By Bill Conley
Moral of the Story:
Pointing fingers doesn’t fix the problem—it only makes it worse.
Taking responsibility shows courage, maturity, and kindness.
Being the bigger one means owning your part, telling the truth, and making it
right.
Sometimes the best way to move forward is to stop blaming and start
apologizing.
In the shady corner of Maplewood
Forest, a small den bustled with energy. Inside lived Fiona the Fox Cub and her
younger brother, Felix.
Fiona was clever and quick. Felix
was curious and bold. They were the best of friends, most of the time.
But like all brothers and sisters,
sometimes they squabbled.
One morning, Mama Fox was cleaning
up after breakfast while Fiona and Felix played with a ball made of pine
needles. The rules were simple: roll it, don’t throw it.
But rules are easy to forget when
you’re having fun.
Felix gave the ball a mighty toss,
and it smacked a vase of wildflowers, sending water and petals flying.
Fiona gasped.
“Felix! You threw it too hard!”
“Well, you threw it to me first!”
Felix shouted back. “You started it!”
“No, you started it!”
“You did!”
“No, you!”
The two fox cubs went nose to nose,
arguing loudly, until Mama walked into the room.
“What is going on here?” she asked
firmly, her eyes surveying the dripping vase and the scattered mess.
“He started it!” Fiona said,
pointing at Felix.
“No way! She started it!”
Felix cried, pointing back.
“I did not!”
“Did too!”
“Enough,” Mama said, raising her
paw.
The cubs froze.
“I’m disappointed—not because of the
broken vase, but because instead of taking responsibility, you’re both pointing
at each other.”
“But he—”
“But she—”
Mama held up her paw again. “This
isn’t about who threw what first. It’s about how we handle what went wrong.”
Fiona and Felix looked down at their
paws.
“I’ll give you both a moment to
think,” Mama said. “And when I come back, I hope I hear the truth—not the
blame.”
She stepped outside the den, leaving
the cubs in silence.
Fiona sat quietly, her tail curled
around her.
“She always says to tell the truth,”
she mumbled.
Felix sighed. “But I don’t want to
get in trouble.”
Fiona thought for a moment.
“Well… maybe we both messed up a
little. I did throw it first, but I didn’t mean for it to hit anything.”
“And I shouldn’t have thrown it back
so hard,” Felix admitted.
They looked at each other.
“Should we tell her that?” Fiona
asked.
Felix nodded. “Yeah. I don’t like
how my tummy feels when we’re fighting.”
Mama returned, her expression soft
but serious.
“Have you thought about what
happened?” she asked.
Fiona stepped forward.
“I threw the ball first, Mama. I
didn’t mean to hit anything, but I didn’t follow the rules.”
“And I threw it too hard,” Felix
added. “We didn’t listen. We’re sorry you had to stop what you were doing
because of us.”
Mama knelt and wrapped them both in
a warm hug.
“Thank you,” she said. “That’s what
I was hoping to hear. Not excuses—just honesty.”
Fiona felt lighter. Felix smiled.
“Can we clean it up?” Fiona asked.
“Of course,” Mama said. “Helping
make things right is part of being responsible.”
That afternoon, Mama Fox told them a
little story.
“Years ago,” she began, “your Aunt
Faye and I got into a big argument over who ruined our berry pie. She said I
smashed the crust. I said she forgot the sugar. We argued and argued.”
“Who was right?” Felix asked.
Mama grinned. “Turns out… we both
made mistakes. And we both ruined the pie. But what really ruined the day was
the arguing. We spent so long blaming each other, we forgot what
mattered—kindness, forgiveness, and enjoying our time together.”
Fiona and Felix giggled.
“Now,” Mama said, “whenever I hear
someone say ‘he started it!’ or ‘she started it!’ I remember that
ruined pie. And I remember that owning up is always better than blaming.”
Later that week, Fiona and Felix
were playing tag with Benny the Beaver and Lily the Squirrel near the
riverbank.
During the game, someone tripped and
knocked over Benny’s carefully stacked collection of shiny stones.
“Hey!” Benny shouted. “Who did
that?”
“It wasn’t me!” Felix said quickly.
“I think it was her!” Lily pointed
at Fiona.
“I just turned around—I didn’t mean
to!” Fiona protested.
Benny’s eyes filled with
frustration.
“Stop! I don’t care who started it,”
he said. “I just want someone to help me fix it.”
Fiona’s ears drooped.
“I’m sorry, Benny. I think I bumped
it when I wasn’t looking. I didn’t mean to, but I’ll help you rebuild it.”
Felix stepped forward too. “Me too.
Even if it wasn’t me, I want to help.”
Benny’s face softened. “Thanks.”
Together, they re-stacked the
stones, even better than before.
As they walked home, Felix nudged
Fiona. “I’m proud of you.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because you were the bigger one.”
Fiona smiled. “It feels better than
being the louder one.”
That night, as they curled up in
their den, Mama whispered, “I saw what you did today, Fiona.”
“You did?” she asked, surprised.
Mama nodded. “It takes courage to
say, ‘I made a mistake.’ And kindness to help even when it’s not your fault.”
Fiona nestled closer.
“Being the bigger one doesn’t mean
being the biggest,” Mama said. “It means choosing what’s right—even when it’s
hard.”
Poem:
When trouble comes and tempers flare,
Don’t just point and say, “Unfair!”
Be brave, speak truth, and do your part—
That’s how you show a caring heart.
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