Jake’s Big Ears

A year ago, Jake was still going to kindergarten. He'd liked kindergarten a lot - he played with cars and building blocks there. He also liked it when they sang happy songs with his teacher and the other children.

But most of all, he liked the moments when the teacher sat down at the piano. Then he just closed his eyes and listened to the beautiful tones.

However, this year it was time to start the first grade. Jake couldn’t wait to go to a real school! He learnt to read, write, and count there.

They didn't have toy cars or building blocks at school though, but they had music education, where they could sing, and the teacher showed them all kinds of musical instruments. It was such fun! Not only that, but Jake met a lot of friends at school that he played with during breaks.

When the second semester started, a new boy came to the class. His name was Mike, and he was bigger and stronger than the other boys. On the very first day, he looked at Jake and burst out laughing. He pointed at him, saying:

“Look at this dumbo! If he waved his ears, he could soar up to the clouds!”

The other kids started laughing and Jake turned completely red. He covered his ears with his hands and felt terrible. Even when the teacher came to the class and started to explain the new subjects, Jake felt everything inside him raging. He felt like crying from such embarrassment and humiliation. What should he do now? He'd never noticed before he had such big ears. His mother and father had never once laughed at his ears.

“Your ears grow bigger every day,” said Mike each morning. Gradually,…