NAUGHTY ARNOLD

"Arnold!!!" mum screamed from the living room. "How many times have I told you to clear your plate after eating?". There was silence. "Ebubeeee!!!" mum screamed this time. There was still no answer. Ebube was Arnold's native name; his mum often called him that when he had been naughty. She walked angrily to his room, only to find it in a mess, while her son was engaged in a computer game. "Ebube" she screamed once again. "Didn't you hear me calling you?" "Mum, I am in the middle of a game here." His mum was really upset and concerned at her son's attitude, so she had him shut down his game and sit in the naughty corner until he apologized. It took him about an hour of murmuring before he said he was sorry. 

Arnold was the only child of his parents. They cared for him and provided for all his needs. However,  Arnold never appreciated this. He made trouble whenever he was denied anything. He even beat up his classmates at school at the slightest opportunity. 

One Friday, while Arnold's dad was busy at work, he got a call that made him sad.

"Good afternoon, please may I speak to Mr Okoro?" "Good Afternoon, this is Mr Okoro speaking; please, who is this?" "My name is John Kebbi, and I'm calling from the Exclusive group of schools.

"How can I help you? Is my son alright?" "He's alright, Sir, but the kid he beat up has been rushed to the hospital." "What? Oh, Arnold, not again. I'm on my way Sir, thanks for calling." Before he left, he called his wife to meet him up at their son's school.

During the drive to school, Mr Okoro was almost in tears. He was so worried about his son's attitude. "This time, he has gone too far." he thought to himself.

At the principal's office, Mr and Mrs Okoro sat quietly as they awaited his arrival. "I'm glad you could make it," the Principal said as he stepped in. Arnold's parents began to apologize. Immediately, the Principal was seated. They had been told what happened by his class teacher as soon as they arrived.

"Arnold was making funny noises in class, so Ken, his seatmate, made a complaint to me," the teacher narrated.

Even though I only cautioned him, Arnold caught Ken in a lonely place and beat him badly before the school was over.

They were so disappointed that they hardly said a word to their son.

"Mr and Mrs Okoro, based on your son's continuous bullying, a decision has been made. Next week, the summer holidays begin. Arnold Okoro is not allowed to resume with us after the summer holidays." Mrs Okoro was so upset, she started to cry. The drive home was tranquil.

The new week ended fast; the summer holidays had begun. Part of Arnold's punishment was restricted TV hours for a holiday. Arnold disagreed with this, so he tore the pages of his International Passport to hurt his parents.

What he didn't know was that his parents had planned a trip to Disneyland Paris that holiday.

When they discovered what he had done, they packed up his things and dropped him off at Aunty Amaka's place for the summer break.

Aunty Amaka was his Dad's elder sister. She was the only one that Arnold feared. She was the mother of two boys and a girl. They were all older than Arnold. After his parents left, Arnold cried so much, his cousins wouldn't stop laughing at him. They called him a crybaby.

The next day, breakfast was served. It was bread and fried egg. At the table, Arnold asked for bacon and sausage. His Aunty Amaka responded, "little boy, you eat whatever you are served happily." Arnold was too afraid to complain as he did at home. He was also forced to do all the dishes with little help from his cousin, Gloria.

The next day, everyone was given portions of chocolate. However, Arnold had the smallest piece since he was asked to pick last. This made him angry, but as he tried to lift his voice, his Aunty threatened to spank him and sent him to bed at 2 pm. As Arnold wet his bed with tears, he thought of his home. He missed his darling mother and his sweet dad, who always bought him gifts. There was no other child at his house, and so he hardly had to share. His only chores were to clear his plates after meals and clean his room. Yet, he had always complained and treated his parents wrong. He regretted his actions immediately and said to himself, "If I could just leave this prison and go home, I would behave better."

That evening, Mrs Okoro had missed her son so much, she drove down to Aunty Amaka's place.

As soon as Arnold heard his mum's voice, he rushed down and gave her a tight hug. Then, he started to apologize for all he had done. He even told his mum he loved her. This surprised his mum, but it made her so happy. Arnold went back home with his mum, and from that day, he remained a good boy.

THERE IS A ROSE

Once upon a time, there lived a very happy and sweet tortoise called Mr Torbee. He always treated everyone right and he loved to work hard. At work he was well respected and loved by everyone except his mean boss called Mr. Torboss, who respected no one.

It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and Mr Torbee had set off for work early, as usual.  He liked to be punctual and always considered how long it took him to get to work.


He worked in a company with other tortoises. Just as work started, his boss addressed all the staff in his normal harsh voice. As he shouted the words "meeting dismissed", there were murmurs everywhere because of his unfriendly attitude.
Just then, Mr Torbee thought to himself, "Oga sounds rather frustrated today. I wonder what's wrong." 

"Did you notice the deep sadness as the boss spoke?" He asked his factory partner. "Why on earth are you so ignorant?" His partner replied. That man has been like that for the 10 years I have worked here. He realized immediately that speaking out was a mistake. Every staff of the company hated the boss. Mr Torbee was still convinced that something was wrong, so he took a bold step at break time. He knocked at Mr Torboss office.

"Who is there?" Mr Torboss asked," it's me, Torbee he replied?" "Go away, Torbee, am not in the mood for complaints the boss replied in a shaky voice". Mr Torbee still tried harder, "I am not here to complain, sir, am just worried about you". There was a long pause from inside the room, then slowly, the door was unlocked. Torbee took a deep breath, opened the door and walked in slowly.

"What did u say you wanted from me?" "Nothing, sir. I was just worried about you," he repeated. "You sounded really upset this morning, so I wanted to check on you." "How did you notice that, and why do you even care?" "I thought you all hated me". "Well, I don't hate you," Torben said, "even though I wish you were nicer to us, but my grandma always said, there is a rose in every man, no matter who he is,  find it".

Mr Torboss broke down in tears; this was so confusing to Torbee. "What's wrong, sir?" "I have many problems, and I have no one to talk to; nobody wants to be my friend". Torbee was surprised that not having friends would make the boss sad. He spent the next few minutes encouraging his boss and telling him ways of acting better. Mr Torboss surprised all the staff with an apology the next day. Torbee and Torboss became best of friends from that day.

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL

Once upon a time, in the little town of Sora, there were two beautiful girls. They were called Chuchu and Soyce. The two friends lived on the same street, attended the same school and church. Since they both came from Christian homes, their parents had taught them to be good children. They learned to say their morning and night prayers. They also learned to show compassion to people.

One day, during playtime in school, the two friends saw a small gathering of kids laughing. As they got closer, they saw Debbie on the floor. Debbie was a chubby little girl in their class, who got bullied and mocked daily by other pupils, especially Lily. Lily was yet another class mate of theirs from a rich family. She always acted like she was better than everyone else.

Chuchu and Soyce ran to the centre and helped Debbie up, while they totally ignored the look on Lily's face. They also reported to the teacher, who asked Lily to sit in class for the rest of the break time.

Meanwhile, they took Debbie to the corner and sat with her. She couldn't hold back her tears as she explained the hurtful names Lily called her. "She called me fat and ugly, I am so ugly." "No u are not," Chuchu said. "The Bible says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. My mummy said that means we are all beautiful in our own special way." Soyce continued. "Debbie, you are beautiful."  "Let's say the words, just like we did in Sunday school," suggested one of the girls." The three girls repeated the words "I am beautiful" severally until Debbie began to smile.
The bell rang just then. The break was over.