داستان کوتاه

Elders - MS

It’s time for the mini story. Let’s begin.

There is a man, his name is Bill. Bill is a big strong guy, but despite being a big strong guy, Bill is very gentle. In fact, Bill is quite timid and meek.

What is Bill like?

He is timid and meek.

Who is timid and meek?

Bill. Bill is timid and meek.

Timid means, kind of shy and meek means very quiet and weak. So he’s shy and weak, timid and meek.

Is Bill strong and outgoing?

He’s physically strong, but his personality is timid and meek. Shy, quiet, weak. This describes his personality not his body.

So which is strong his body or his personality?

His body is big and strong.

How about his personality, what is it like?

Timid and meek. His personality is timid and meek. He has been timid his entire life.

There is another man. His name is terrible Tim. Terrible Tim is normal sized.

Though he is smaller than Bill, he’s much meaner. Tim is a bully.

Who is a bully, Tim or Bill?

Tim is a bully.

Is Tim mean or nice?

Tim is mean. He is a bully.

A bully is someone who is mean to those who are weak. Mean to weaker people.

In fact, Tim constantly bullies Bill.

To bully means to harass someone who’s weaker.

Does Bill bully Tim?

No, Bill is not. Bill does not bully Tim. Tim bullies Bill.

So which one is the bully?

Tim. Tim is the bully.

In fact, Tim has bullied poor Bill for many years. Bill has suffered meekly, quietly and shyly and weakly, during this entire time.

How has Bill suffered?

Meekly. Bill has suffered meekly during this entire time.

Whenever terrible Tim sees Bill, he always insults him. He says, ‘hey loser, what’s up?’

What does Tim say?

He says, ‘hey loser, what’s up?’

What’s up means how are you? What’s happening? It’s just a greeting. A loser is someone who always loses, who’s not a winner So does Bill say this?

No not Bill, Tim says this. Tim says, ‘hey loser what’s up?’ Who does he say this to?

He says it to Bill. He’s insulting Bill. He says, ‘hey loser what’s up?

Whenever Tim says this, poor Bill just hangs his head.

To hang your head means that you look down at the ground. Your head goes down.

So who hangs his head?

Bill. Bill just hangs his head.

In addition to verbally abusing Bill, terrible Tim also abuses him physically.

Verbally means with words. Physically with body.

Tim hits Bill in the arm and smacks him in the head. Poor Bill. Well, Bill finally gets fed up with being bullied. He decides to get help.

To be fed up with something means you’re tired of it. You’re sick of it. You don’t like it anymore. You say enough.

So what is Bill fed up with?

Bill is fed up with being bullied. He’s tired of being bullied.

Is Bill fed up with going to the zoo?

No, he’s not fed up with going to the zoo, he’s fed up with being bullied.

Is Tim fed up with bullying Bill?

No. Tim’s not fed up with bullying Bill. Tim likes to bully Bill. Bill is fed up with being bullied.

Because he’s fed up with being bullied, he’s sick of it. What does he decide to do? He decides to get help. First he takes an assertiveness course. He goes to New York City to attend the course and learn how to be assertive.

To be assertive means to be direct. To be strong and direct when you speak. It means to speak strongly and directly, not in a shy way. It’s gonna be opposite of shy, assertive.

Who wants to be assertive?

Bill. Bill wants to be assertive.

Why does he want to be assertive?

He wants to be stronger verbally. He wants to stop the bullying.

Where does he go to learn assertiveness?

New York City. He goes to New York City to take an assertiveness course. He wants to be assertive.

In the course, the teachers teaches Bill how to speak directly and forcefully. Bill learns to look people directly in the eye and to use a loud voice. After the course Bill returns home and the next time he sees terrible Tim, Bill says, ‘stop now, you can’t bully me anymore.’ At first Tim is surprised and he stops. But the next time he sees Bill, Tim ignores him and smacks him in the head. Oh no, poor Bill.

So, Bill goes back to the drawing board.

This is an idiom. To go back to the drawing board means to go back to the beginning.

It means to start again. To plan something new again. To start again.

Does Bill start again?

Yes. He goes back to the drawing board.

Does Bill plan something new again?

Yes. He goes back to the drawing board.

Who goes back to the drawing board?

Bill.

Why does Bill go back to the drawing board?

Because Tim is still bullying him. He must think of something new. He goes back to the drawing board.

This time he decides to take a boxing class at a local gym. Every day he goes to the gym. He puts on gloves and he hits a heavy bag. The trainer makes him work very hard. Bill gets stronger and stronger with his punches. Finally, he decides he is ready for terrible Tim. The next time he sees Tim, he again uses an assertive voice and says, ‘stop now’ Of course, Tim ignores him and smacks him in the head anyway. But this time Bill fights back. He throws a hard punch and hits Tim in the head, on the skull.

What kind of punch does he throw?

He throws a hard punch, a forceful punch.

Who throws a hard punch?

Bill. Bill throws a hard punch at Tim.

Where does the hard punch land? Where does it hit? Which location?

The hard punch lands on Tim’s skull.

The skull is your head bone. It’s the bone of your head.

So Bill throws a hard punch and hits Tim in the skull, directly on his head.

Unfortunately, because he is not wearing gloves, Bill breaks his hand. He grabs his hand and yells ooh. Tim is initially shocked when Bill fights back. He stumbles backwards.

To stumble means to almost trip. To almost fall.

Who stumbles?

Tim. Tim stumbles.

Does he stumble forward or backward?

He stumbles backward.

Does Bill stumble backward?

No, Bill does not stumble backward he just grabs his hand. But Tim stumbles backward. He almost falls backwards.

But then, Tim sees that Bill has hurt his hand. He laughs and says, ‘you’re such a loser’ and then he smacks Bill in the head again. Poor Bill. Well, Bill must wait a few months for his hand to heal. Meanwhile, terrible Tim continues to bully him every day. Finally, once his hand is healed, Bill learns about a self-defense course called Fast Defense. He attends the class. In the class he learns to defend himself against bullies and attackers.

He learns not to use a fist, so that he won’t hurt his hand.

In the defense class, does Bill learn to use a fist, a closed hand?

No, he does not learn to use a closed hand. He learns that he must strike. He must hit with an open hand.

Feeling confident again, Bill confronts terrible Tim. He says, ‘you will never bully me again.’ Tim just laughs and raises his hand to smack Bill again, but Bill is ready. Bill strikes him in the head with his palm, very forcefully.

What is the palm?

The palm is the inside of your hand. When you open your hand the palm is the middle part, not the fingers, it’s the middle part, the palm of the hand.

Does Bill strike Tim with his fist, his closed hand?

No, Bill does not strike Tim with his fist he strikes him with his palm.

Where does he strike with his palm?

He strikes, he hits Tim’s head with his palm.

How does he strike with his palm?

Very forcefully. Very powerfully. He strikes Tim with his palm, in the head.

Tim is stunned. He falls to the ground. Bill says, ‘now apologize.’ Tim hangs his head in defeat and says, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t bully you again.’ Bill feels great.

He decides to become a self-defense instructor so he can help other victims of bullying.

That is the end of our mini story. As usual, use a lot of energy when listening to the mini story. Pause and shout your answers to the questions. Answer with only one, two or three words, short answers. Keep your head up. Keep your shoulders back. Smile.

I will see you next time. Bye for now.