“Thanks,” said Sleek-Fin, accepting Fred’s compliment.
Fred was taken by surprise. He had been taught to be modest, and he might have denied it if
someone had given him a compliment, saying something like, “I’m not really,” or “Obviously, you
don’t know me well.” Yet he felt good when Sleek-Fin accepted his compliment and it appeared that
Sleek-Fin felt good, too.
Just then Fred noticed something. “Did you know you have a bit of seaweed stuck in your blow-
hole?” asked Fred. He wondered why he hadn’t seen it while they had been out swimming.
“Yes,” replied Sleek-fin, “I have been trying to get rid of it for days. I have blown and I have
coughed but that didn’t shift it, and without any arms I haven’t been able to reach up and pick it out.”
“Let me help,” said Fred. So, as Sleek-Fin blew, Fred used his tiny little paws to pull the seaweed
out of Sleek-Fin’s blowhole.
“You were right earlier when you said we were different,” commented Sleek-Fin. “I can swim
and you can’t, but I can take you for a ride if we are friends.”
“And I can use my paws to clear seaweed from your blowhole if we are friends,” added Fred.
After that, Fred always knew that when he was sitting alone in his house and wanted company
all he had to do was take a walk down to the jetty on the bay. It wouldn’t be long before his friend
would turn up, looking up at him caringly, smiling gently, and talking about the things they cared
about in each other. They were very different, but it didn’t matter so much what the differences were
so long as they could share the things they had in common. A dolphin and a mouse!
“A strange relationship,” said Sleek-Fin.
“And a great friendship,” added Fred.
120 Healing Stories, Teaching Stories
EXERCISE 7.1
What are the skills and resources that a child needs to develop appropriate social behaviors?
Have the stories in this chapter triggered ideas of your own? What stories can you offer to help
build the qualities of empathy, kindness, consideration toward others, and genuine human car-
ing? Stories on this theme are likely to include the following:
■ The discovery and acquisition of such prosocial behaviors
■ The cultivation and development of these qualities
■ The application for establishing and maintaining effective, happy relationships