Follow-up Materials For Courage, Trust, and Gentleness Show
#1
(Note:
These questions can be used for discussion or written assignments.)
I.
Focus on Courage
Definition:
The “cour” part of courage means heart in French.
Courage means heart. Courage
means acting from your heart even if what your heart tells you is hard to do.
A.
THE BOY WITH THE
TAIL
Symbol:
The tail in this story is a symbol.
The American flag stands for all the people, places, things, and ideas
that make up the United States of America.
Likewise, the tail stands for things and/or ideas.
1.
What does the tail stand for in this story?
Hint:
The tail makes Billy different from the other children.
What other things can make one child different from others?
Examples
of Answers:
differences in race, gender, religion, body type, abilities, preferences.
(Have
you ever been teased about any of these differences?)
Hint:
Billy expresses himself by wagging his tail.
How do you express yourself? How
do you show others who you are?
Examples
of Answers: Music, Drama, Art,
Dance, Sports, Hobbies, and Socializing.
(Have
you ever been teased about something you do to express yourself?)
2.
When Billy hid his tail, was that courageous?
Why?
Example
of Answer:
No,
because Billy loved wagging his tail. Courage
is following what your heart tells you to do (which can be difficult).
Billy hid his tail because he was afraid of more teasing.
3.
Was Billy happy after the children stopped teasing him?
Example
of Answer:
No, he was not happy because he was not doing what his heart was telling
him to do.
4.
When did Billy show courage?
Example
of Answer Billy showed courage when
he did what his heart was telling him to do (wag his tail) even if the children
teased him.
B.
PRINCESS SUN
1.
What did Princess Sun’s heart tell her to do?
Example
of Answer: Dance.
Talk with the animals. Talk
with the Sun.
2.
Why was that hard to do?
Example of Answer: Her father, the king, did not like her dancing or talking with the animals or the Sun.
Symbols:
In THE BOY WITH THE TAIL, Billy liked to wag his tail. In PRINCESS SUN,
Princess Sun likes to dance. In
these stories, dancing and wagging (tail) are symbols for self-expression.
3.
When did Princess Sun show courage?
Example
of Answer: Princess Sun shows
courage when she does the things her heart tells her to do: dancing, talking to the animals, talking to the Sun.
II.
Focus on Trust
Definition:
Trust means confidence. Confidence
comes from words meaning “with faith.”
Trust is important especially when things don’t seem to go well at
first. Trust is a good friend of
Courage. Courage tells us to act
from our hearts. Trust tells us to have faith that the answer will come if
things don’t go well at first.
A.
THE BOY WITH THE
TAIL
1.
When does Billy show trust?
Example
of Answer:
Billy shows trust when he tells Princess Sun that he is not happy hiding
his tail. In this way, he asks for
her help.
B.
PRINCESS SUN
1.
When does Princess Sun show trust?
Example
of Answer:
Princess Sun shows trust when she asks the sun to make it rain.
Things have not gone well. There
is a drought. Her father, the king,
has locked himself in the dungeon. It
is night, and she cannot see the sun. But
she has the faith to ask the sun for help.
III.
Focus on Gentleness
Definition:
Gentleness comes from believing that love is more powerful than fear or
anger. Gentleness is a good friend
of courage and trust. Courage is
acting from the heart, acting from love. Trust
gives us faith that the answer to our problems will be found. Because of our courage and trust, we don’t need to force an
answer by using cruel words or actions. We
can be gentle.
A.
THE BOY WITH THE TAIL
1.
How does Billy show gentleness?
Example
of Answer:
He does not need to fight the other children when they tease him about
his tail. He just tells them that
he wants to wag his tail and he is not going to let their teasing stop him.
B.
PRINCESS SUN
1.
How does Princess Sun show gentleness?
Example of Answer: While her father, the king, tries to force an answer by threatening the sun, Princess Sun does a rain dance. Her gentle solution is more powerful than the king’s threats.