Once there was a boy named Tom. He was a good kid in a lot of ways, but he wasn't very kind to people. He didn't mean to be rude, but he just didn't notice how many kind things people did for him.
One day at school, he saw Rudy. Tom noticed that Rudy was eating some Skittles. "Can I have some?" Thomas asked.
"Sure," Rudy replied, and poured a few into Tom's hand.
"Only four!?" Tom complained, as he held out his hand for more. Rudy looked offended. He shrugged his shoulders and gave Tom a couple more, and then quickly turned and went to his classroom.
In class, the teacher asked everyone to take out a sheet of paper and write some vocabulary words down. Tom suddenly noticed his pencil lead was broken. Megan, the girl sitting next to him, noticed the problem, and handed him a pencil for him to use. "This one doesn't even have an eraser!" Tom said. Megan shook her head and muttered, "You're welcome."
That night, Tom's mom asked his sister Jill to set the table while she finished preparing dinner. When Tom sat at the table, he said, "How come I don't have any ice in my cup?" Then he wondered why Jill wouldn't look at him. And why did Mom look so disappointed?
The next day, he saw Rudy on the way into class. "Hey, Rudy!" he said, but Rudy just grunted in his general direction and headed off to class without a glance. Then when he said something funny in class, he noticed that Megan didn't laugh like she used to. And at recess, nobody seemed like they wanted to play with him. "What is everyone's problem?" he wondered.
That night, his mom and dad had a talk with the family about Gratitude. "Gratitude is when you notice that someone else did something nice for you, and you are thankful for it. When you say thank you to people, it lets them know that you noticed, and it lets them know that you care. Saying thank you is good manners. You might be surprised at how much it helps you get along with others to let them know when you are thankful for their help. It makes them feel better, and it makes you feel better. Being thankful makes the world a better place."
Usually Tom goofed around when his parents taught them things like that. But he was kind of sad because of how he thought people were treating him, so he listened in silence. The words really sunk in. He thought back on how he had been treating people. He realized that he hadn't said thank you to Rudy for the candy, nor to Megan for the pencil, nor to Jill for setting the table. Nor to Mom for making dinner. In fact, he realized, he had only been thinking of himself. No wonder he had been feeling so miserable and alone!
The next day, when he saw Rudy on the way in to school, he said, "Hey, Rudy. Thanks for the Skittles the other day. Sorry I acted so greedy."
Rudy looked at him blankly at first, and then said, "That's ok. Do you want some M&Ms?"
"No, thanks," Rudy said. "But I really appreciate the offer!"
While he was waiting for the teacher to start class, he leaned over to Megan and whispered, "Hey, thanks for lending me the pencil the other day. And sorry I complained about it. It was really nice of you to do."
Megan didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. Her smile was even better.
That evening, as his sister Jill started setting the table, he almost said, "Jill, thanks for setting the table." But then another thought donned on him. "Instead of telling her thanks," he thought,"I'll show her." He quietly got the silverware out and set them at each place after she set the plates. Jill froze for a moment to understand what was happening, and then shrugged and kept going.
Tom didn't notice his mom pause in her dinner preparations as she glanced over at him and then smiled to herself as she stirred the sauce.
That night when Tom went to bed, he felt happy inside. Happier than he had in a long time.
The end.
