In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. [Ephesians 4:26-27]
"Dorothy and the Dolphin"
“Oh yeah, well you are the stupidest sister in the world!”
Angelo yelled at his sister Dorothy so loud his voice began to crack.
“I am not stupid, Angelo!” Dorothy shouted back her face red with
anger. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.” And she stormed out of
the game room and ran upstairs to her room and slammed the door so loud the
neighbors heard it and then she threw herself on the bed and cried. She hated
fighting with Angelo but she was so mad right now, she didn't know what she
might do. To forget the fight, she turned on her TV in her room and her
favorite cartoon TV show, Donald the Dolphin was on. Soon she was distracted by
the silly, mostly ridiculous things that cartoon characters get to do.
“It must be easy to be a cartoon character.” She heard herself
mutter feeling that she might be drifting off to sleep.
“Its
time for Shakey the Shark to blow up!” The shrill cartoon voice of Donald
the Dolphin woke Dorothy up. She sat straight up and looked for the floor of
her room. But there was no floor. Under her were crayon colored waves of water
but not water because she was walking on them. She panicked and spun around and
everywhere she looked, it was the cartoon world.
“Where am
I?” she said frantically trying to grab a hold of something. But
everything was cartoon reality so it just squished through her hands.
“Why you are here with me Dorothy." said Donald the Dolphin doing a huge
leap from the Skalley Walley Ocean and coming down with a huge SPLASH. Dorothy
actually saw the word SPLASH appear above the cartoon water and then it
splattered everywhere. It got on her but she wasn't wet, just covered in
cartoon goo that quickly disappeared in the next frame.
“Donald,
where is my dad and mom, where is my brother?” Dorothy asked trying to
figure out right away how to get back to real life and out of the cartoon.
“But I thought you wanted to be in a cartoon, Dorothy. Ahoy, Chester
the Chicken!” Dorothy turned around and she was scooped up on a huge
orange and yellow cartoon jet ski. Chester the Chicken was driving and laughing
wildly. The jet ski took off into the sky with just a swirl of exhaust and then
landed on the road near Skalley Wumpkum Town where Chester the Chicken was
mayor.
“We know you are mad at Angelo, Dorothy. Here in cartoon
land, we can give you lots of funny ways to get back at him.” Chester said
in a voice that was always too high and too low but never in the middle.
‘SHALZOOM!” Chester said and a cartoon version of Angelo appeared.
Dorothy almost ran to him until he started popping his eyes out and turning his
feet into springs. Then she knew he was just a cartoon.
“As
mayor of Shalley Wumpkum Town, you are guilty of making Dorothy mad Angelo and
so your sentence is SHALZOOM!” All of a sudden, a massive rock dropped
form nowhere and squished the cartoon Angelo. Dorothy screamed but then he
oozed out the side of the rock and popped right back into the shape of cartoon
Angelo.
“Wowzie Zowzie, that stung!” Cartoon Angelo said
laughing.
“Now you get to try one Dorothy. Make Angelo pay for
making you mad.” Chester insisted.
“But I don't want Angelo
to get hurt!” She insisted.
“Well then I will do it!”
Chester said and he opened a wood door in his chicken belly and said
“SHALZOOM”.
An angry swarm of cartoon insects surged out of
the door and went directly toward Angelo. Each one did two loop-de-loops and
then stung him in the behind. Angelo started running down the road whooping and
jumping. Dorothy didn't know what to do. This is all so silly and meaningless.
What she needed was some real wisdom from someone she trusted to help her with
her anger at Angelo.
“Oh I wish I was with someone wise.”
She said as she began to run at super fast speed on her cartoon legs that had
turned into wheels and she passed Angelo but then shot off a huge cliff and was
falling, falling falling…………
“Oh!” she
awoke with a start.
“Are you ok sweetie?” she heard a very
real human voice. It was Grandpa. She was dozing on his lap. “I think you
had a nightmare.”
“I did Grandpa. I was a cartoon in the
Donald the Dolphin show and I was mad at Angelo and they were making me do
awful things to him and and and…” she started to pour out what she
saw there.
“Shush little girl” Grandpa said as only he
could do. “You are safe here now. You are angry at Angelo and you don't
know what to do?” He asked.
“Yes and I said some terrible
things to him before I went to my room and pouted and went into the cartoon
world and I felt just terrible and I don't know how to forgive him and I know I
need to ask his forgiveness and, and and….” She continued
demonstrating that she had not yet learned to talk in more than one sentence.
“Dorothy,” said Grandpa. “You don't need the magic of
cartoons to make everything right. You have a secret super power. It's called
forgiveness. If you will forgive Angelo, your heart will fill with love for him
again and all those awful feelings will go away.” He told her giving her
that wisdom she had been begging Chester the Chicken for.
“But
how Grandpa?” Dorothy said confused.
“You know how Jesus
forgave you of all your sins and came into your heart?” Grandpa said.
“Oh yes Grandpa. He forgave me of everything and made me clean
inside.”
“Well just go to that place in your heart where
Jesus is and ask him to help you give the forgiveness to Angelo that he gave to
you when he died for you and rose again. The Holy Spirit will throw that
resentment and anger right out of your heart and you will forgive him in a deep
place and then it will be easy to go ask him to forgive you.”
“I can feel it already Grandpa. I think Jesus has already given me the
secret super power of forgiveness. I am going to go make up with Angelo right
now. Thank you Grandpa.” She said happily hugging his neck and she hopped
down and ran to the door.
“Isn't there one more thing you need
to do today after you make up with Angelo?” Grandpa called to her. Dorothy
stopped and thought about it and then laughed her happy little girl giggle.
“There sure is Grandpa.” She said. “I am going to quit
watching the Donald the Dolphin cartoon show right away!’
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” [Mark 11:24-25]
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50
Children's Christian Stories in one handy volume. This is a perfect
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Babysitters or anyone wanting to share a story with a child or children that
may have a positive inpact on their future value system.
