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In today’s world, there are more and more people asking, “What can I do, Dr. Lee, to help the world be a better place?” As some of you know, I am a minister also. I happen to believe with all of my heart and soul that if we start to love again most of our problems would go away. Not just fade away, but we would find solutions to those problems, and we would do it with love not greed, and not social indifference. Then, the next question that is asked is, “Well, where do I begin?” I believe that we begin with the children, and here is a story that I think will tell it better than I can.

IN THE VALLEY

by Dr. Roberta Lee

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, beautiful, peaceful valley. It was a valley where the flowers bloomed, and the people were happy all day. There was never a cross word nor a frown. Nobody ever said anything ugly to anyone else, EVER. The people were prosperous, very happy, and healthy. This was the valley of the WARM FUZZIES.

This valley was surrounded by tall, high mountains. High on top of one of these mountains there lived an ugly, ugly, yucky green, spinney ole’ Cold Prickly. Because the WARM FUZZIES were happy all day, every day, high up on this mountain, you could hear the sound of their laughter, and singing. This just infuriated the ugly, ole’ Cold Prickly. He would get up in the morning and stand at the edge of the mountain, and he would spit out mean, cruel things about the WARM FUZZIES.

“They wouldn’t know happiness if they saw it”, he would growl. “Happiness is giving everybody a loveable (heh, heh, heh,) a special nickname that points out what they really are. Happiness is telling someone that they buy their clothes at Omar the tent maker's, just because they are FAT! Happiness is telling someone that they are beautiful for AN UGLY TREE, Happiness is giving everyone a loveable, heh, heh, heh, nickname that really points out their shortcomings, like, four eyes, bugs bunny, dumbo, wimp, fatty fatty, skinny Minnie, shortie, stilts, or saying, your nose looks like somebody’s left over banana. Heh, heh, heh. Boy, you can call people all sorts of things this way and they will have those names forever! Heh, heh, heh, boy, you can really be honest about how you feel about people with cold prickly lies. There’s more! Heh, heh, when I get started, it’s so much fun that I just can’t stop. You can call people all sorts of things, and this way they will have those names forever and ever! Mick, Spic, Wop, ‘Hey, you, you’re stingy as a Jew! Those names are better than those sickie names you creepy WARM FUZZIES give each other. Mary sweetheart; John dearest. That man is Italian. Italian, blah, Wop is better! It has more….more personality. Who cares abut ‘honey’s’ and, ‘you’re pretty tonight dears?’ I’m going to have to do something about that confounded noise. Laughing is sick! Singing is even sicker.”

Well, the ole’ ugly, Cold Prickly was really upset. He went into his cold, dark house and began to think. He thought and thought and thought. What could he do to keep those WARM FUZZIES from being so sickeningly happy all of the time, and making so much noise laughing? All of a sudden a thought came to him. The meanest, most horrible, ugliest thought! He knew, right then, that it was so lousy that he just had to do it.

Of course, in the days of the WARM FUZZIES everybody knew that happiness lived in your heart and mind and soul. They were wise, lovable little creatures and they knew that you had to think and then feel and then say the nicest of things all day, and every day to maintain this beautiful happiness. So, at night, when they went to bed, they would go to sleep with the most loving thoughts of their friends, loved ones, and OF THEMSELVES on their minds. They knew that this must always be done, and reinforced daily, or the happiness would soon dim and fade away, and then the ugly, cold prickly lies would filter down from the mountain , and take them over. You see, their happiness had built a layer around the valley, and the cold prickly lies just bounced right off that happiness bubble.

BUT,…….. that night the ole’ ugly, Cold Prickly put a piece of tape on his mouth to keep from spitting out all the cold prickly lies that came into his mind, and he crept down the mountain. He was so excited and delighted with his ugly, ole’ mean plan that he could hardly keep from singing, ugh, cold prickly lies all the way.

When he got into Happiness Valley, he very quietly stole from house to house. Now, everybody KNOWS that a WARM FUZZIE creature has his own individual happiness layer that is hard to break. But that mean , ugly ole’ Cold Prickly had a plan. When he got into the bedroom of the WARM FUZZIES, he broke off one of his ugly ole’ spines and popped their happiness layers. Ugh, the smell was awful! Sweet and warm and wonderful; and he almost thought he could hear WARM FUZZIE sounds coming out too. Then, very carefully, he peeled back a little corner of the tape he had placed on his mouth, and whispered all kinds of ugly, ole’ cold prickly lies in the ears of the sleeping WARM FUZZIES. He worked this way all night going from bedroom to bedroom, and he just barely made it back up the mountain by daylight.

The ugly ole’ Cold Prickly was so tired when he got back to his dark, cold house that he almost fell into his bed. But this was a special morning and he just had to stay awake. He was almost happy. What a horrible thought, HAPPY, UGH. But he had just spent the night whispering the same thing in the ear of every single WARM FUZZIE family in the valley. He laughed at the thought of the sight it had been, but he had no one to share it with because he was the last ugly ole’ Cold Prickly left in the world. But he would soon have more Cold Prickly lies to say ugly things with! He sat back and thought of what he had said.

“You will think of the coldest, hardest, most degrading things to say to everyone forever more.” “HEH, HEH, HEH,” he had fixed them.“Heh, Heh, Heh, forever more!” Just think of it.

All of a sudden, he had a horrible, HORRIBLE, oh, HORRIBLE thought! He had forgotten ONE house. One whole house! What could he do? What could he do? It was too late to go back now. Oh me, oh my, what could he do? That darn little house back in that horrible honeysuckle grove. He hated honeysuckle because it was as soppy sweet as the WARM FUZZIES had been. He would just have to go back tonight, and hope THAT WARM FUZZIE family didn’t go out, and meet with any others that day.

Meanwhile, down in WARM FUZZIE VALLEY, something awful had happened. Everybody had awakened. Then suddenly, oh my what a sound went up to the mountain where the Cold Prickly lived The ugly, ole; Cold Prickly stood on his mountain and loved what he heard.

“ Brother, get me my cup out of the cupboard!”“Get it yourself, shortie!”
“Mom, make dumbo Sally get out of my bathroom, RIGHT NOW!”
“Hey, Fats, how are you going to get to school?”

The mean, ole’ Cold Prickly loved it. But the WARM FUZZIE family that he had missed just listened in horror. They couldn’t believe their ears. Then, for a moment, tears rolled down their checks. But, they held hands and looked at one another and they knew what they had to do. They hugged each other for strength. They told each other how much they loved each one in the family and, then, still holding hands they left their yard.

To each WARM FUZZIE they saw they told the same loveable words. But the WARM FUZZIES creatures would not listen. Soon, there was very little happiness in the WARM FUZZIE VALLEY. The WARM FUZZIES began to get sick. There was distrust for the first time. The flowers died, and the waters that had been pure and sweet ran sour, and bitter and made the fish die, and yes, it made the FUZZIES and animals sick too. The animals that had been tame and loved to be with the WARM FUZZIES ran in fear from the teasing children, instead of being tame for everyone to love and enjoy.

SORROW had come to the WARM FUZZIE VALLEY. But the one family that had reinforced their happiness layer kept working and working. They didn’t know how the ugly, ole’ Cold Prickly had done his job, but they knew he had done it well.

   Then, one night, when they were holding hands in love, praying that they could find a way to save the valley that they loved so much, and the friends that they had shared so much with, they prayed even harder. The little girl WARM FUZZIE prayer so hard that she cried. And in that loving tear she wept, a tiny bell sounded, and a very, very soft voice could be heard in the loving silence.

   The voice said,” If you will, in love, this night go around to all of the homes, and, while your loved ones are sleeping, hug and kiss each and everyone, and whisper in their ear of the love you have for them, and all of the good things that they believed in that made the WARM FUZZIE VALLEY so loving and happy; and tell them, in love, of all the beautiful things that you see about them, then, in the morning you will have WARM FUZZIE VALLEY happy again.”

So, that is just what they did. All night long they loved and loved and loved each and every WARM FUZZIE CREATURE in the valley. They told them of the beauty that they saw in each one of them. The told them to believe in themselves again. They told them to start by loving themselves again. Soon, they got a few to remember yesterday, and the happiness they had shared, and they helped each one build their happiness layer back. It was hard work, but it was a success, and by and by HAPPINESS WAS BACK IN WARM FUZZIE VALLEY again. However, their work wasn’t done.

They all decided that something had to be done with the ugly, green, ole’ Cold Prickly. They decided, too, that it had to be all of them that did it. Now what do you suppose they did?

Well, they crept very quietly up the mountain one night, all holding hands and loving very hard to keep their happiness layer about them. Cold prickly lies rained down and tried to break their love layer. The air grew cold and felt sharp. All of the colors were ugly. They held hands even more tightly and sang softly of love. They could not fear, for fear would break their happiness layer. So, they said kind things to each other. And while the ugly, ole’ Cold Prickly slept, they made a circle around him and all night they spoke things of love right over him. This was called the CIRCLE OF LOVE. And by morning, they opened their eyes and what a surprise they had. The ugly, green, ole’ Cold Prickly had disappeared! Gone! He was just gone! And in his place, there was the most beautiful WARM FUZZIE any of them had ever seen.

You see, long ago he had been a WARM FUZZIE. But, as he grew bitter and unthinking, and the more he said cold, unkind things, the more he liked the unkind things that he said; the more others FEARED him, and the worse HE got. Soon, other FUZZIES just left him alone. His WARM FUZZIE fur got all matted and TWISTED, and it formed the ugly spines that spit out the cold prickly lies. Now, they were all gone, and he was a WARM FUZZIE once again. Now, he was loved, and he DARED to love again.

Remember, you must be on the look out for Cold Prickly lies, because just one cold prickly can ruin the happiness layer of a valley of WARM FUZZIE CREATURES. And if you say Cold Prickly things to people, you may just turn into a COLD PRICKLY yourself. So, be a WARM FUZZIE all of the time, and always see, and say the best about everyone around you.

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