[Previous]                              [Table of Contents]                              [Next Section]

Fairy tale

Once upon a time there was a boy named Tim, who lived in a far away country in a large house. The people he lived with were a sorcerer and a witch who had stolen him from his parents when he was a tiny child. Nobody knew about them because they had disguised themselves as a very rich and proud couple. To make the disguise more complete, they had this little boy who had to call them Father and Mother.

They were extremely strict and demanded perfection from poor Tim. He was dressed in the very best clothes and was expected to be polite to everyone he met. He had a brad new bike but was not allowed to ride it because it might get dirty. When people came to the house, they exclaimed about Tim's beautiful room full of the most exciting toys. But of course this was all show. Tim was not really allowed to play with the toys because something might get broken. And of course, he could never take other children home with him because they might damage the expensive furniture, or his clothes might get out of order.

You will guess he had no friends at school, and he was often teased by the other kids. And when visitors came, he was not allowed to open his mouth because he stuttered. His father and mother did not want other people to know their son was not perfect. As you can imagine, Tim was very unhappy. He thought he did everything wrong; he was sure nobody liked him. Sometimes he got angry about it, and sometimes he felt so lonely and sad that he cried himself to sleep. He tried very hard to do everything the way his father and mother wanted, but inside he grew more and more unhappy.

Then one day a little crooked man came along and waited for Tim outside the gate of the great house. He told Tim what we already know--that he had been stolen by a witch and a sorcerer. He also told Tim that his real parents had been looking for him ever since. But lately they had given up all hope of finding their dear child and had returned home. And then the old man told Tim that if he had the courage to start out on his own on a long journey, he would find his real father and mother who had never stopped loving him and longing for him.

Tim decided at once to go and find them. He had had enough of being lonely and unhappy. He grabbed a suitcase and put his best clothes in it and started on his way. It was a terribly long journey. He had to cross dangerous bogs; he had to climb mountains and wander through wild woods. But every time he needed food or shelter, he could find what he wanted as if some invisible person was guiding him.

One day he came to a village that he seemed to remember from long, long ago. His heart started beating with sudden hope, and he asked the first person he met if he knew where his parents lived? The young man who answered him stuttered, and when Tim continued on his way he heard other people stuttering too. Soon he was at the door of his old home. What a grand surprise it was to his parents to see their son. That same night they gave a big party in his honor. They had yummy things to eat and everybody was jolly. When he finally got to bed he felt very, very happy.

The next morning he put on his good clothes and was extremely polite to everybody. He sat quietly in a corner and never touched anything because he had been taught not to do so. His mom and dad were surprised and anxious about his behavior. They asked "Why are you so carefully dressed, and why do you sit in a corner? And why don't you go out and play? And why don't you talk with anybody?"

Then Tim told them everything about his life in the big house in that far away country. And his mom and dad said "Now all that is over. You can enjoy yourself and do the things you like to do. And when your clothes get dirty, we don't mind at all, and you can say what you want and talk to everybody. And you do not have to speak carefully, because in this country everybody stutters as much as they please."

Tim was so happy to hear this that he jumped up and down for joy. He rushed out of the house and ran and played and talked as he had never done before. And that night there was another big party because this time Tim truly had come home. And Tim lived long and happily ever after!

© Copyright 1999 by Stuttering Foundation of America

[Previous]                              [Table of Contents]                              [Next Section]