How does a classroom, a school, a community become bully-free? A powerful contribution can be made by a story that everyone can listen to. This is such a story.

This wisdom tale tells the story of how an animal school was transformed from a place where some students were teased (by F.O.X), intimidated (by Little Bull), maligned (by "Princess" Peacock), ostracized (Cathy Crow), belittled (Master Worm), abused (Maurice Mole), and unfairly castigated by faculty (Hunky Hyena) to a bully-free environment.

The tale will stimulate discussion and the participation of human students, including the bullied and the bystanders, toward the development of a bully-free school. Animal School students are different from each other. They walk, fly, swim, burrow, hop, swoop, slither and tunnel. They grunt, squawk, bellow, chirp, splash, howl, and gobble. Yet, as with humans, all the students have the same basic needs: to belong, to be cared about, to be appreciated, to have their unique abilities developed to the fullest. Creative ideas (e.g., The Paradoxideal Totem Pole) and practical actions (e.g., The Covenant Circle) along with the involvement of "The Elders" (e.g., Wisdom Council) offer patterns for human schools to consider.

The story "strikes a chord" with upper elementary and middle school students. Fascination with the animals permits students to become engaged in the issue without blaming and withdrawing. New understandings, attitudes, and relationships lead toward the goal of a bully-free school. It's a great listen!