in amazement.

Quickly, before Gus could float away, Jess tackled him and Gus gave out a loud “OOPHF!” as he hit the ground. “Why did you do that?” Gus cried out!

“You were floating away,” Jess exclaimed. But then with a sly smile he winked “But now I know how we can afford to buy more treats!” Quickly he explained his brilliant new plot.

Quickly they put their plan into action. Soon the boys had gathered a dog harness, some old rope, a small ratty chair and some rusty tent pegs.
They also made a large sign saying “Air Rides. Only twenty-five cents.”

Soon other curious kids had gathered around the two boys. They looked curiously at Gus strapped in the harness. As Jess tied Johnny into the chair, Gus opened a soda can.

“Ready to fly!” yelled Jess. So Gus began gulping down the fizzy drink. Slowly Gus rose from the ground, first one foot, then two feet. Soon the chair also pulled into the air.

Quickly they rose above the amazed crowd. They continued rising until the old frayed ropes pulled tight, tugging at the stakes in the ground.
“This is incredible,” Johnny yelled excitedly to the awestruck children gathered below.

But soon a gust of wind pulled at them and the old frayed rope broke apart with a loud “SNAP.” Everyone watched in horror as the two boys sailed away.

The wind carried them further and further away. They soon soared over the trees and out of the park and towards the neighbors houses.

“Quick” yelled Jess, who ran to the porch and scurried up onto the roof. He hoped to grab the rope from the chair as it sailed past. But it sailed just out of his reach and he grabbed only air.

Some of the other children made bolos from remains of rope in the park. They threw them at the drifting chair. But they fell short and the two continued to float higher and further away.

One boy came out of his house with a bow and arrow yelling that he would bring them down. “NOOOOO” yelled Jess grabbing the bow, “you want to put his eye out with that!”

Hearing the yelling many parents ran outside to see what was happening. They were shocked to see Gus floating above the street with a frightened, crying Johnny tied in the chair below him.

One mom screamed in horror as she looked up to see them floating over the house. “Gus, get down from there!” she yelled.

Even a News helicopter arrived to see what all the excitement was about.

As they swung close to the boys the rushing air from the helicopter blades just spun them around and around like a spinning top.

“I want down!” Johnny cried! And he began waving his arms about, causing the chair to swing wildly. That made Gus’ stomach churn and cramp.

And then it happened. “THHHHRRRRRRPPPP!” And with that blast of gas they shot forward toward an open field. But that foul, fetid, fart also caused them to sink lower bringing them closer to the ground.

“Sit tight and hold on!” yelled Gus with excitement. And with that he let go a strong, loud and steady “BBBUUUURRRRPPPPP!” that caused them to sink even closer to the ground.

All the children and parents rushed below to follow them.
When they finally sank low enough, some of parents grabbed the hovering chair and harness and hauled them both safely to the ground.

“What were you thinking Gus?” his mom wept with worry as she hugged him tightly. “And how on earth did you float like that?” his dad asked quizzically, staring into the air.

Later that night on the porch with their dads Jess griped “It’s too bad we had to give up the business! We know now how to go up and how to get down.” “Yeah” frowned Gus, “And did you see how many kids were lined up to go?”

The next day Gus and Jess were back in the park. But this time their dads had brought brand new ropes that they threaded through strong pulleys attached to long winding spikes screwed securely into the ground. The boys were back in business!

Hank lived with his family in a small village.  
There were not many things to do except help out around the house or pull weeds in the garden. 

Hank and his younger brother, John, were bored with chores. They longed to go on an adventure, maybe to the forest. But that was scary.

A magician lived near the town in a spooky, old house.  Hank and John thought it would be a great adventure to sneak away to see the house for themselves.

They crept up to the dirty window and peered in. Flasks and tubes full of shimmering potions bubbled over burning candles. 

“WOW!”, exclaimed John.
“Awesome!” whispered Hank excitedly.  “I don’t see the magician at all!  I wonder what he’s making? Maybe we can help?” 

They peeked around the door. 
“Anyone home?” John called out in a trembling voice. 
“You want some help with your work?”  yelled Hank.

But no one answered.  The boys looked at all the different flasks. They had strange labels on them.  Hank stopped at an opened bottle labeled “Draco Singultum Surrepo.” 
“I wonder what this does?” he asked as he picked it up and sniffed it. 

“It smells good. Kind of like strawberries. I wonder what it would taste like?” he muttered. Smirking, Hank took a quick gulp from the flask and exclaimed, “AHHHH,” while John watched in horror.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?” thundered the wizard as he entered his workroom. The two boys jumped in fear as Hank spilled the rest of the potion.
“RUN”, they yelled and fled out the door. 

But John tripped and fell to the ground with a loud “OOF”.  Hank stopped to help him up. Suddenly Hank stood still and a strange look crept across his face.  Then he let out a huge HICCUP.

A loud “POOF” followed the hiccup and a cloud of smoke covered Hank. As the smoke blew away there stood a small, very confused green dragon.

The magician stormed out of his workshop, yelling at the boys. When he saw the small dragon, a greedy smile spread across his face.  “I need dragon parts for my potions!” he blurted out. 

“Run” John yelled. 
Instead, Hank grabbed John and lifted him up in his stubby arms. As he ran his wings snapped open, lifting them both into air. They quickly glided into the forest. 

They landed in the woods, far away from the wizard. “What we are we going to do now?” asked a scared, tearful John.  “I can’t bring you home looking like a dragon.  What will Mom and Dad say?” 

The dragon hiccupped and disappeared back into the smoke with the same loud “POOF”.  The smoke cleared to reveal Hank. 
“Let’s go home and never tell Mom and Dad about this!” Hank pleaded with John.  John eagerly nodded his head in agreement.

The next morning the two boys woke up early and looked at each other across the small bedroom. 
“Maybe it was just a horrible dream,” muttered John hopefully. 

Sitting down to breakfast they quickly ate their morning porridge.  Hank suddenly stopped eating. That same strange expression as before crept across his face.  Hank let out a loud HICCUP.

POOF. Poor Hank had changed back into a dragon. 
Hearing the noise, their mother turned around from the stove. She screamed “DRAGON” and threw the steaming pot of porridge right at him. 

Hank raced out the door and flew down the street. Word quickly spread and soon everyone in town was looking for the dangerous, porridge-eating dragon. 

The magician arrived just in time to see Hank disappear out of view.
“Twenty gold coins to whoever catches that dragon for me,” the magician shouted to everyone while shaking the coins noisily.

All the adults scurried around town, buying ropes, chains, and other items. They all hoped to come up with a way to trap the dragon and collect the magician’s reward.

Some people tried to use rope nets to snare the dragon.  But he just burned his way through them and escaped.

Other people tried to capture the dragon by shooting arrows at him as he flew overhead. 
But the arrows just bounced harmlessly off his scales.

Still others almost caught the dragon in the woods. As they got close, they heard a strange Hiccup and “POOF”. Looking around they found Hank hiding in the bushes. 
“Get out of the way silly boy”, they yelled at him, “we’re trying to capture a dangerous dragon.”

Eventually, Hank learned to stop the hiccups. Any time he felt a hiccup coming, he would quickly swallow some honey or sugar. That always stopped the hiccup.

Other times Hank could be seen holding his breath until he turned blue and finally gasped for air. 
“What a strange little boy”, the townspeople murmured.  “Don’t think he’ll go anywhere.”

But Hank did.  Every night, after everyone went to bed he would sneak into the kitchen. He would gobble up some bread to force a hiccup. Afterward, he’d fly off to explore the no-longer-scary woods.

Maiya and her family had just moved into a village near the jungle forest. She was excited about the move to their new home.

As she explored the village the next morning, she noticed many of the neighbors frowning and complaining about the monkeys. The monkeys damaged their homes and trees while they stole food from their carts and orchards.

A few days later Maiya found one of the little monkeys with his hand stuck in a jar that was half buried in a mud patch.

Maiya then had an idea. A BIG idea. Maybe even a GREAT idea. What if she took care of the monkeys so they would not have to steal food from the neighbors anymore?

Maiya found an old pen with lots of room. She built a small fountain and added some pipes for the monkey to swing on. She placed apples and bananas inside the cage for food. The monkey seemed happy in its new home.

The very next day, she found another monkey. It was trapped in a net and crying, too weak to escape. Maiya brought that monkey home also and added it to the cage.

Soon, the cage was full of monkeys, so Maiya built a larger pen. She built it around a large tree. Hung up a big tire and used the pipes to create a play area. She added a small pond and hung fruit up for the monkeys to eat.

The monkeys seemed happy. They chattered away and threw banana peels and apple cores at each other while laughing and playing.

As Maiya rescued more and more monkeys, the small pen had grown into a large enclosure. It was fenced around several trees, with ropes connecting trees and platforms together.

But caring for the monkeys became a lot of work. Every morning, Maiya had to buy large amounts of fruit from the local market. She used a big wheelbarrow to haul the fruit back to the pen, hanging it from the walls for the monkeys to eat./p>

However, some monkeys didn’t like to wait. They would swoop in and snatch the fruit right off the wheelbarrow while Maiya tried to protect it.

Soon she didn’t even have to look for monkeys to rescue. Each morning she found several of them already waiting by the door of the pen, chattering and demanding to be let in.

Later in the day, while shopping in the village market, she noticed that the people were smiling and waving at her.
“Thank you, thank you!” they shouted. “You’ve saved our farms and food. How can we thank you?”
“Um, you’re welcome”, a surprised Maiya replied.

But back home, things weren’t as good. The monkeys had grown lazy. They would play and sleep in the big pen, content, because they did not need too look for food and drink anymore.

It became more and more difficult for Maiya. She had to get up earlier and earlier to haul multiple wagons full of fruits, nuts, and vegetables from the market to feed the ever-growing, ever-hungry troop.

Soon, it also became to expensive to feed the lazy, hungry monkeys. Maiya had run out of money to buy food for them from the villagers.

Then she remembered what the villagers had said. “I’ll ask them to help feed the monkeys!” she thought. “They were so happy the monkeys were gone—they must want to help me feed them.”

But each person she asked just laughed when she requested help from them to feed the lazy and demanding monkeys.
This made Maiya mad.

She returned home and threw open the doors to the monkey pen. “You can leave!” she shouted at the shocked monkeys. “I can’t afford to feed you anymore! You need to go!”

But the confused monkeys just looked at each other and refused to leave the enclosed pen. They were used to having food and water brought to them.
Why would they want to leave?

But eventually, when the monkeys began to get hungry, one by one, they left the cage.

They returned to stealing food from the villagers’ homes, and damaging the orchards, barns, and houses in the process.

The villagers would yell and swing brooms at the monkeys. But they just laughed from the trees and waited until dark to sneak in and take more of the tasty treats.

The next time Maiya visited the village, she was met with angry faces.

“Why did you let all the monkeys go?” they demanded. “Now they are ruining our lives again!”

NOW Maiya was angry too. “Then you should have helped me when I asked?” she snapped. “If you had, then the monkeys would still be happy in the pen!”

As she turned and walked away, one of the small monkeys was seen walking down the road toward her. It was chittering and holding out a rare piece of fruit to give to Maiya.
Somewhat surprised Maiya exclaimed “Well Thank you!” to the generous chimp.

Soon other monkeys began to bring fruit. In return, the villagers quickly learned to trade nuts and vegetables for the fruits. Some monkeys brought the wrong fruits, but they quickly learned what the villagers wanted.

Before long, the villagers no longer had to worry about the monkeys raiding their homes and farms. They had found a new way to work together.

Meanwhile, Maiya left the gate of the big pen open so the monkeys could come and go as they pleased. They swung on the ropes and swam in the pond. She often went out to the pen to chatter and play with them. Even children from the village came out to play games with the monkeys too.

Who knew that cooperation could be so fruitful?