The Outsider Owl
Ollie the owl was not only the best performing student in his class, but he was also the nicest. Since he was young, he learned the value of working hard and respecting his elders. Although he was beloved by his flight instructor, he was hated by his classmates for his success. The yearly owl flight convention was coming up, and they wanted to ruin his chances of qualifying for it. One night, when Ollie was showering, three boys from his classmate replaced his feather shampoo with glue. Once Ollie noticed, it was too late. His feathers were stuck together and he knew he would be unable to compete for this upcoming qualifier if they remained glued. Thankfully, Ollie was not one to give up easily. He went to his local library and researched ways to unstick the glue. After searching through dozens of books, he found that vinegar would do the trick. With only an hour to spare before the beginning of the qualifier, he rushed to find some vinegar and unstick his feathers.
With only 5 minutes until the start of the flight race, he made it to the starting line just in time. The start gun was fired and the owls in Ollie's class all took off. It was clear that Ollie's classmates were working together to keep Ollie in the back, creating barriers that were impossible for him to pass through. However, Ollie did not get free of the glue just to be stopped by his bullies classmate bullies. Only three owls from his class of twenty would qualify for the flight convention- and he was determined to be one of them. Twisting and turning throughout the air, he slowly was able to push through each barrier at a time until he came until the top 5. Two of the snotty girls ahead of him started throwing rocks and twigs back at him to slow him down. Ollie was not surprised by this action, and actually even relieved to see it. He knew that carrying rocks and twigs would slow the girls down, and it was only a matter of time before he found the opportunity to pass them. He ended up finishing in third place and securing a spot to the national flying convention.
At the end of the race, Ollie decided to confront his classmates. He was tired of the way they treated him and wanted to be friends again. After a long conversation, his classmates realized that their actions were wrong and confessed that it was only because they were jealous he was the teacher's favorite and best at everything. Ollie offered to help them improve their flying and as a result the class took their first step towards getting along again. Not only were his classmates now not bullying him, but they became some of his biggest supporters. By the time the national flight convention came around, all of his classmates were in the stands cheering him on to victory. Ollie was very pleased with his first place performance, but was most happy about having his classmates there supporting him.
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Hey!! This was a super cute retelling of Saint Kentigern and the Robin. It made me want to read the original, and I appreciate how you changed your ending to make it more positive and uplifting. I think your character name is clever and creative, and I wanted Ollie to succeed.
ReplyDeleteHi Katie!
ReplyDeleteWhat a very nice story! i loved every single lines of it. It helps sending a message indirectly that bullying is not the right way to do things.
My "wow" moment in this story is how you showed one of the way Ollie the owl got bullied but he didn't give up even after what his classmates had done to him, they tried to make him lose the convention by replacing his shampoo with glue. A lot of people suffer bully in school nowadays but with this story you showed that we cannot let people bully us forever, that we must stand for what we believe is right. That's what you showed when Ollie had a long conversation with his classmates. He stood for what was right.
I "wonder" what would have happened to Ollie if he didn't take the initiative to talk to his classmates. Do you think they could have continued with the bullying?
"What if" you added in the story of the involvement of professors and show how they tried to avoid bullying in the classroom.
But i really enjoyed going through your story. Can't wait to read more.
I really loved this story! Ollie the Owl is such a cute name, and it made me fall in love with him at once. It also was nice to see his determination to succeed and overcome the barriers that were put in his path. I also enjoyed the flip of having them all become friends at the end, it was much happier. I wonder how Ollie was able to forgive them so quickly. I think you give some really good background (he was tired of the fighting), but I think it could have been neat to see some more details about the process. What if he had still been able to get first place at the local competition? It could be interesting to even further highlight that he was such a good flyer that they really couldn't hold him back.
ReplyDeleteThis was such a cute story and I think that Ollie is an immediately lovable character!