The Little Flower

By Christine C. Taing

Everyday, children around the world worry if they will fit in at school or make friends. But when a bully lurks in the shadows and eventually pounces, a lonely child’s insecurities can be made even worse.

Christine Taing shares tales with moral lessons that will empower children to stop and aptly deal with bullying. Children learn appropriate reactions to bullying through stories that teach them to do the right thing, take a stand, and be a friend to a child in need. A little girl learns to be proud of her family and the meaning of a true friend. A fourth grader decides his bully is a person who needs a friend just like him. A musically-talented high school student discovers that when he sticks up for himself, no one can hurt him. A teenager, with help from a teacher, becomes a confident student who embraces his differences.

In this collection of short stories, children learn to stand tall and strong against bullies and ultimately become the beautiful flowers they are meant to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Oct 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483420608

Book preview

TAING

Copyright © 2014 Christine C. Taing.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-2059-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-2060-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014919130

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 10/23/2014

Contents

Acknowledgement

What You Will Find in this Book

What is Bullying?

How Damaging It Can Be

Inspirational Stories for Children

Stop Bullying Karen!

Ammar’s Heroic Rescue

Stacy’s Kindness

George and Larry

Sandy’s New School

Alan Can make it Alone

The Southern Girl

The Nightmare of a Queen

The Classical Difference

The Secret Crush

Mental Disability

Look-a-Like

Virtual Friends

Conclusion

Disclaimer

This e-book is the property of the author and any reproduction whether mechanical or digital needs to be properly authorized. This includes photocopying, scanning and any other form of print or recording. The author has taken all measures to provide accurate and factual information, however any changes in facts or figures at a later date are unforeseeable and thus subject to change.

This e-book is solely for educational purposes and should be taken as such. The author cannot be held responsible for any damages incurred due to the misappropriation of any of the contents of this e-book.

The Little Flower

This is the story of one little flower,

The flower that couldn’t match others in beauty.

When the young bud wanted to play with the other flowers

They would laugh at the bud and say

No way will we let a flower as dull as you play

One flower exclaimed,

the others laughed with it just the same,

The little flower ran away so no one would see the tears forming,

The sun noticed the little flower and came down to cheer her up.

What’s the matter little flower? asked the sun

The little flower looked up to see the sun

her eyes glistening with tears

"No one wants to play with me

even though I try so hard to impress them,

they just let me be!" it exclaimed.

The sun looked at the flower with kind soft eyes and said "It’s ok little one,

I bet one day they’ll all like you and you’ll be the most beautiful of beautiful flower,

just you watch and wait for the hour"

The little flower smiled at the sun’s encouraging words

They had helped her be strong and never gave in to the world.

A couple years have passed since that day.

There was a beautiful flower Standing tall and bright.

The most beautifullest flower you’ve ever seen.

That flower was none other than,

The Little Flower….

Acknowledgement

If it wasn’t for the support of my father, Mr. Alexander R. Chhin, I would never have been able to write this book, complete it and get it published. Thank you dad, for always supporting me in everything that I do, and for being the one who went through the hassle of getting this book published! I will always be truly grateful to you.

My mom, Mrs. Julie S. Taing, is the second person I would like to acknowledge who played a big role in the publication of this book. Without her love and undying support, I could never have come this far. Thank you mom, I love you.

I would also like to thank other members of my family, Aunt Cheng, Aunt Sokheng, Cousin Mengkong, Cousin Kimlong, Cousin Kimchai and Grandma. Their encouragement and comfort is what helped me understand that everything is possible when you have your loved ones with you. You guys are the best family ever! I want to tell you how much your love means to me and how I am eternally grateful to all of you!

Like hundreds of others out there, I also understand what a big problem bullying is, which is why part of the proceeds of the book will go to awareness programs working tirelessly to educate people about how bullying shatters the life of the victims.

Thank you all, and God bless!

What You Will Find in this Book

This collection of short stories is perfect to read to your children to help spread awareness about bullying. Bullying is a growing problem in the world which has long lasting effects for those who are the victims of bullying. Bullying does not necessarily mean physically harming someone, but derogatory remarks and social isolation (as shown in the story of The Little Flower) are also forms of bullying.

This e-book contains a number of short stories that all contain moral lessons for children to stop bullying and aptly deal with it. Today, bullying is considered a form of offence with over 2 million victims in the United States alone. It has grown more than 50 percent in the recent past. It is the duty of schools, teachers and most importantly parents to help children identify bullying and objectively deal with it.

What is Bullying?

Bullying can be of many types. It is any form of behavior that is aimed at making fun of someone or physically or emotionally harming someone. An act of bullying usually consists of two individuals or groups; one is the victim and the other is the bully. Any form of aggressive verbal, social or physical behavior that is usually repeated and is targeted at a certain individual or group is called bullying.

The objective of bullying is to hurt the victim either with teasing, snide comments, practical jokes or even physical harm. Usual victims of bullying include individuals who are physically weaker, introverts, belong to specific racial, religious or ethnic groups, are physically challenged and/or do not socialize much. Bullies are usually those who are either physically stronger or are very sociable.

How Damaging It Can Be

Bullying can be damaging for everyone involved. Victims, bullies and even bystanders are impacted by bullying. Victims and bystanders can suffer from depravation and depression that can lead to emotional problems and isolation. A study by the University of Padua’s Social Psychology Department analyzed research conducted on over 200,000 children and adolescents. It shows that individuals who are bullied are more likely to suffer physical problems like eating disorders, bedwetting, stomachaches, headaches and sleep problems.

However, when students claim that they are suffering from stomachaches and/or headaches, parents and teachers often see it as making excuses to miss school. That’s not always the case. It is very important to teach children about bullying, to help stop immediately.

The earlier the problem is identified and detected, the easier it will be to control it. These inspiration stories will help you not only spread awareness about bullying, but also on how to stop children from becoming bullies and being bullied. Parents and teachers can read the stories to children under the age of eight.

Inspirational Stories for Children

The stories in this book have been divided according to different age or groups.