Week 1 Story: A Take on the Hares and the Frogs

There were two families, the Andersons and the Smiths. The Andersons had a son, Alex and there was a Smith boy named Jordan. The Anderson family had a wife, who worked as a nurse, and a husband, who worked as an attorney. The Smith family was a single parent household, with the mother working as a secretary at an orthodontist's office.

Alex was a precocious child, but had what his parents referred to as "only child syndrome." As a child, he did not want for anything. He had enormous amounts of toys and new clothes, and enjoyed being the only child in the family.

Jordan, on the other hand, had quite a different childhood experience. His mother loved him very much, but could not always provide the newest toys or clothes that weren't hand-me-downs from his older brother. She worked very hard to provide food and shelter for Jordan and his 4 siblings. They were always well-fed and had clean clothes on their backs.

Alex and Jordan went to the same school and were in the same classroom. One day, Alex came to school and announced that his birthday was coming up and everyone in the class was invited to his party that would be that coming weekend at his house. None of the children could wait, including Jordan! Jordan loved playing with his siblings a lot, but was so excited to finally get to spend time with kids in his own class.

The day of Alex's birthday party finally arrived. Jordan's mother could not keep him from bouncing off the walls; he was so excited. He had woken up early that morning and was dressed in his nicest clothes. His mother dropped him off at Alex's house and he raced over to the groups of children playing games and chattering wildly.

The whole afternoon was an incredible success for Jordan but, for Alex, it was a different story. Everything was going along fine until it got to the section of the party where he got to open presents. Now, Alex had really been wanting this new video game that had just been released. However, much to his dismay, he opened every single present and did not find that video game. He received plenty of other great gifts, including a multicolored soccer ball. Now, Jordan was an avid soccer fan and had loved to play with the other kids in his neighborhood, but had never owned his own ball.

Alex threw an enormous tantrum and the party had to be ended a little early. However, Jordan's mother was working a shift and couldn't come to get him immediately. So, while Alex's parents dealt with his meltdown, Jordan had decided to take the new soccer ball for a spin. Once Alex had calmed down a bit, he was looking out of the window in his bedroom and saw Jordan having the time of his life playing with a soccer ball. A soccer ball?! It took until then for him to realize that his tantrum was a little over-dramatic and he should be grateful for the presents he had received.

There is always someone worse off than you that sees the value in things that you take for granted.

(Multicolored soccer ball, web source: Pexels)

Author's Note: I took my inspiration from the fable, "The Hares and the Frogs." This is a short story about a group of hares. These hares were afraid of persecution from most other animals and would run away anytime they saw a single animal approaching. They were tired of being afraid and went to a pond to drown themselves, when their approach scared away a group of frogs. They saw that not everything was as bad as it had seemed. I wanted to take this classic story and apply it to a more modern setting, with realities that many people, children especially, face today.

Bibliography: "The Hares and the Frogs" from Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs. Web source.