Muddy Sneakers

I told him not to go that far into the mud; warned him that his shoes would get stuck.  However, I am a firm believer in learning through living, so I did not intervene.  I watched him try to lift his feet; they were stuck!  I walked into the mud and grabbed onto his arms as we eased his feett, sneakers and all, out of the mud.  A few of the children laughed while he stumbled to his feet, and I kindly reminded them that they shouldn't laugh at someone's misfortune. 

He cried and cried.  We walked over and found some leaves to wipe off the excess mud.  He continued to cry.  I talked to him, let him know that it was okay to be muddy.  The school day was almost over and surely mommy had a washing machine at home that would make them good as new.  He cried harder.  Finally, one of my little girls intervened.

She squatted down in front of him; her too-big dress billowed around her ankles and her pigtails discheveled from play.  She cocked her head to the side and said, "Don't worry!  Last week, I stepped in mud and my shoes were muddy too!  But, I didn't cry because I knew that my mommy would be able to get all the mud out and make them good as new!  And, look!"  She kicked her foot out from under her dress and proudly displayed her sparkling clean shoe.  The little boy cracked his very first smile and finally began to calm down. 

A few minutes later, I went over to her to thank her for her kindness; "That was a wonderful thing to do for your friend!  Thank you for sharing your story with him and being so sweet.  I really appreciated your help."  She smiled and waved me over so she could whisper in my ear, "I made up that story.  My shoes were never muddy!  I just know that I feel better when someone else tells me they did the same thing!"  She pulled away and I winked at her, letting her know it would be our secret.  She returned my wink and walked over to her friends that were examining a frog. 

The empathy that young children are capable of is forever surprising to me.  After their little "talk," she continued to check on him on the way back to the classroom.  She assured him several times that she would not laugh at him for falling down or sinking in the mud, and that his shoes would get clean.  What a beautiful world it would be, if only adults were so kind to one another...