The Naughtiest Girl Again Read online

  Robert was delighted to see his name down, but for all his pleasure he was really very anxious indeed. He knew Elizabeth and Joan were going to report him at the Meeting and he was not looking forward to that. He was a little coward at heart, and he was afraid. So when Friday came, Robert looked rather anxious. If only the Meeting were after Saturday, so that he could play in the match first! How marvellous that he had been chosen and not Elizabeth! Serve her right, the interfering girl! The time for the Meeting came. The children took their places, looking rather solemn, for they knew it was going to be a serious one.

  Chapter 12: A Very Serious Meeting

  Even the smaller children felt rather solemn, as the whole School took their places in the big gym. Leslie had told everyone in his form that he was going to report the big boy, Robert, and some of the younger ones, who disliked Robert very much, had made up their minds that they too would tell about him if they had the chance

  «I should have told the truth about him when I was asked at the other Meeting», said Peter. «He did swing me much too high and made me sick – and afterwards he came to me and said he would open the door of my guinea-pigs' cage and let them escape, if I dared to say anything against him. So I didn't dare. But I wish I had now.»

  William and Rita looked rather grave as they took their places at the table up on the platform. Rita had told William of the mean tricks that had been played on Jenny to get her into trouble, and the two Judges knew that they might have a rather difficult time trying to get at the bottom of things. Still, Miss Belle and Miss Best, and Mr. Johns too, were at the back of the room. They could help if things got too difficult. Robert looked pale. Elizabeth was red with excitement and so was Jenny. Joan was excited too, though she didn't show it. The usual business was done with the box of money. The two shillings were given to everyone, and extra was allowed to two children for something they wanted. Then the Meeting got down to the real business of the evening.

  «Any complaints or grumbles?» asked William, tapping on the table with his hammer.

  Up jumped Elizabeth and Leslie, both together. «Elizabeth was first», said Rita. «Sit down, Leslie. Your turn will come later.» Leslie sat down. Elizabeth began to speak, her words almost tumbling over one another in her haste.

  «William and Rita, I have a very serious complaint to make», she said. «It's the same one as Leslie was going to make. It's about Robert.»

  «Go on», said William, with a grave face.

  «You will remember that I reported him for bullying Peter», said Elizabeth. «And because there wasn't enough proof of that, and because I lost my temper with Robert, the Meeting didn't punish Robert, and made me apologise to him. Well, listen to this!»

  «Keep calm, Elizabeth», said Rita. «Don't get so excited.»

  Elizabeth tried to speak calmly, but she did dislike Robert so much that it was difficult not to sound in a rage all the time. «Well, William and Rita, Joan and I actually raw Robert bullying Leslie», said Elizabeth. «He made him sit on the hot-water pipes! And another thing we have found out is that he made Peter promise not to complain about being swung so high. He said he would let all Peter's guinea-pigs out of their cage if Peter dared to say anything against him at the Meeting. I was quite right – he is a horrid bully!»

  «Don't call people names like that», said Rita. «Wait till the whole Meeting has judged, Elizabeth. Have you anything more to say?»

  «Yes, I have», said Elizabeth. «And it's this: Not only has Robert been unkind to the younger ones, but he has been perfectly horrid to me and Jenny too. He has got us into all kinds of trouble by playing mean tricks on us.»

  «What tricks?» asked William, looking very worried.

  «Well, he took three of my books and hid them somewhere where I can't find them», said Elizabeth. «He took my garden tools and dirtied them so that John scolded me. He put two of Jenny's white mice into Miss Ranger's desk and they escaped, and Jenny never found them!»

  «Is that true, Jenny?» asked William. Jenny stood up.

  «It's quite true», she said. «I never found my poor little mice again. I don't mind a trick being played on me, William, but it's cruel to play it on my pets.»

  «Sit down, Jenny», said William. He spoke to Rita, and then turned to the School again. «Leslie, stand up and say what you have to say», he said.

  The cheeky little Leslie stood up. He felt rather important. He put his hands in his pockets, and began rather cheekily. But William cut him short. «Take your hands out of your pockets, stand up properly, and remember that this is a serious affair», he said.

  Leslie took his hands out at once, and went red. He lost some of his cheeky look, and began to speak in a polite tone. He related exactly what had happened, and the Judges and Jury heard him patiently to the end.

  «And now we should like to hear what Peter has to say», said Rita.

  The small Peter got up. His knees were shaking again, for he was greatly in awe of the Head Boy and Girl. He stammered as he spoke. «P-p-please, William and Rita, Robert d-d-did swing me too high that time», he said. «And I was sick afterwards.»

  «Then why did you tell an untruth about it when we asked you?» asked William.

  «Because I was afraid to tell the truth», said poor Peter. «I was afraid of Robert.»

  «You must never be a coward», said William gently. «It is much finer to be brave, Peter. If you had been brave and had told the truth, we could have stopped Robert from bullying others. Because you were afraid, you have been the cause of others being ill-treated, and you made us disbelieve Elizabeth, and made her unhappy. Remember to tell the truth always, no matter how hard it seems at the time. We shall all think much more of you if you do.»

  «Yes, William», said poor Peter, making up his mind that he would never be a coward again.

  «You could have told your monitor about it, even if you were afraid to tell the Meeting», said William. «That is why we choose monitors – because we hope that their common sense will help us. Sit down, Peter.»

  Peter sank down, glad that he hadn't to say any more. William looked at Robert, who was sitting looking sulky and unhappy. «And now, Robert, what have you to say?» he asked. «Serious complaints have been made against you. Are they true?»

  «Only one complaint is true», said Robert, standing up. He spoke in such a low voice that the Jury could not hear him.

  «Speak up», said William. «What do you mean – only one complaint is true? Which complaint?»

  «It is quite true that I made Leslie sit on the hot-water pipes», said Robert, «but anyway they weren't very hot. But I did NOT play any tricks on Elizabeth and Jenny. Not one! Not one!»

  «Oooh!» said Elizabeth. «You did, Robert! I saw how pleased you were each time I got into trouble!»

  «Silence, Elizabeth!» said William. «Robert, you say you did not play the tricks that Elizabeth described. Now you did not tell us the truth last time, when you told us about Peter and the swing. It will be difficult for us to believe you this time, because we shall all think that again you may be telling us untruths to get yourself out of trouble.»

  «Well, I am telling the truth this time!» said Robert fiercely. «I didn't play those tricks. I don't know who did – I jolly well know I didn't! I don't like Elizabeth, I think she's a horrid, interfering girl, but I'm not mean enough to play tricks like that to get her into trouble – and why should I play tricks on Jenny? I don't dislike Jenny. I tell you, somebody else is to blame for those tricks.»

  Most unfortunately for Robert, there was not one person in the school, except Kathleen of course, who believed him. They all remembered that he had told an untruth before, and they felt certain that he was doing so again. William knocked on the table with his hammer, for the children had begun to whisper together.

  «Silence!», he said. «Now, we have a very serious matter to attend to. Three charges have been made against one boy. First, that he bullies smaller children than himself. Second, that he has played mean tricks t
o get two girls into trouble. Third, that he tells untruths. The Jury and Rita and I are going to discuss the matter to see what must be done about this, and the rest of you can also discuss it among yourselves, so that if anyone has a good idea, they may bring it forward in a few minutes.»

  The School began to chatter. The Jury and the Judges talked together in low tones. They all looked extremely serious. Robert sat by himself, for the boys next to him had gone to talk to the children behind. He felt dreadful. Why, oh why had he been stupid enough to bully the younger ones? Why must he always be so unkind to the little ones? Now perhaps he would be sent home and his mother and father would be very angry and upset.

  Miss Belle and Miss Best looked very serious too. Mr. Johns said a few words to them, and then the three of them waited to see what the Judges would say. They never interfered with the School Meeting unless they were asked to. After a little while Rita and William knocked on the table for silence. The whole School sat up. Surely the Judges and Jury hadn't decided so quickly! What were they going to say?

  «Miss Belle, and Miss Best, and Mr. Johns, we feel we would like your help today», said William gravely. «Would you please give us your advice?»

  «Of course», said Miss Best, and the three Heads came up on to the platform. And then began a strange talk that was going to make all the difference to Robert's school life!

  Chapter 13: Robert Gets a Chance

  The whole School was now looking very solemn and serious. Not a smile was to be seen anywhere. Everyone stopped talking as the three head teachers took their places on the platform, on chairs that the Jury quickly fetched for them.

  «The matter had better be openly discussed», said Miss Belle. «Let us take one complaint at a time. First of all, this question of bullying the smaller ones. Now, have we ever had any cases of bullying since you became our Judges, William and Rita?»

  «No», said William. «But I remember there was a case when I was much lower down in the school. Will it be in the Book?»

  The Book was a record of all the complaints made by the children, and of how they had been dealt with, and what the results were. It lay on the table, a big brown volume half full of small writing. Each Judge had to enter in a report of the Meetings held, because Miss Belle and Miss Best said that sometime the Book might be a great help.

  Now William took up the Book and began to look back through the pages. At last he found what he wanted. «Here it is», he said. «A girl called Lucy Ronald was accused of bullying younger children.»

  «Yes, I remember», said Miss Belle. «We found out the cause of her bullying. Read it, William, and see what it was. It may help us with Robert.»

  William read it quickly to himself. Then he looked up. «It says here that it was found out that Lucy had been an only girl for seven years, and then she had twin baby brothers brought to live with her in her nursery», he said. «And her mother and father gave all their attention to them, and so did the nurse, so that Lucy felt left out. She hated the babies because she thought that her parents gave them the love they bad always given to her.»

  «Go on», said Miss Belle.

  «Well, she couldn't hurt the babies because they were never left alone», said William. «So she worked off her feelings of dislike and jealousy on other children – she always chose the smaller ones because they couldn't hit back, and because they were small like her baby brothers.»

  «And I suppose the habit grew and grew until she couldn't stop it», said Rita, interested. «Is that how bullies are made, Miss Belle?»

  «It's one of the commonest ways», said the Headmistress. «But now, we must find out if Robert's fault is caused in the same way.»

  The whole School had been listening with great interest to this discussion. Everybody knew what a bully was, and nobody liked bullies at all. The children looked at Robert to see if he was listening too. He was. He gazed at William, and didn't miss a word.

  «Well», said Mr. Johns, «we'll find out if Robert has anything to say now. Robert, have you any brothers or sisters?»

  «I've two brothers, five years and four years younger than I am», answered Robert.

  «Did you like them when they were small?» asked William.

  «No, I didn't», said Robert. «They took up everybody's time, and I didn't have a look in. Then I got ill, and nobody seemed to bother about me as they used to do, and I knew it was because of James and John, my little brothers. Well, when I got better, I just seemed to hate little children, and I began to pinch them and be horrid to them. I pretended they were James and John, I couldn't do it to them because nobody would let me, and I would have got into such a row.»

  «And so a bully was made!» said Mr. Johns. «You made war on other children because you couldn't get rid of the two small brothers whom you thought took your place at home! Poor Robert! You make yourself much more unhappy than you make others.»

  «Well, people have called me a bully ever since I was about five», said Robert sullenly. «So I thought I was one – something that couldn't be helped and that I couldn't stop!»

  «Well, it can be helped, and you can stop it yourself», said Miss Best. «You see, Robert, once you understand how a bad habit began, and how it grows, you also understand how to tackle it. Now that we know why you became a bully, I am sure that none of us really blames you. It was just unlucky for you. You aren't really a bully – you are just an ordinary boy who took up bullying because you were jealous of two small brothers. You can stop any time, and change to something that is really you!»

  «I remember being awfully jealous of my little sister», said Belinda. «I know how Robert felt.»

  «So do I», said Kenneth. «It's a horrid feeling.»

  «Well, it's quite a natural one», said Miss Belle. «Most of us grow out of it, but some don't. Robert just hasn't – but he will now that he sees clearly what has happened. It isn't anything very dreadful, Robert. But doesn't it seem rather silly to you that a boy of your age should be teasing and bullying Peter and Leslie just because years ago a feeling of jealousy grew up in your heart for your two young brothers? It's time you put all that behind you, don't you think so?»

  «Yes, it is», said Robert, feeling as if a light had suddenly been lit in the darkness of his mind. «I'm not really a bully. I want to be kind to people and animals. I didn't know why I was the opposite – but now that I do know it will be easy to change. I feel different about it already. I'm sorry I was so beastly to other children all these years. But I'm afraid no one will trust me now – they won't help me!»

  «Yes, we will, Robert», said Rita earnestly. «That is the great thing about Whyteleafe School – that we are all willing to help one another. There isn't a boy or girl in this school who would refuse to help you, or to give you a chance to show that you are quite different from what you have seemed.»

  «What about Elizabeth!» said Robert at once.

  «Well – we'll ask her», said Rita. «Elizabeth, what do you think about it?»

  Elizabeth got up. Her mind was in a whirl! So Robert the bully wasn't really a bully – he was just a boy who had got a wrong idea about himself because of something that had happened years ago. It seemed verv strange. Was it true? She didn't believe that Robert would change! And what about all those horrid tricks that had been played on her and on Jenny!

  «Well – », said Elizabeth and stopped. «Well – of course I'll help if Robert wants to. After all, you all helped me last term when I was dreadful. But I can't forgive him for playing those mean tricks on me and Jenny. I think he should be punished for those.»

  «I tell you I didn't do them!» burst out Robert.

  «Somebody must have done them», said Rita. «If Robert didn't do them, who was it? Is the boy or girl brave enough to own up?»

  Nobody said a word. Kathleen went red but looked down at the floor. She had begun to feel rather dreadful now that Robert had been accused of her tricks.

  «William and Rita, you didn't believe me before when I complained about
Robert», said Elizabeth. «And I was right. It isn't fair of you not to believe me row. I'm sure I'm right.»

  The Jury and Judges talked together. They found it very hard to decide anything. Then William spoke. «Well, Elizabeth, you may be right. We did not believe you last time – and this time we will not believe Robert. We will try to make things fair between you by saying that you may play in the match tomorrow, instead of Robert. Nora says that you were disappointed that you were not chosen.»

  «Oh, thank you!» said Elizabeth. Robert stood up. He looked unhappy.

  «Very well», he said. «I quite see that it's my turn to give way to Elizabeth this time, as she had to apologise to me last time when I told untruths. But I do say again and again that I didn't play those tricks.»

  «We won't say any more about that», said William. «Now, Robert, we've been talking about how we can help you. Mr. Johns says that the best thing we can do for you is to let you take care of something or somebody, so that it's easy for kindness to take the place of unkindness. You love horses, don't you?»

  «Oh yes!» said Robert eagerly.

  «Well, although your form are not allowed to have anything to do with the horses except ride them, we are go ing to make another rule just for you», said William. «You will choose two of the horses and make them your – special care. You will feed them, water them, and groom them. When your class goes riding, you may choose one of the younger children to ride the second horse, and help him all you can.»

  Robert listened as if he could not believe his ears. Good gracious! Choose two horses for his own special pets – look after them each day! This was a thing he had always longed to do, for of all animals the boy loved horses best. He loved them with all his heart. He felt as if he could weep for joy. He didn't care about not playing in the match now! He didn't care about anything. He felt a different boy.