Finley the Frog and the Bossy Bullfrog: A Story About Standing Up for Somebody
Once upon a time, in a cool, gurgling pond filled with buzzing dragonflies and swaying reeds lived a friendly little frog named Finley. Finley was a tiny bit different than the other frogs around him; he was the only yellow frog in the pond, whereas all the other frogs were green. Finley also didn’t like the usual frog activities like jumping the highest or croaking the loudest. He just loved building tiny mud castles, complete with moats and drawbridges. However, Finley had one problem. Boris the Bullfrog, known for his bossy ways, was constantly bullying him just because he was different. Boris didn’t like Finley because he thought he wasn’t like ‘‘the real frogs’’, so he often tried to chase him away from the pond.
One sunny afternoon, as Finley was carefully placing a pebble on his castle wall, a big, booming voice echoed across the pond. It was Boris. ‘‘Finley, you’re still here? Didn’t I tell you not to come to this pond again? It’s only for the real frogs, not yellow ones like you.’’
Finley didn’t say anything, as usual. He was always too scared to stand up to Boris, so he’d often just keep quiet and hope Boris went away soon.
‘‘What are you doing there?’’ continued Boris.
Finley stammered: ‘‘I’m building a castle.’’
Boris snorted. ‘‘Castles are silly. Real frogs spend their time doing jumping contests. Come on, let’s see what you’ve got.’’ He crushed Finley’s castle, grabbed him, ignoring his tiny protests, and started dragging him on one of the duckweeds. Finley felt his stomach crunch with fear.
A group of frogs were watching what was happening. Among them was Fiona, a small but brave froglet known for her kindness. She said to her friends around her, ‘‘What Boris is doing is wrong. We should help poor Finley!’’
Felicity, another frog from the group, replied, ‘‘Yeah, but then Boris might turn against you; you don’t want to have him as an enemy. He’s so scary.’’
Fiona frowned. ‘‘But Finley might get hurt. If we don’t help him, who will?’’
‘‘Fiona, I’m telling you, it’s better to mind our own business and stay away from that situation. It’s just easier,’’ Felicity replied.
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Sometimes, when one person treats another person unfairly, rudely, or aggressively, it is called bullying, and the person doing it is called a
bully. If you were part of the story, would you behave like Boris, Felicity, or Fiona? Why? (This question introduces the concept of bullying and
encourages readers to make the right choices in their own behavior; it helps them see themselves as empathetic beings.)