How do we explain prejudice to young children? How sad it is that that question even needs to be asked. This is a short story I have written to share with my young grandson.
Meet Casper and His Best Friend Charlie.
“Charlie, why are they saying I have to go away? What does away mean, Charlie?”
“Well, Casper, away, um—away, is someplace where I can’t be with you. I’m not too sure about the why—but I think maybe they are a little, afraid.”
“What are they afraid of, Charlie?”
“Well, I think maybe they’re scared because we’re sort of … different?”
“I don’t understand. What does different, mean?”
“Um, different is … like, you are small … and I am bigger.”
“Oh … I still don’t understand. We’re buddies, aren’t we?”
“Yes … we sure are; we’re the bestest of buddies. But Casper you will get a whole lot bigger.”
“Bigger? Like … um, like my daddy is bigger?”
“Yes—like your daddy is bigger, that is different.”
“But, Charlie, you will just gets bigger—like I do. Won’t you?”
“Well—no … I don’t think so, I think I’m already as big as I can get.”
“Charlie, I don’t understand. Why … why are they afraid of that? Do they think I will squish you—when I sit on your tummy?”
“Weeell—maybe you might squish me just a little bit.”
“So—um, we can fix that, Charlie. You can sit on my tummy—cause you won’t squish me when me I’m big like daddy.”
“I …I … Well I’m not so not sure that would be okay.”
“Why, Charlie? I, don’t get it.”
“Well, maybe … maybe it’s, ’cause … um, we are different in some other ways.”
“Okay … so we make the different stuff go away, and we make everything the same.”
“I don’t think we can do that, Casper!”
“I don’t understand. You are my friend; you make me laugh, and you let me sleep on your tummy. Why are they afraid of that?”
“Maybe the same stuff is just not as scary as the different stuff is.”
“Charlie, I’m sorry—but I still don’t understand it. What can be so … different?”
“Well—maybe it’s ’cause I eat green stuff … an you eat, um … meat stuff.”
“Oh, okay—I see. Um … no I don’t. Why is that scary?”
“Well, maybe they think, maybe they think—um—that you might wanna eat me.”
“Oh—you make me laugh, and laugh, Charlie, you’re so funny.”
“I wasn’t doing the funny-funny, thing, small one.”
“You means they really … really think that I would eat you?”
“I think so, Casper”
“Do they eat meat, Charlie?”
“Yep, at least I think some of ‘em do.”
“Do they eat … do they eat their friends, Charlie?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Then I don’t understand it. If they don’t eat their friends, what is different? Why are they silly-scared that I would eat you?”
“I’m just not sure, Casper.”
“So—what else is so different, Charlie?”
“Well, I look different than you do.”
“Do—all their friends look just like they do?”
“No, I don’t think so. But maybe—maybe, they only have friends who are all the same. So no one can be silly-scared of being more different.”
“I still don’t understand it—Can I only have friends that are exactly the same as I am?”
“I think maybe … yes, Casper.”
“I don’t like that … I think that’s so silly-silly. Charlie, how else are we different?”
“Well—mmm—I’m not sure?”
“I can’t think of differents—but I can thinks of sames.”
“What sames cans you think of, Casper?”
“Well, Charlie, if you get hurt, you cry, and go tell your momma … just like I do. Don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“And if you cut yourself you’ve got that red blood stuff that comes out all icky … just like I do. Don’t you?”
“Well … yes, Casper, yes I do.”
“So, more sames—than differents—hey, Charlie?”
“Differents, are more scary for them, Casper.”
“Why don’t they just close their eyes … ’cause then, well, then they wouldn’t see, the differents?”
“Casper … that’s a good idea … but, I dont think it would work.”
“Why, Charlie?”
“’Cause—um—they would have to keep their eyes shuts all of the time … and that would silly-scary them even more?”
“Cause … they would falls off cliffs or something, Charlie?”
“Uh—huh, that would be bad, Casper.”
“Charlie? Will the sun still wake up over the trees, if we be friends?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Will it still go to sleep, behind the big hills, if we be friends?”
“I think so.”
“Will we still have a mommy and daddy, Charlie?”
“Yes, Casper.”
“Will we still have other friends, Charlie?”
“Charlie … Will … we still have other friends?”
“I … just don’t know about that for sure, Casper.”
“Oh—that is too, too sad, Charlie. It be water in my eyes sad. ‘Cause I like my other friends too.”
“I know, little buddy. It makes me crying sad too.”
“Charlie, I’m silly-scared now—what do we do?”
“I don’t know exactly, Casper. I am thinkin’ about it very hard.”
“Charlie, I don’t want to be your unfriend. Maybe we can run away, someplace where they do not care about those differents things … where they just care about the sameness. Do you think we can, Charlie? Where is a place we can go?”
“I have never, ever heard of a place likes that, Casper.”
“Never … ever?”
“Not ever, Casper.”
“Charlie? Charlie … you think maybe we can find one, if we look, and look … and look some more?”
“We can try. Are you sure you want to go looking and looking?”
“I am surely-sure, Charlie. I thinks if we look long and look real hard … we’ll maybe find us a place, a place where the sames are more special than than differents.”
“Casper, my little buddy, when did you get to be so smart?”
“When I decided to be your friend, Charlie.”
“Charlie?”
“Uh—huh, Casper?’
“Charlie, why is the sky up?”
“That’s a whole other conversation, Casper.”
***
I plan on continuing using Charlie and Casper in future stories I write for my dear little Jacob. They will hopefully mature as he does. I do hope you enjoyed this one. Thanks so much for stopping by.
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