Age Group:  10-13 years old

Language Level:  A2

Topic:  Peace and non-violence

Leo is an 8 year old boy. He loves to play. He runs in the parks, plays with his friends, and laughs a lot. But there is one problem—Leo gets angry very quickly. If someone takes his toy, he shouts. If someone runs faster than him, he pushes. When things don’t go as he wants, he crosses his arms and don’t talk with anyone.

One afternoon, Leo and his friend Mia were playing with a ball. Mia accidentally kicked the ball too far, and it fell in the river. Leo was very angry. He shouted: “Mia! You lost my ball! Now we can’t play!”. Mia looked sad and said: “I didn’t do it on purpose, Leo,”. But he didn’t want to talk with her.

Leo’s grandmother saw everything. She called Leo and said, “Come here, my dear. I want to tell you a story.” Leo sat next to her. “What story?” he asked. His grandmother smiled. “It’s a story about a great man. His name is Mahatma Gandhi. Do you know him?” Leo said: “No. Who is Gandhi?”

“Gandhi was a man and he believed in peace,” his grandmother explained. “A long time ago, people in his country were treated unfairly. But he did not fight. He did not use anger. He used peace. He spoke with kindness and showed people a better way.” Leo didn’t fully understand what peace really means. He asked her to tell him a story about it. “Okay, then I will tell you a story. My mother told me this story when I was a kid.”

The story’s name is Bridge of Peace…

Long ago, there were two villages: Greenhill and Bluewater. A big river separated them. The people in both villages didn’t talk because of an old war.

After the war, the only bridge was broken. The villagers were afraid of each other. They thought, “If we talk to them, they will hurt us.” In Greenhill, Leo loved fishing in the river. In Bluewater, Emma liked to run in the fields. One day, they saw each other across the river. They didn’t talk, but they looked at each other.

The next day, Emma smiled at Leo. He was surprised but smiled back. It was a small hello, but it was a start.

 Emma sent Leo a small wooden boat with a note that said, “For a friend.” Leo sent back a blue stone. They started sending small gifts to each other every day. Emma sent Leo a small wooden boat with a note that said, “For a friend.” Leo sent back a blue stone. They started sending small gifts to each other every day.