Week 1 Storytelling: The king of the playground

There once was a boy named Thomas. Thomas had long shaggy hair, wore the latest version of KDs (Kevin Durant's shoe line), and was athletic. He was the king of the playground being in the fifth grade and a head taller than the other children. He enjoyed picking on other kids by making fun of their insecurities. Then there was Jep, a small kid for being in the second grade.  Jep had glasses and usually wore second hand clothes from the local thrift store. Thomas knew how to manipulate Jep to get him in trouble at school. After recess the children were lined up in the hallway for a bathroom break and to get a drink. Thomas had just got a new pair of KD shoes and Jep was admiring them on the way to the bathroom. “Hey Jep! Do you like my new shoes?” asked Thomas. “I love them, they are my favorite color!” exclaimed Jep. As they were walking into the bathroom Thomas got the bright idea to make Jep a deal. “I would give you these shoes, IF you can manage to go into the girls’ bathroom without getting caught and put toilet all over the floor and sinks,” said Thomas. Jep was so amazed that he did not even think before he answered yes. The two went back to their separate classrooms. Later Thomas heard a scream from down the hall. His teacher ran out into the hallway to see what was wrong and the students followed. Thomas then saw the principal holding Jep’s hand marching to her office and in his other hand was a wad of toilet paper. Thomas let out a smirk and proudly walked back to his seat. The next day at recess Thomas saw Jep on the playground. Thomas yelled, “Hey four eyes, how was the girls’ bathroom?”  All of Thomas’s friends chuckled and Jep walked by with his head hanging low, realizing he had fallen for another one of Thomas’s tricks.  Thomas went on to the monkey bars, which were his favorite thing to play on at the playground. He thought he would show off and do a flip off the last monkey bar. As he went to flip he missed the bar and a thud was heard across the playground.  Unfortunately, the bell to go inside was ringing about the same time that Thomas fell. All his friends abandoned him because they did not want detention for being tardy. Thomas couldn’t move the only thing he felt was pain in his leg. Suddenly Thomas saw a pair of very used spiderman sneakers in his view, which would only belong to Jep. Thomas could hear Jep’s voice telling him he was going to get some help and everything would be okay.  The ambulance was called and they took Thomas to the hospital to check on his leg and his head. A few days went by and no one saw Thomas. Finally Thomas entered the school doors with the help of his crutches. All of his friends greeted him but Thomas couldn’t help but notice that Jep was standing all alone. He pushed his friends aside and pulled out a shoebox from his backpack. “Hey Jep! Could you please come here?” asked Thomas. Jep walked over towards Thomas as he pushed a shoebox toward Jep. A look of excitement crossed Jep’s face as he opened the box to find a pair of Kd’s his size and just like the ones he wanted that belonged to Thomas.

source

Image from scene on Max Keebles Big Move showing the bullies he faced,

I used the fable The Old Lion to create this story. I found the fable easy to relate to a real life situation because bullying happens every day with children. The lion is said to be “the king of the Jungle,” just like Thomas was the king of the playground. In the fable the lion was attacked when he was down by other animals showing their hatred toward him. In my story the plot took a turn to show Jep was a better person when his bully was injured and showed his true colors by seeking help for an enemy. 

Bibliography 

Aesop for Children, by (anonymous), illustrated by Milo Winter (1919).