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On that block
lived a
different boy.
Netinho was born
mentally-challenged
and could not
speak or think
properly. He
would be sitting
at the gate,
silently,
because he liked
to look at the
street and see
the kids
playing.
And, as he was
different, many
kids would mock
him, mistreat
him, even
throwing stones
at him. The ones
who did it
frequently were
André, Tiago,
Pedro and
Alfredo.
Sometimes, hit
by a stone,
Netinho would
run inside,
crying. His mom
hugged him
carefully,
looked at the
boys and said:
— Why do you
keep doing that
to my son? What
has he done to
you guys?!...
One day, Dona
Júlia, Pedro’s
mom, passing by
saw the group of
boys bothering
Netinho. Stuck
on the corner,
with his arms
covering his
head, he cried,
scared.
The lady came up
to him, full of
compassion,
hugged the boy,
talked to him,
and took him
inside,
delivering him
to his mother.
After that she
came back and,
not criticizing
the boys,
invited them for
a glass of juice
in her house.
They accepted
the invitation
happily,
surprised for
not being told
off.
As she prepared
the juice,
Pedro’s mom gave
them some toys:
a guitar, a
small K7 player,
a miniature
piano, some
games and many
other things.
When she
returned with
the glasses of
juice, asked
smiling:
— So, having
fun?
The boys
complained,
disappointed:
— We can’t play!
Everything seems
to be broken!
The guitar has
no strings —
said Tiago.
— And the K7
player is
useless. There
are no
batteries! —
André said.
— The piano is
off-key and
there are some
buttons missing!
— Alfredo
mumbled
And Pedro,
outraged, burst
out:
— That’s enough,
mom! You know
these toys have
had it. The
games are silly
and the
electrical train
is broken...
Nothing works!
Dona Júlia and
sat down,
staring at the
boys, agreed:
— That’s true.
You guys are
right. These
toys no longer
work. But,
fortunately, the
toys don’t work
properly, not
you all. You
should be
grateful to God
for that.
A bit confused,
the boys asked:
— How come?
Calmly, Dona
Júlia explained:
— All of you
were born
perfect! You
have no
difficult in
thinking and
study all right,
because your
brains are
perfect. And
your body also
works properly;
your senses seem
to be okay as
well: you hear,
speak, feel and
see perfectly.
You all have
hands and feet
and walk
normally. Isn’t
it great?
The kids agreed,
satisfied.
Pedro’s mom went
on:
— What if one of
you was born
blind? Or
armless? Or
legless, you
couldn’t walk?
— Ah! That’d be
dreadful! I
don’t even want
to think! — one
of the boys
said.
Dona Júlia
agreed, and kept
talking:
— That’s it. But
there are people
not as happy as
you all are.
They were born
challenged
either in their
minds of bodies,
like a broken
toy. Do you know
anyone like
this?
The boys
remembered the
kid they
bothered so
much.
— Just like
Netinho, right?
— someone asked.
— Exactly.
Netinho was born
mentally-challenged
and that’s why
he can’t express
himself like the
others do. He,
as a spirit, is
as smart as you,
but he can’t
make his
“apparatus”,
which is his
body, work
properly. Did
you understand?
— So it means he
understands
everything
around him? —
Pedro asked.
— Definitely. He
just can’t make
the others know
that and suffers
a lot. Netinho
deserves all our
due respect and
care. If the
Lord is fair and
good, and knows
what the best is
for us, and made
Netinho be born
with this
condition, it is
because his
impairment will
be useful for
his progress.
She, then,
concluded:
— Jesus said
that “we should
do to others
what we would
like to be done
with us”. So,
had you been in
Netinho’s boots,
how would you
like to be
treated?
The boys,
meditating on
what they had
heard, got
ashamed, having
now realized how
rude they had
been to Netinho,
each one
reflecting that
could have been
“him” to be born
with the same
problem.
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On the following
day, there was a
great change.
Having
regretted, the
boys apologized
to Netinho for
all they had
done. They
started talking
to him, calling
him up to play
and accepting
him as a friend.
Satisfied and
smiling, Netinho
took part in
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everything,
learning the
games and
showing that
his
difficulties
were not
that big.
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This way,
Netinho became a
great companion
for everybody.
*
The Spiritist
Doctrine talks
about the
responsibility
of parents in
relation to
children,
Spirits sent by
God, believing
in their
capacities of
tutoring.
Especially the
mother, whose
presence is
invaluable to
the son, has a
large role in
the development
of this spirit,
through ethic
and moral
orientation,
according to the
Gospel left by
Jesus.
In the home,
first school of
the soul, we can
find all the
fundamental
content to the
growth and
maturing of the
child,
especially by
having their
parents as role
models,
preparing him
for, in the
future, to be a
loyal citizen
and useful to
society, knowing
how to respect
and love his
fellows as
brothers.
To the mothers,
on her very day,
our best and
most sincere
wishes.
HAPPY MOTHER’S
DAY!
Aunt Célia
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