Little Jimmy was a happy boy. He was seven years old and had been going to school for two years. He liked going to school very much. He liked his teachers and he got on well with all of his classmates.
Little Jimmy was a very popular boy at school and everyone liked him. Even the school cat gave him a special meow whenever she saw Jimmy’s smiley face coming towards her.
Little Jimmy lived in a house near to the school with his five-year-old sister, their black, labrador dog and their guinea pig. His mother was a drama teacher and his father was a carpenter.
Little Jimmy was a happy boy, but he was a very small boy for his age. Almost all the boys and girls in his class at school were taller than he was. But Little Jimmy didn't allow his lack of height to bother him too much and he discovered that there were many things he could do which taller children were unable to do.
For instance, whenever Little Jimmy ran in the sports day obstacle race, he could wriggle through the hoops without too much difficulty.
Whenever, the school performed the Christmas Story, he could squeeze into the crib in the manger and play the part of Baby Jesus.
One day when Little Jimmy went to school there was a new boy called Big Brian, who had joined his class. Brian was a very big and tall boy and he also had a very loud voice.
Big Brian had recently moved house and so he had to find a new school to which he could go. Big Brian was not happy about having to leave his old school and all his friends and he didn't like his new school one little bit.
All of his new classmates tried to be friendly to Big Brian, but the more that they tried to be friendly, the bossier Big Brian became.
"Would you like one of my sweets?" Samantha asked Big Brian.
"No, I wouldn't!" snapped Big Brian very rudely.
In fact, within a very short space of time it became very clear to all the children that Big Brian was a big bully.
Whenever he did not get his way, he would pull one of the girl’s ponytails or poke one of the boys in the stomach with his finger.
Whenever he played football with the other boys and girls, he would push and shove so much that someone would fall to the ground hurt. If Big Brian got very angry with the other boys and girls, he would break their pencils or scribble over their workbooks. He would even bully the school cat by pulling its tail or spilling its saucer of milk all over the floor.
Big Brian was a big bully and frightened all of the boys and girls in his class at school.
One day, big Brian was rushing around the playground very carelessly when he bumped into Little Jimmy and knocked him to the floor. Big Brian never apologised whenever he did anything wrong.
Big Brian did not like the other boys and girls in his class very much, but he did not like Jimmy at all. This was because Little Jimmy was so popular with the other boys and girls.
When Big Brian knocked Little Jimmy to the ground, he laughed out loud. "Ha ha ha ha," he laughed, "that will teach Tiny Titches like you to keep out of the way of Big Boys like me."
Little Jimmy called Big Brian a ‘big bully.’ Big Brian was just about to push Little Jimmy down again when the school bell rang. Big Brian ran off laughing and said, "If I see you tomorrow, Tiny Titch, I will knock you down again!"
That night, Little Jimmy went home, but he wasn't his usual cheerful self. His mum and dad asked him what was troubling him, and Little Jimmy told them about the school bully called Big Brian.
Little Jimmy always told his mum and dad about things whenever he felt unhappy. He knew that keeping things that made you unhappy only made them worse and they never went away until we told someone. That night when Little Jimmy went to bed, his mum and dad tucked him up in bed, kissed him good night and told him not to worry.
As Little Jimmy went off to sleep, he thought he heard the sound of his dad working in the garden shed and wondered what his dad could be doing. He also heard the sound of mum’s sewing machine as he dropped off to sleep.
The next morning Little Jimmy got up cheerful as usual. He had forgotten about the school bully and only remembered what big Brian had said to him the day before as he came downstairs for breakfast.
After breakfast, dad went to the shed and brought back two long pieces of wood with leather straps attached to each one. Mum went to her sewing drawer and took out a pair of trousers with very long legs.
Little Jimmy’s dad had made him a pair of stilts and he fastened them around Little Jimmy's legs with the leather straps. When Little Jimmy stood up, he had stopped looking little. Now Jimmy was the tallest boy in the school. His mother took the special trousers she had made and asked Little Jimmy to put them on.
Little Jimmy was no longer little. He had grown one metre taller. Before Jimmy went to school, he practised walking on his stilts until he was very good at it.
As Jimmy entered the school gates that morning, he saw Big Brian bullying one of the other small boys in the playground. He walked up behind Big Brian and gently tapped him on the shoulder saying, "Please don't bully any of my friends any more, Brian."
Big Brian turned around when he heard Little Jimmy's voice and had intended to knock him to the ground for his cheek. But when Big Brian turned around to look down on Little Jimmy he got a big shock and instead he had to ‘look up’ to Jimmy.
Jimmy looked down at Brian and said, "We have all had just enough about of your bullying, Brian and we're not going to put up with it anymore. We realise that you are not happy about moving house and changing schools, but if you give this school a chance, you may find out that you like it here."
"But.......... but how have you grown so tall overnight Jimmy when yesterday you were only a Little Titch?" asked Brian in amazement.
"That's my secret," said Jimmy with a warm smile on his face, "and when you stop being a bully, I may tell you it."
That night Jimmy had returned to his usual cheerful self and when he took his stilts off, he returned to his usual size.
He was no longer tall, but he didn't feel small anymore!
He had found out that bullies like to frighten people, but once they realise that you are no longer frightened of them, they stop bullying you. He also found out that the only way that you can help a bully is to help them to stop bullying and that will sometimes involve telling your parents or teacher. Whatever you have to do though, never ever ‘do nothing’ about it if you want the bullying to stop.
The day that Jimmy had put on his stilts, he frightened Big Brian. Big Brian did not like being frightened and from that moment on, he decided never to be a bully again.
When Brian stopped being a bully, he and Jimmy became the best of friends. Brian learned that the days are a lot happier when you are surrounded by friends instead of enemies. Brian was a kind boy and when he gave his new school and the new classmates a chance, he quickly got to like both.