Week 15 Story: Children of a Feather

"Timmy!!!"

The Daycare attendant had yelled this name far too often for her liking.

"Timmy, come over here!"

The menace that was little Timmy strolled over to the long suffering Ms. Susan with an air of innocence that only the most guilty could have.

"Timmy, what did I tell you about tackling the other kids?"

A silence followed.

"I told you that it wasn't nice. Just because you are stronger doesn't mean you have to show it off. Now off to the corner for you, to think about what you've done."

Timmy didn't like this one bit.

"You have to catch me first!" The little devil replied before charging in between Ms. Susan's legs knocking her (and anything else in his path) flat down.

Oh what am I ever going to do? Pondered Ms. Susan, wondering if 27 was early enough to retire.

Suddenly a crash, quickly followed by a loud whining of pain.

As Ms. Susan rounded the corner of the room to see what the fuss was all about she frustratedly said, "Now what have you done this time, Timmy?"

But it was not Timmy. It was a new kid, one of the other attendants must have checked him in.

"Haha!" The young boy exclaimed over his still crying victim. He too ran off with all the grace of a tornado.

Ms. Susan was done for surely. She knew she'd have to quit now. She was far too young for all that white hair.

As she rounded the corner again, fully expecting to see a new disaster brewing with the two children, she was caught by surprise.

There was no fighting, no bickering. Timmy and the new kid were locked in what appeared to be a staring contest.

Ms. Susan stood there motionless until finally the boys seemed to come to an agreement and shook hands in a sign of peace.

"Huh, birds of a feather I guess..."



Author's notes:
Today's story is based of the Jataka tale, "Birds of a Feather" that I read a while back. The original story is about two wild horses and there is a bit of a intrigue plot with a wicked king and some peasants, but I personally enjoyed the horses part of the story best. While reading it, it really reminded me of children on a playground and so I hoped to capture some of that feeling in my retelling.

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