It’s Not Fair (.... that I’m Little)
Kitty was the smallest girl in her class. Ususally she did not care. She could swim well, and run as fast as most people and once came first in the egg and spoon race on Sports Day. So it did not matter. That was what Kitty thought.
But one day something happened to make her change her mind. It was one of those days wehen nothing went right.
First of all, there was a new boy in Kitty’s class. His name was Tom, and he was very, very tall. Kitty didn’t like him very much, because he called her “Shrimp”.
The whole class was working on a mural in paint and cut-out paper, and on this day Kitty and Tom and two other children were chosen to do special extra work on it.
Kitty was very excited. She loved painting – especially when you could be really messy. That was why she wanted to paint the sky, with lovely big fluffy clouds floating along. But each time she tried Tom laughed at her. “You can’t reach”, he said. “You’re too small”. And he leaned over her head, and did the bit she wanted to do.
At break she found someone had put her jacket on one of the higher pegs she could not reach, and she wouldn’t ask Tom or anyone to get it down. So she went outside without it, and felt cold. The the play-ground helper told her off for not wearing a coat.
“I couldn’t reach it”, said Kitty, in a small voice.
“Oh, you’re such a dear little thing”, said the aldy, naicely.
Kitty sighed. It really was not fair.
Then it was the games lesson, when the girls had to play netball. They were learning to stop each other getting the ball. You had to dodge quickly, and jump very high. Kitty wasn’t very good at that.
Today she was worse than ever. She did not get hold of the ball once. All the other girls had longer arms and legs, and it seemed easy for them. Afterwards one of the girls said something that hurt Kitty very much. “No one will want you in their team, Kitty. You’re to tiny”.
Kitty was very quiet when sehe got home. Her mum noticed. At last Kitty burst into tears. “It’s not fair that I’m little”, she sobbed.
Kitty told her mum everything. Mum nodded. “It isn’t easy. I was small then was a little girl, and you ask Daniel what they say to him in school”
Surprised, Kitty went to find her big brother to ask him. He made a face. “They sometimes call me Shorty”, he said. “But it’s always very friendly, So I dont mind!”
“Are you small to?”
“Yes. But I’d rather be me than the boy in our class who’s so tall and thin they call him Stringy”.
“You see”, said Mum, “most people have got something about themselves tehy would like to change. When you know that, it makes you feel better about yourself”.
Kitty thought about that, and she made a plan. The next day, at playtime, she made herslef feel brave enough to go up to Tom when we standing on his own.
“Tom, can I ask you something?”, she said.
“What, Shrimp?”
“If you had one wish, what would you change about yourself?”
The tall boy looked surprised. Then he went pink, and wishpered, “My hair. I hate my hair”. Kitty looked at it. It was orange-brown. She thought it was rather nice.
“at my old school they called me carrots”., he said, “and it wasn’t fair. But don’t you tell anyone, will you Shrimp?”
Kitty said she wouldn’t.
Then she found Susie, the big strong girl who had said Kitty was no good at netball, and asked her the same question. Susie answer quickly, “My size, because I feel like an elephant. I’d like to be smaller. I’d like to be like you”.
“Like me?”, Kitty amazed
Susie nodded.
Kitty looked around the playground, at all the children running around. Some tall, some small. Some fat, some thin. Some dark, some fair. Some shy, some bold. Some who could sing, some who could swim. Some dainty, some clumsy.....
“We’re all different”. She said to herself, “and I suppose that’s fair!”
