Chicken Soup for the Little Souls (2 page)

“She might shovel snow from her neighbors' driveways without saying anything. She might plant flowers in a public place for everyone to enjoy, or help poor people. There are lots of ways to spread goodness once you start looking for them.”

At lunchtime, everyone was talking about guerrilla goodness.

“Real gorillas in the jungle do nice things for each other, too,” said Tina. “I saw it on TV.”

“Let's make our own club!” said Michael. “Jessica should be the leader since she knows the most about it.”

And that's how the Goodness Gorillas started.

Peter came to school early and sharpened all his classmates' pencils. Everyone smiled and said, “Thanks, Peter!”

Everyone except Todd. He tried to poke Peter in the arm with his pencil's new sharp point.

Jessica pulled out a mat for every person in her gymnastics class. “What a lovely act of kindness,” said her coach.

Stuart let his little sister watch her favorite TV show, even though it was his turn to choose the channel. Later that night, his sister gave him the last piece of her Halloween candy.

All of the Goodness Gorillas met on Sunday and cleaned up the litter in the park. They were having a great time until Todd showed up with his scary dog, Brutus.

Todd walked over to the pile of cans the Goodness Gorillas had gathered for recycling.

He picked them up, and threw them all over the park. “Hey, dumb Gorillas, go fetch!” he yelled.

The Goodness Gorillas picked up all the cans again, but it wasn't as much fun as it had been before.

Patricia cleaned her room and her brother's room without being asked. Her dad thanked her and made her favorite dinner.

Tina packed up all her old toys, and her mom helped her bring them to a homeless shelter. “I'm so proud of you,” said her mom.

Michael went with his uncle to volunteer at a senior citizen's home. A lady there told him, “You made our day.”

The Goodness Gorillas met at recess every day to talk about new ideas for spreading kindness. And every day Todd danced around the group, grunting and scratching his armpits.

“Oo—oo—oo—oo! Look at me—I'm a gorilla! I'm a big, dumb gorilla who makes goody-good with everyone!”

“What a creep,” said Stuart. “All he ever does is cause trouble.”

“Go away, Todd!” said Jessica. “If you can't be nice, we don't want you around.”

One day, Ms. King said, “I have some sad news, class. Yesterday afternoon, Todd's dog, Brutus, was hit by a car. He died in the night. Todd is at home feeling bad and very alone. I'm hoping some of you will visit him. Does that sound like a job for the Goodness Gorillas?”

Jessica raised her hand. “It's just that . . . Todd makes fun of us so much. I wouldn't know what to say if we visited him.”

“Maybe he's felt left out,” said Ms. King. “Did any of you ever ask Todd if he'd like to join your club?”

“He's not a Goodness Gorilla!” cried Tina. “He's a Meanness Monster!”

“Goodness Gorillas see the good in everyone,” said Ms. King. “Isn't that what you told me, Jessica?”

At recess, the Goodness Gorillas tried to decide what to do. Even though he'd been rotten, they all felt really bad for Todd. Brutus was his only friend.

“I know!” said Jessica. “My mom could take us to the pound to find a new dog for Todd!”

“Except,” said Peter, “spreading kindness means spreading it to animals, too. I'd feel sorry for any dog we gave to Todd!”

The next day, all the Goodness Gorillas stood on Todd's doorstep and rang the doorbell. Todd answered the door himself. He looked like he'd been crying. “What do you want?” he asked.