The Rat Boy

Once upon a time there was a naughty boy called Timmy. He loved to make mischief at school, and interrupted classes all the time. He would pull girls’ pigtails and hide their pencil cases, throw scraps of paper around the classroom… you name it, he did it. Oh how many times his teacher had tried to talk some sense into him, and his mother had given up scolding him already. They didn’t know what to do with him. Timmy was simply cheeky and rude. He never helped his parents at home and never wanted to do his homework.

One day on his way to school, he came across an old lady. She had slipped and fallen.

“Will you help me to get up, please, son?” she asked him.

The boy couldn’t hide his surprise, asking: “And why would I? I must hurry to school, you see.” He even quickened his pace.

In front of the school gate, he bumped into his classmate Mindy. Timmy grabbed her bag and threw it as far as he could. All her crayons spilled out on the ground and her exercise books got covered in mud.

“Why did you do that, Timmy?” Timmy spun around, as he heard a voice seemingly coming from nowhere.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Answer my question first. Why do you always do evil to others? You should really think about your behaviour,” continued the voice.

That’s when Timmy noticed who was talking. A tiny little elf with a green cap, a grey beard and a pointy nose was looking at him.

“Stop teaching me, you green shorty!” snapped Timmy, trying to give the tiny chap a good shove, but the elf swiftly jumped aside.

“I am Justin, the elf of justice. If you don’t apologise for…