See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: The Albert Schweitzer Story.
Life Lesson #62 – Think Before You Act.
It was a sad day around the Robinson house. Their family pet had just died, and Jenny had been crying for hours. When the doorbell rang, she was near the door, so she went to see who was there. It was an older boy from the neighborhood who was friends with Jenny’s brother, Michael. He said, “Is Michael here?”
Jenny said, “I’ll get him for you.” Then before Jenny could turn to go get Michael, the boy said, “Whatcha cryin’ about?”
She said, “Buster died.” That’s when the boy said, “That ol’ dog?! I could maybe see cryin’ if it was a puppy or somethin’, but that dog was so old, he could hardly walk!” Jenny’s crying became uncontrollable as she ran to her room. Her brother, Michael, had been on his way to the door, and he had heard the whole thing.
“What are you,” Michael said to his friend, “some kind of insensitive jerk or something?!” The boy said, “What?” Michael said, “Don’t you realize that my parents got Buster when I was a baby, and that he was older than Jenny? She’s never known life without him, and now he’s gone. I can’t believe you wouldn’t be upset, too, if it happened to you!”
Well, the boy thought for a minute, and realized Michael was right. He had a bad habit of putting other people down, especially when he saw they were having a weak moment— something, indeed, he had become known for. The boy apologized to Michael, and asked if he could see Jenny. Michael said, “Now is probably not a good time, later.” Well, later, he did apologize to Jenny and even brought her some flowers to put on Buster’s grave in the back yard. He had already decided to start HELPING others instead of hurting them.
– Jim Lord