Peetie and Nora in the Ditch

[Narrator: A story is always more fun if it has some background sounds or music or something
like that… So, for this story I need some volunteers to do some sounds for us. Here’s what we
need:
● A few of you who can do bird sounds: tweeting, twittering, cooing, cawing…like that.
And some of who could sounds like bees buzzing and like coyotes in the distance.
● About three of you to do roaring motor-bike/ATV sounds…
● About three of you to do kids mocking and insulting…
When I say something about sounds, I’ll hold up my hand and you will add your sounds. If I
forget to hold up my hand, you’ll do the sounds anyway, just at the right time.]
The story goes like this—I think it might be a true story…or not. But it could be
true. There was a girl named Nora…or Dora…or Menora (I don’t remember) she was
about 9 years old (or maybe she was 7…she looked grown-up for her age). She lived by a
tree-covered park at the foot of a mountain (or perhaps a high hill) and she had a friend,
more or less the same age…a boy named Peter. Everyone called him Peetie. Nora was
tall and pretty athletic. Peetie was short and had a bad leg that made it difficult for him
to walk or run easily. The leg was something he was born with and to Nora, it was just a
normal part of Peetie, had been her neighbor and friend since they were babies.

Nora and Peetie had a thing they did often…at least every other week whenever it
wasn’t pouring down rain or snowing or one of them was on a trip or sick. They called
their thing “walking to the falls”.

You see, in the woods behind their houses there was a trail. It was a fairly wide
trail—probably a very old logging road—and it climbed slowly and then more steeply up
to a lovely little waterfall pouring down over a sheer rocky ledge.

In all seasons, they would trudge up the trail heading for the falls—very slowly
because even a little climb was very difficult for Peetie. But he loved the walk even
though it exhausted him. In fact, in the three years they had been walking to the falls,
they had never once made it all the way. When Peetie would finally grow so tired he
couldn’t take another step, they would stop and rest and then turn back and head for
home. Both Peetie’s and Nora’s parents offered to carry Peetie up to the falls many
times, but he always said “No, Nora and I will walk up next time.”

One day, in the spring time, they began their walk near the end of a perfect day.
The birds were twittering, cawing, cooing and croaking in the bushes and trees. Bees
buzzed around flowers blossoming on the banks of the water-filled ditch beside the road
and sounds of coyotes yapping could be heard in the distance.

All of a sudden, the peace was broken by the roar of 4-wheeled motor bikes
rushing up behind them. They turned to see three bikes careening around a curve and
coming straight at them. Nora and Peetie tried to hurry to a wide spot where they could
let the bikes pass but Peetie was not fast enough. One of the bike-riders shouted, “out
of the way slowpokes” and Nora grabbed Peetie and rolled with him into the wet and
muddy ditch as the riders roared past, shouting taunts and insults.

Peetie and Nora finally dragged themselves out of the ditch, wet, muddy, and
bedraggled. They made their way to a log by the side of the road where they sat to
empty the water out of their shoes, to wring out their sox, and scrape some of the mud
off their faces and out of their hair. As they sat there gathering strength enough to make
the walk back down to their homes, they again heard the roar of motor-bikes coming
back down the trail.

Nora was angry and started to rise to her feet saying, “I’m going to tell those
miserable so-and-sos what a bunch of jerks they are…”. But Peetie pulled her back down
and got up himself. As the bikes passed, he shouted at them over the roar, “I hope you
get all you need to be happy. I hope you get all you need to be happy! I hope you get all
you need to be happy!!!”

Nora just stared at Peetie and finally said, “Peetie, have you gone crazy? These
people almost ran us over...we ended up jumping in the ditch, in the water the muck, and
the mud... And you are wishing that they will get all they need to be happy? What’s with
that, silly boy???”
 Peetie smiled at her and replied, “Do you think that if they were really happy, if
they had all they need to be happy, that they would be so thoughtless and cruel and run
down an innocent girl and a boy with a limp and make them roll into the muck?”

Then Peetie turned and started walking—very slowly—toward home. And Nora
was silent and thoughtful the whole way...while the birds tweeted, cooed, and cawed
and the coyotes sang to the moon which was just starting to rise...

Questions and Discussion

● What was Peetie trying to tell Nora?
● What was Nora thinking on the way home?
● If someone did something mean like that to you, how would you normally
respond? What would you do or say?
● Would this story make you think a little differently about your response?
● If the riders had known Nora and Peetie, would they have acted in the same way?
● How is this story about our first principle?