Dabney Tells How It Felt

Dabney is a cream-and-brown bunny with long, soft ears and a blue dress. Dabney is a good listener. She is quiet at school, and she notices a lot.

One recess, everyone in Dabney’s group decided to play a game called Dragons. Dabney wanted to be a dragon too. But the group said, “You can be the castle.” So Dabney stood very still in the middle of the grass while everyone else roared and flew around her.

Being the castle was not fun. Nobody talked to the castle. Nobody played with the castle. Dabney stood there until the bell rang, and she felt left out, and small, and a little bit invisible.

She didn’t tell anyone. She didn’t cry. She just carried the feeling.

She carried it through maths. She carried it through lunch. She carried it all the way home on the bus. And the strange thing about a feeling you carry all day is that it gets heavier, not lighter. By dinner time, it felt like Dabney had a backpack full of stones.

After dinner, Dabney’s grandpa sat down next to her on the couch to read a story. But Dabney didn’t open the book. She just leaned on his arm.

“You’re quiet tonight, little one,” said Grandpa. “Did something happen today?”

Dabney thought about saying nothing. That would be easier. But the backpack of stones was so heavy.

So she said it, in a small voice. “Today at recess, I felt left out.”

Grandpa didn’t say oh, that’s nothing. He didn’t say just play with someone else. He put down the book and said, “Oh, Dabney. That sounds really hard. Tell me about it.”

So she did. She told him about the dragons, and the castle, and standing still while everyone else flew.

Grandpa listened to all of it. Then he gave her a big, warm hug.

And here is the thing Dabney discovered. Nothing was fixed. Tomorrow’s recess hadn’t happened yet. But the stones in her backpack felt lighter, much lighter, just from being shared.

“Tomorrow,” said Grandpa, “maybe you could ask if the castle can breathe fire too.”

Dabney giggled. “Castles don’t breathe fire!”

“This one might,” said Grandpa.

Dabney learned that a hard feeling doesn’t have to be carried alone. You can tell a grown-up you trust: today, I felt left out. Telling doesn’t make the problem disappear. But it makes the feeling so much lighter to carry.