YAISHWARYAJ: {Awareness} Playing War

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Pedagogical Project

"The Joy of Reading"

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Dear Readers,

We would like to invite you to take part in a new project called "From Stories to Books".

The Stories for Everyone Team have been, for some time, gathering and selecting books that provide some sort of reflection on the fundamental ethical principles of

our society, such as solidarity, courage, honesty, respect for differences and a sense of justice, matters that have deserved the attention of writers from various

nationalities.

Therefore, the Stories for Everyone Team proposes to send, together with the usual weekly stories,and also free of charge, full texts of selected books.

In case you are interested in receiving each week, by email, a chapter of an extensive reading book, all you have to do is send an email to

books@storiesforeveryone.com or stories4ev@gmail.com by writing the following sentence in the subject field:

"Yes, I am interested in participating in the project From Stories to Books."

Hoping that this new proposal will meet your utmost interest, we look forward to your reply.

The Stories for Everyone Team

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This week's stories with PDF attachments:

- Playing War

- Babu´s Song

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Playing War

"Too hot for basketball," Luke said. "Let´s do something else."

They moved to the shade under the willow tree while they decided what to do next.

"Do you have any more water balloons?" Danny asked.

"Nope," Luke said. "I wish we did."

"We could play video games," Sameer suggested with a quick smile.

"No. My mom said we have to play outside"

"I know!" said Jeff. "Let´s play war!"

Luke stood up. "Good idea!"

"What about riding bikes?" asked Jen.

"No," Jeff replied. "War´s the best! We haven´t played it for a while."

"Yeah," Luke added. "We can hide and ambush. Jen, you know you´re good at throwing those grenades!"

Jen smiled.

Luke grabbed a stick and scraped a long line in the dirt. On one side of the line he made a big S. On the other side he drew an E.

"First we have to divide into teams—Soldiers and Enemies."

He took off his baseball cap and carefully put it on the middle of the line. The other kids watched.

Jen leaned over and explained the rules to Sameer. "Everybody finds something to put in the hat. Then we dump it all out on the line and see who plays on the Soldier side and who plays on the Enemy side. It´s how we start the game. Watch—Luke will put his dog tag in the hat. He always does that!"

"What´s a dog tag?" Sameer asked. He had come from another country to live with his aunt and uncle. Sameer had learned basketball quickly, but he didn´t seem to know how to play war.

Luke lifted a shiny metal tag from around his neck and held it out for Sameer to see. "This is a dog tag. It was my uncle´s. He was in a real war once, and when he got back he gave it to me. Soldiers wear them all the time. They´re really important."

Sameer rubbed the shiny tag with his fingers. "I don´t have one of these," he said.

"It doesn´t matter" Luke explained. "No one else does. You can put anything you want in the hat. See, Jen´s using a rock and Danny is using a baseball card."

Sameer reached into his pocket and pulled out a wooden top. "Can I use this?" he asked.

"What is it?" asked Danny. "It´s a top." Sameer grinned. "Maybe you don´t have these here?"

He reached into his pocket for a string. "We had them at home." In an instant the top was whirling at their feet. Sameer popped it up into the air, caught it still spinning, and dropped it into Luke´s hat.

"Nice!" said Luke.

Luke turned the hat over with a flick of his wrist and announced, "The Soldiers are Danny, Jen, and Jeff, and the Enemies are me and Sameer."

Before the others had even moved, Luke was running down the hill. He shouted, "Enemies to the pine grove. Soldiers stay here."

"Come on, Sameer. You´re with me."

Jen yelled back, "No fair starting the war until we´re ready!"

"How do we get ready for a war?" Sameer asked when they reached the trees.

"Pick up sticks for guns, and pine cones to use for grenades and bombs. And we have to make a plan of attack," Luke answered.

Within a few minutes Luke´s hat was full of pine cones. Sameer had just one in his hand.

"Only one?" Luke questioned.

"That´s enough," Sameer said.

"For you, maybe. Not me! I´m going to blow their heads off!"

Sameer handed his pine cone to Luke.

"I just remembered I have to go home early today," he said. And he left Luke standing in the woods.

"Hey, wait up," Luke called after him. "I can´t be the only Enemy. That´s too many against one."

But Sameer was gone.

When the kids gathered the next morning, Luke´s plan was ready. He had collected pine cones in the woods behind his house. They were hidden in piles around the yard.

Luke couldn´t wait to get started. "I wish they had a war for kids," he said. "A real one. We´d beat anybody—big time."

"They do," Sameer said softly.

"What!" Luke challenged. "Where?"

"At home," Sameer answered. He picked up the basketball and dribbled it to the basket. His shot went in.

"Do you mean where you used to live?" Luke asked.

"Yes, my real home, before I came to live with Uncle Mustafa." He made another basket.

"I was in it," Sameer added. This time the ball bounced off the rim.

"You were in what?" Jeff asked.

"A war."

"No way! You haven´t told us anything about that!" Luke said. "A real war? Did they let kids be soldiers? Did you have an M-16?"

Sameer dropped the ball and sat down next to Jen. Even though the kids had played together often this summer, they didn´t know much about Sameer´s life before he came to live in their neighborhood.

"I don´t like to talk about it," he said, taking a breath. "I wasn´t a soldier. Nobody in my family was. But we got in the war anyway, when they blew up our house."

"Who blew up your house?" Jeff asked.

…

(To be continued in the PDF attachment)

Kathy Beckwith; Lea Lyon

Playing War

Gardiner, Tilbury House Publishers, 2005

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Babu´s Song

Bernardi ran hard, kicking the ball toward the goal. His arms pumping and his heart racing, he didn´t care that he was the only boy on the field not wearing a school uniform. He loved soccer and his one concern was making a goal. With a final kick so powerful that it knocked him on his back, Bernardi sent the ball flying past the goalie and into the net.

Bernardi lay on the grassy field, catching his breath. A boy helped him up, then ran after the others going into the school. Bernardi wished he could go to school like the other children. He liked to learn, and thought he could be a good student. Besides, then he could play soccer every day, not just when the schoolboys needed an extra player. Bernardi lived with his grandfather, Babu, and they did not have enough money for school.

Slowly Bernardi walked home.

When Bernardi walked in, Babu gave him a hug. This was how he said hello, because an illness had taken his voice a long time ago.

"Hello, Babu," Bernardi said. "I made a goal today." Bernardi loved telling Babu his soccer stories.

Babu held up a figure made of wood. He pulled a string, and the figure´s jointed arms and legs popped up and down, making Bernardi laugh. Babu was a toy maker. He had only to look at an object and he knew what toy it would become, such as an airplane from a tin can or a whistle from a scrap of wood.

After Babu made his toys Bernardi would sell them. Together they made enough money to live on.

Babu made tea for Bernardi and himself. After they finished Bernardi took an old bag from beside the door, waved good-bye to Babu, and set off for the market. As he walked, Bernardi hummed a tune. It was a song that Babu had sung when he had his voice. Humming it made Bernardi wish Babu could still speak.

"Anything for Babu?" Bernardi asked the vendors when he reached the market.

The vendors gave Bernardi bits of string or paper, anything that Babu might be able to use to make his toys. Mama Valentina, who sold salt, called to Bernardi. She handed him a plastic gunnysack. Bernardi thanked her as he stuffed it into his bag, even though he didn´t think Babu could use it.

As Bernardi walked home, he passed a shop downtown and stopped to look in the window. There among the bright bolts of cloth and shiny pots was a new soccer ball. It was just what he had always wanted. Bernardi pressed his face against the window and looked at the price. It was more than it cost to go to school!

Slowly Bernardi backed away from the window. He did not hum as he walked home.

That evening Babu and Bernardi ate beans and rice by the light of the kerosene lamp. Babu put something by Bernardi´s plate. Bernardi picked it up and held it closer to the light. It looked like a tin of lard. He opened the lid and heard a small tinkling.

"A music box!" Bernardi exclaimed, and listened again. It was rough and tinny, but he recognized the tune. It was Babu´s song.

Bernardi hugged Babu, and together they listened to the music. That night, for the first time in many nights, Bernardi fell asleep listening to Babu´s song.

The next Saturday was a busy one for Bernardi, as it was the day he sold toys to tourists. He set up shop on his favorite corner downtown, arranging the toys on the curb.

Bernardi cranked the music box and listened to Babu´s song tinkle out. He had sold a few things when a woman picked up the music box. She asked how much it was, but Bernardi said it wasn´t for sale.

The woman did not give up. She told Bernardi that she wanted the music box for her collection, but still Bernardi shook his head. The woman held out a handful of money. Bernardi´s eyes widened. It would be more than enough to buy the ball in the store window!

Bernardi picked up the music box. He thought about the brand-new ball and how it would feel when he kicked it. Surely Babu could make another music box.

Bernardi swallowed hard and took the money.

After Bernardi sold all the toys he did not go home. He took the money and headed for the shops down the street.

When Bernardi got home, Babu was cleaning. He looked up at Bernardi holding the empty bag.

"I sold everything, Babu!" Bernardi said, trying to sound cheerful, but then a tear rolled down his face. Babu went over to Bernardi. He wiped his grandson´s face and waited. He knew Bernardi would tell him what was wrong.

Bernardi sniffled. He told Babu about the music box and the soccer. Then he handed the money to Babu. "I couldn´t buy the ball, Babu. It´s your money."

Babu patted Bernardi´s head. Then he placed the money in Bernardi´s hand and held it, to show him that the money belonged to both of them.

Bernardi hung his head. "I don´t want the ball anymore." He held out the money. "Take it, Babu. You decide what to do with the money."

Babu took the money and looked thoughtfully at Bernardi for a long time. Then he broke into a smile, signaled to Bernardi to wait, and walked out the door.

…

(To be continued in the PDF attachment)

Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen

Babu´s Song

New York, Lee Low, 2008

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Sir/Madam,

We are a group of people with some experience in the area of storytelling and we would like to share our project – The Joy of Reading – with everyone who is in touch with children and young people in general but above all with everyone that enjoys reading.

This project consists of sending stories for free on a weekly basis. So this particular e-mail and the ones that will follow it in the next weeks are intended to share some small stories with you. All the stories we send have some values within: respect for nature, tolerance, tenderness, responsibility, solidarity and many more. They all aim at developing the reading skills among young people, as well as allowing some moments of reflection and dialogue about topics connected with human values, which seem to have been somewhat forgotten in these times of materialism and hedonism.

We thank you for your attention and hope you will welcome this project (which, it is important to say, does not have any profitable aims).

If you know anyone interested in receiving the weekly stories by email, let us know by sending their emails to us.

Please let us know your opinion about the project.

Yours faithfully

The Pedagogical Team

sg@storiesforeveryone.com

stories4ev@gmail.com