The Boy with the Big Ear: (Older Children version)

The school bully, Tom, picks on the boy with the big ear mercilessly. However, one afternoon Tom is in peril and it is the boy with the big ear who hears Tom's cries and rescues him. Tom perceives the boy with the big ear in a new light, and for the first time Tom asks, "What is your name?"The concept of a common emergency bringing together strangers is not new, although in this story the author writes with freshness and a simple child-like openness that make accessible to adults and children alike the deeper theme concerning those emotions that simultaneously bind humanity, yet set us in opposition to one another.The concept and its attending theme succeed completely. The reason for the success lies in the story's ability to demonstrate, without preaching, its subtext, which stirs the adult reader's memory, and causes the juvenile to question their own feelings as both victim and bully, and demonstrates the broad strokes that unite humanity creating successful relationships.The plot is a simple three-act structure, which moves us seamlessly and with continued forward motion through the story to its conclusion.In the first act, we open with the conflict, a physical malady making the boy with one big ear a natural victim.In the second, we explore how the boy deals, or fails to deal with his challenge. In truth, it is revealed that he is a sweet child, not a fighter; he would rather have a friend.The third act resolution succeeds when the higher nature in us all is demonstrated by his ability to change his perception of this strange boy and to pay attention to his own higher nature - his conscience.What made the story quite beautiful for this adult reader is that the two boys actually heal each other's pain through opening up to their emotions, which leads them on a short journey into their higher selves. The reader found this story to be an important reminder for adults in today's world, as well as a first lesson for children. M.L. 'Max' Roth