Charlie Char Char is a wise old cat, who swishes his tail this way and that.

There are many little girls and many little boys and they come in all sizes and colors. Most are nice but some are mean. One thing Charlie Char Char knows: it is better to be nice than to be mean.

"I once met a cat who was tough and mean. He picked on all the little kitties and made them feel bad. At first I was going stand up for my friends and fight him. Later, I found out he was bullied at home and that made him feel bad. So, to make himself feel better he had to bully others.

"I wonder," thought Charlie the Cat. Then he walked up to the mean orange cat and said, "I think you are worthy and have good things about you. But you are wrong when you bully people."

"You think I'm worthy?" said the bully orange cat.

"Yes, and if you started treating people nice, all the other kitties would see it, too."

"Okay," he said. "I'll try. How do I start?"

"Well, when I do something wrong I always find it best to apologize and then try to fix what I did wrong. You made them feel bad. Now you should try to make them feel good about themselves.

"May be you could carry the little kitties' backpacks. Show them how to a hit a ball. Tell the kitty with glasses that you are happy she won the spelling bee. Share a bowl of milk with a kitty who doesn't have one. Or you like the way he/she sings.

"When you do good things for others, others will do good things for you. Believe me, it is better to be nice than it is to be mean. That way you can have friends around to laugh and play."

"Hmm," said the big orange cat. "I like what you say. Now I understand I do have a choice in how I treat people. I would rather have friends and smile again. I have decided! I want to be nice and kind. I don't want to be a mean bully anymore."

"Hurray," said Charlie, happy that his new friend is nice again. "It is better to see you with a smile than a frown."

It's good that Charlie's friend stopped being a bully. But Charlie knows not all bullies are so easy to change. You can show some bullies that it's not nice to be mean and they might change. Other bullies you have to stand up to, or just stay away. But for those bullies who won't change, you will have to go to an adult for help.

Once again little girls, once again, little boys, I am really proud of you. Hurray, for being nice and kind! You make me smile.