Meadow Tails - How To Handle Bullies
How To Handle Bullies
I'd bet you didn't know this, but the animals have schools and stuff, just like we do. In fact,
they have their own families, schools, and busy lives just like you and I do! Now, I've spent a
lot of time in the woods and I've learned a few things about how they live and I've listened
to some of their stories. I thought you might be interested in hearing them 'cause your Mom
told me how smart you are.
Now this particular story takes place during springtime in the deep forest, away in a meadow
where the young animals go to learn the different things that they need to learn just like
YOU go to school to learn all the things that YOU need to learn. Of course, it isn't exactly
the same. For instance, different animals teach different things. And of course, they learn
very different subjects than we do.
The day this particular story started, Echo, the old Grey Wolf was teaching a bunch of the
younger animals all about running. See, Wolves are the best runners there are in the woods.
Rabbits are great at short sprints, but none of the animals run as long or as fast over the long
haul as wolves do. So Echo was showing them how to really stretch out while running to get
the most speed and distance for the least effort. This meant that he spent a lot of time
running back and forth across the meadow while the younger animals watched him run and
then they tried to do the same thing.
When we run it looks pretty silly to most animals. Mostly it looks like we are just about to
fall over each time we take a step! When critters run, everything is very fluid and very
balanced. That's one advantage our four-footed cousins have over us. Bet you didn't know
that animals are our cousins, did you?
It's true though. A very, very long time ago, we all lived in the same sorts of places and
people were just the same as any other critter. Of course, all the other critters thought we
looked funny . we look like naked pink monkeys! Monkeys look pretty funny anyway
(especially to the cats. Cats are VERY stuck up about how they look. Get a tiger talking
about his stripes some time, or a leopard talking about their spots and you had better be
ready to just sit and listen for a long time!) That's one reason cats are constantly taking baths.
And that's a reason why cats don't like dogs much either. The cats are always, always getting
clean and dogs are always, always getting dirty.
See, the problem is that dogs don't have pockets. So when dogs come across something that
smells interesting and they want to take it home, they have to roll in it and get it all caught up
in their fur. Which means that they are often covered in some sticky, smelly thing. Cats can't
imagine doing that, of course, so they tend to look down on the dogs. And of course, the
dogs don't like the cats being stuck up and chase them when they can, just to teach 'em a
lesson. The cats are pretty clever though and almost never get caught. It's kinda a game
between them and usually it doesn't get out of hand.
Anyway, how people stopped hanging out with critters and became separate from the world
of the forests and streams is another story for another day. THIS story is about some of the
younger critters who thought that they could pick on anyone they wanted to. Had I gotten to
that part yet? No, I don't think I did.
So, Echo was running up and down the meadow showing everyone how to run and poor Al,
the hedgehog, just wasn't getting it. (Hedgehogs are terrible runners. They usually just curl
up into a ball instead of running because they're not really built for speed. They are covered
with all these little spiky things though so that works for them. Rather than running away,
they just make it impossible for other critters to eat them!). So of course, Bully (Bill and
Brenda Bear's kid) had to make fun of him for not being able to run fast.
Bully was well named. He really was a bully. He was bigger than most of the other critters
and he loved picking on anyone he could. He usually had a gang of other mean young animals
that hung out with him. It seemed like all the really unpleasant little brats sort of banded
together to try to make everyone as unhappy as possible. Today he had decided to pick on
Al. He knew that Echo wouldn't let him get away with too much (though most of the other
adult animals never really did anything to stop him. They'd take him aside and talk to him, or
they'd make him sit out of playtime for a little while, but they never really did anything. And
if you told on him he and his mean buddies would really make life miserable for you!)
Bully would wait until Echo ran off down the meadow so that Al could see how to stretch
himself out for maximum speed and then he'd do stuff like sit on poor Al until just before
Echo finished his run and then he'd move away like he wasn't doing anything. Once he even
farted on Al's head! EWWW!
By the time everyone had finished their running lessons poor Al was in tears. His friend,
Heather (she was a really pretty little red fox.) walked home with him and tried to cheer him
up.
She said, "C'mon, Al, cheer up! Who cares about Bully? He's just a poop-head."
He sniffled, "I care! He farted on me! He's always so mean. And no one ever stops him.
They just let him do whatever he wants. He and his stupid pals, they beat up on anyone they
want to and no one ever does anything at all."
Heather twitched her bushy tail and thought about it for a little while as they walked. She
finally said "Hey, what about if we asked Echo? He's nicer than most of the other grown-
ups. Maybe he can stop Bully." The more she thought about the idea, the more she liked it,
and she pranced around Al as they walked, trying to get him to chase her in a game of tag.
Heather would always let Al catch her even though she was a lot faster than he was.
Today though, Al just wasn't in the mood. He trundled along, a very unhappy hedgehog, his
head down, snuffling and being miserable. "Do you really think it would do any good?" he
finally grumped.
Heather was very bouncy. She pounced Al and said, "Can't hurt! But this will!" and gave him
a playful little nip. She wasn't being mean, she was just trying to get Al to cheer up and play.
It worked too! Al curled up into a little ball and rolled right over her paw . and since he was
all covered with little spiky thingies, it got her back!
She yelped and jumped back from Al and they continued on, playing Tag all the way home.
The next day after hunting class . with Echo again (As a wolf, he was one of the best
hunters. Now, for 'grazing' class, that was all done by some of the bigger rabbits. And of
course the hawks taught 'watching' class while the deer taught the 'freeze and don't move'
classes) Heather, Al, and Dusty stayed after class. Dusty was a young red-tailed hawk. He
loved 'watching' and 'hunting' class, and as a hawk, he didn't have to take 'running' or
'grazing'. Instead, he took 'soaring' and 'diving' classes. He was a nice bird, but he could be a
little intense. He'd lock onto an idea and never let it go. Once Heather and Al had told him
that they were going to talk with Echo about how to deal with Bully and his buddies, he
thought that was just the best idea in the whole world and figured he'd help. All through
class he kept reminding Heather and Al to talk with Echo . Like they'd forget!
Once all the other animals had left the meadow, Echo saw the three young ones waiting for
him. He sat down on his haunches and panted a bit . it's hard work teaching how to hunt! .
And waited for them to talk first. Echo was like that . He'd been around a long time and
unlike a lot of the older animals (and older people too) he still remembered what it was like
to be a kid. He would talk to the younger ones like they were people, not just like they were
kids.
Dusty kept chirping up "C'mon Al! Go talk to him! He's waiting!" He kept doing that hawk
thing . where they'd swivel their head one way to look at Echo, then back again to look at
Al, and never blinking. Just looking. Al was hesitating though. Echo made him nervous. He
felt like Echo could just see through him. He just felt like curling up into a little hedgehog
ball where he'd be safe.
Heather recognized how nervous Al was. She sort of nudged him with her shoulder and
whispered "It's OK Al. If anyone can tell us how to get Bully to stop picking on us, it'll be
Echo. He won't be mean."
Al thought for a little bit and then worked up the courage to do it. He trundled over to Echo
with Heather gliding gracefully alongside him and Dusty hopping behind. Birds are NOT
very graceful walkers. They're more like hoppers. Crows can walk fairly well, but Hawks are
just horrible at it. Most of the time they'll just fly, even for a short distance. Today though,
Dusty didn't want to get in front of Al, so he walked. Or hopped, anyway.
Once he got up to where the big grey wolf was waiting, he hemmed and hawed for a little
bit. "Echo, can I talk with you?" he finally stammered.
"Yes." Echo was like that . He didn't talk a lot. He was friendly enough but he spent a lot
more time listening than he did talking.
"I need your help." He paused. Echo just looked at him and panted. "ummm.." Al was
hoping Echo would ask some questions or something so that he didn't have to do all the
talking. Echo finally cocked his head to one side to make it clear that he was listening and
that he wanted to listen. There's nothing that helps you want to talk like having someone
who wants to listen. Too often grownups never really listen to kids, you know? Al continued,
"Bully picks on me. All the time." And he looked down at the ground, embarrassed and
ashamed.
"And?"
"I want him to stop!" Al was upset . it sounded like Echo didn't care. Just like everyone else.
"What have you done to stop him?" Echo asked, reasonably.
"I can't do anything! I'm small! He's big! He picks on everyone. He's mean, and he doesn't
care who he hurts and no one ever does anything to stop him."
Echo thought for a moment. "So, Bully picks on everyone, but no one does anything to stop
him. Why do you think that no one has done anything to stop him?"
"He's BIG!" Al cried out.
"But he's just one bear, right? And he picks on lots of different people, right?"
"Yeah! That's right. He's always after everyone smaller than he is." Al agreed.
"Well, perhaps you should do something." Echo said.
Al was shocked. "But.Why me?"
"Why not you, Al?" Echo had that almost-laugh look that dogs of all sorts get. Wolves are
just the original dogs you know. They're all related. Dogs, foxes, wolves, coyotes.
Al was still shocked. "But.but.shouldn't the grownups do something?"
"Why do you think that someone else should deal with your problem, Al?" Echo asked.
"Isn't that what grownups are supposed to do!?" This just wasn't going the way that Al
thought it would.
Dusty chirped up too. "Yeah! That's what grownups do!"
"Sometimes things look very strange. And sometimes grownups don't always do what they
are supposed to do. That's something that happens a lot, unfortunately. Some people do bad
things. Some people don't do what they should do, and sometimes people think they're
doing what they should do when they're really doing what they shouldn't." (Critters call
themselves people too)
Heather barked, "That's not FAIR!" Al and Dusty chimed in too . "Yeah that's not fair!"
Echo cocked his head and twitched his ears forward, "Really? Is everything always fair?"
"It's supposed to be!" all three said at the same time.
Echo licked his chops and thought for a second. "That is true. It is supposed to be. But
things are only fair when people work to make it fair. If everyone works together to play fair,
things stay fair. When no one is willing to do what is needed, then the people who don't
want to play fair can get away with whatever they want."
"But what do we DO?!" Al asked. Poor Dusty was completely puzzled. He ruffled his
feathers and kept swiveling his head back and forth.
Heather figured it out. "We have to stick up for ourselves. Don't we?" (Foxes have a
reputation for being clever . they really are, too)
"Yes." Echo said, obviously pleased with her for figuring it out. The little fox was quite
smart as well as being very pretty.
"HOW?" Al asked. "He's big and we're little! He's a BEAR!"
Echo lay down on and put his head on his paws so that he was face-to-face with the young
hedgehog. " But you are many, and he is one, no?"
Dusty chirped "YEAH! We can gang up on HIM!"
But Heather was worried, "What if he's got all his friends with him?"
Echo raised his head a bit to look at Heather and said, "A group of bullies is a group of
cowards. If you take down the leader, they will run away."
"Do you really think it will work?" Heather asked.
"Why don't you try with me? Pretend I am Bully and see?" Echo got to his feet, wagging his
tail some. "Try to attack me. See how you do."
"But.what do we DO?" Al asked. Hedgehogs aren't exactly attack dogs.
Echo said, "Well, just try to keep on all sides of me. The ones who are behind me can hit
me, right? So just keep moving and keep around me."
They practiced for a little bit. Heather, being a fox, had a pretty good idea what to do, and
Dusty, of course did just fine swooping down on Echo whenever he looked away. Poor Al
though . Trying to be like a wolf and dashing in to snap at his legs just didn't work.
Hedgehogs, of course, just aren't built for speed. He finally just curled into a little ball, which
actually worked pretty well.
Echo dodged away from Heather's snapping jaws and just then Dusty swooped down, so
Echo rolled over to duck the hawk's talons . right on top of Al! Echo yelped and jumped
about six feet straight into the air! Those spiky bits HURT!
He turned and licked at the sore spot on his flank and said, "I think you've got the idea.
Stick together, work together and rely on yourselves and each other. That's the secret, you
see?"
Let me tell you, all three of them thought that they were just hot stuff! Al couldn't believe it!
They talked about it all the way home. Echo was right . There was no reason to think
everyone else in the world would take care of their problems. They had to look out for
themselves. And they could trust in their friendship. As a group, they were strong. They
were a toothy, fast, flying, spiky machine!
Sure enough, the next day Bully was being a bigger bully than usual. But Al, Heather, and
Dusty weren't buying it for once. They weren't afraid of him . and that really confused him!
He finally decided he'd leave them alone until after class and he'd think about it. Now, like
most bullies, thinking just wasn't his strong suit. That's one of the reasons he was a bully .
he was too stupid to be much of anything else.
So that evening, Bully and two of his friends (Johnny and Jimmy . two really nasty ferrets.
Ferrets are normally fun loving and easy to get along with. Something just went sour with
these two) were waiting for the three friends. Most of the rest of Bully's gang was there too,
but they were hanging back a bit from the 'big three'.
The three friends came through a big patch of blackberries (Heather and Al cut through a
rabbit run and Dusty just flew over it); there were the three bullies.
Bully puffed himself up while the two ferrets skittered around behind him. "You three are
getting a little too cocky today! I think I'm going to have to teach you a lesson. Unless you
roll over onto your backs right now." (For critters, exposing your belly is kinda like saying
"UNCLE!")
Right away, Dusty flew up into a tree, and did what hawks do . He just stared.
Bully said "Hunh. Already running away. So, you two want to make it easy, or do I have to
teach you a lesson?"
Heather just waited. This was Al's time to shine! The little hedgehog was afraid, but he knew
his friends were there to help him and he knew they were right! Instead of cowering like
Bully expected, he squeaked "How about if we teach YOU a lesson instead you big bully?"
"That's my name, don't wear it out you little rat. Jimmy, Johnny, teach him!" The two ferrets
came bouncing forward to beat on poor Al (When ferrets run they always do this little
hoppy bouncy sort of run. It looks silly, but it works for them.).
Unfortunately for the two ferrets, not too much is faster than a diving hawk. Dusty dropped
out of the tree he was in like a thunderbolt and tumbled Jimmy right into Johnny (or was it
the other way around?). Al was just sitting there waiting and all of a sudden there were two
tumbling ferrets in a sort of furry little ball. Dusty zoomed right back up into a tree and
Heather pounced on both of them, catching them in her mouth so that they were hanging
out of either side like a pair of fuzzy little worms! And she was SLOBBERING on them
both so their fur was getting soggy.
"Help! Help!" they squeaked, "It's not FAIR! Someone get a grownup! Cheaters!" You'd
think Heather was eating them instead of just drooling on them. "Let us go! Let us go! We
give up!" Heather finally spat them out, one at a time, right on top of Al's spikes! They both
squealed and ran away as fast as they could run. Bounce. Whatever you want to call it.
Bully wasn't too happy with THAT, let me tell you! His two little mini-bullies had run away
leaving him all alone (none of the rest of his gang wanted any part of THIS) and Al still
hadn't moved. Here he was a great big bear and this little hedgehog was giving him attitude!
"That's it you little rat. I'm going to beat the snot out of you!" He growled and came right at
poor little Al!
But Al, Heather, and Dusty had talked about this and they knew just what to do. Al curled
into a little ball of spikes and Heather scooted around behind Bully. While Bully was trying
to figure out what to do with Al, Dusty came swooping down and banged him right on the
head with his talons and flew off again. When Bully raised his head up to snap at Dusty (who
was long gone), Heather dashed in and bit him RIGHT ON THE BUTT!
Bully spun around to try to bite Heather (who had run away) and stepped right on Al! Now,
Bears have very sensitive paws, so when all those spikes went into his pad, he stood right up
and yelled bloody murder! Which was when Dusty flew down and bonked him on the back
of the head again. And then while Bully was hopping around holding his hurt paw with one
paw and his head with the other, Heather ran in and bit him again! By now, all of Bully's
gang of meanies had quietly snuck away. They didn't want any part of the beating their
leader was getting.
Bully had had enough. He didn't know what to do so he tried to run away . and stepped on
poor Al again! By now he was crying like a little baby and telling everyone how it was
completely unfair and they were all cheaters and mean and couldn't take a joke and he didn't
want to fight any more and a whole lot of lies like that. Bullies always lie when they get
caught.
Sure enough, when Dusty landed next to him, he tried to swat him with his paw! (Hawks
can't do much when they're on the ground so all he could do was hop backwards and try to
get enough room to take off again). Heather saw what was going on and scooped Al up and
THREW him at Bully!
Now of course, when Heather scooped him up and threw him, Al curled into a ball again
(like hedgehogs always do when they're scared). A little spiky ball. That bonked Bully right
on the back of the head. And he STUCK there! BOY did that hurt!!
Bully was trying to get Al off, but he couldn't really reach him (bears can't really reach over
their shoulders very well.). So he was mostly spinning around in circles with this hedgehog
stuck in the back of his head. He finally lay down and just whimpered. Which was when Al
farted on his head! That'll teach him to pick on people smaller than him!
So finally, Dusty, Heather and proud little Al told Bully that they weren't going to take his
nonsense any more. In fact, NO ONE would. His days as a bully were over! They got Al
unstuck from Bully's head and they headed on home, tired, sore, and very, very happy. They
had stood up to a bully and his gang and because they were faithful to each other and had
stuck together, they had won. Bully could never bother them again.
Echo, who had been hiding in the blackberry bushes and watching the entire thing almost
laughed himself silly. (Wolves look silly when they laugh anyway)
So, that's the story of how a hedgehog, a fox, and a hawk stood up to a bully bear and
learned how important it was to work together and be true to your friends!
Something we can all learn better, I think.
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