a children’s story by Elias Cabrera
EVERYDAY, The park ranger Alfred loved going for early-morning walks — a time where he could relax and let his mind wander.
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Unfortunately, most days his peaceful and relaxing time would be turned upside down by a messy yellow creature.
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The Park Ranger Alfred kept hacking at the tree, trying to wake up lazy and messy Yo.
Chop – Chop – Chop Yo suddenly woke up and Alfred started yelling at him while poking him with a stick.
“You are always sleeping, eating, or throwing things around! Get out of my park. Can’t you see I am trying to keep it clean!?” Yo quickly got down and ran to another tree to make sure Alfred could not see him anymore.
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CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!
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MEANWHILE IN A NEARBY TOWN...
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Cecilia loved the fresh air and tropical trees that surrounded the large area she lived in. Maybe she was not the smartest girl in town, but she surely was adventurous.
Luckily, she had a companion to help her navigate new places. His name was Edgar, the young, smart, and funny mastermind. He was just the perfect partner for Cecilia. They had walked through hundreds of forests and crossed many rivers together.
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ONE MORNING, Cecilia and Edgar found a nice forest with a lot of trees. The trees were leafless and their trunks were very thick. When the wind hit the trees, it would make a beautiful sound and pine cones would rain down from the branches. Yo noticed a group of tiny white creatures marching around the trees but he immediately got distracted by the beautiful view. As they walked deeper into the forest, they found Yo, sleeping in the tree. Cecilia, curious to find out who this strange creature was, yelled at him:
“Hello! Hi! I’m down here! Who are you?!” But Edgar quickly covered her mouth.
“Shhhh, he’s sleeping! That is not nice! Also, you don’t know him! He could be one of those aggressive beasts!”
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They kept walking towards the tree Yo was in, curiously staring at him, when they heard a voice coming from the distance:
“Who’s there? Hello?! Yo? GET OUT OF MY PARK!!” Alfred repeated over and over, trying to identify who was there. Cecilia and Edgar were certain that this old man was not happy, so they decided to leave the forest and head back home to stay away from any trouble.
GET OUT!! 9
THE NEXT MORNING... Cecilia and Edgar left home and headed back to the forest. Cecilia was curious to find out why the old man was grumpy and telling Yo to get out of the park. So they went back to the same tree and found Yo, still sleeping. The tiny white creatures came around once more and woke Yo up, but as soon as they saw Cecilia and Edgar, they went back to
He then went on to say that the old man,
their hiding place. Edgar, the brilliant mind,
Alfred, was the park ranger who wanted to
started asking him questions about the old
do everything his way. He had been living all
man and the area. Yo described himself as
by himself in that forest for the last 30 years.
a very relaxed and outgoing creature, not
Clearly, Alfred’s and Yo’s personalities were
too worried about his actions.
different. Cecilia and Edgar said goodbye to Yo and returned home to discuss what Yo had mentioned.
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IT IS A STRANGE THING. “Alfred seemed very convinced that he was right, and Yo made it sound as though he himself was doing the right thing”, Cecilia suggested.
“I really don’t know what this is about. Why can’t they just get along?” Edgar said in a frustrated tone. They walked once again to the forest when it was dark and this time Edgar noticed that the army of tiny white creatures was gone, but so were Yo’s garbage and piled-up clothes.
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I HAVE AN IDEA!! “What if this could solve the conflict between Alfred and Yo! Perhaps Alfred will think that Yo is actually being clean if he doesn’t see Yo stuff lying all over the place!” Edgar said in a happy voice. After having this great conversation, they both went back to bed. They would need a restful sleep before the long day ahead of them.
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FINALLY... After a long and restful sleep, they both headed to the forest to watch the reaction of Alfred when he noticed the clean area around the tree Yo was in.
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ALFRED... slowly walked towards Yo with a sad expression on his face. He did not understand what had happened to Yo, but he finally felt respected and honored by him. He approached Yo to apologize for his poor behavior and acknowledge Yo’s effort to keep everything clean.
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YO... was even more confused. He knew his stuff had just been stolen, and it clearly had not been Alfred who did it. However, Yo was very ready to accept Alfred’s apology and become friends with the person that had been annoying him with his ranting most days.
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Cecilia and Edgar came out from their hiding place and approached Alfred and Yo who were still talking about what had happened.
“Isn't this interesting? Alfred, you must be confused and I don't blame you for it! However, there's something you don't know about all this. Yo didn't actually start being organized. All his stuff got stolen by a minuscule army of tiny creatures.” “We saw them marching around the forest a couple of days ago, and then they disappeared with Yo’s stuff. Anyways, it’s funny how you thought he was not being messy and your attitude towards him changed. But, in fact, Yo’s attitude never changed.” “See? At the end of the day, it’s all in your head! It is not hard to treat others kindly and love them in spite of their shortcomings. And even when it does seem difficult, it is worth being the one who takes the first step.”
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“That is so right! I never realized that. Yo, I am sorry for being such a grumpy old man towards you. I got caught up in always doing things my way and not trying to adapt to others’ different personalities. Now I know that it is not too hard to make friends! ” “And now I know what it feels like to be clean and not have my stuff lying around! It feels good! Anyways, who wants to go shopping with me? As we all know now, all my stuff got stolen!”
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