The 3 Visitors
One day Roger was playing marbles in the street with his friends. He noticed a group of older boys nearby playing catch me if you can. Just then a new boy who'd just moved into the neighborhood went up to them and asked if he could join in.
"No Fatty, No Way!" said the older boys. "You're too fat. You're so fat you can't even run."
The new boy walked off sadly.
That night Roger had a very strange dream.
He was in school and Teacher announced that three guests would be visiting that day.
The first guest was the king of a faraway land. He wore a golden crown and purple robes. The King told the class how his family had ruled his land for thousands of years. He was very rich and powerful and made a law that everyone in his land had to bring him a birthday present every year.
The next guest was a successful businessman. He wore an expensive suit. The businessman told the class how he programmed his first computer when he was 8, and how at 17 he designed a software program that is used by many companies all around the world. He told them about his fast car, his yacht, and how he travels to lots of exciting places.
The last guest was an old man. His straggly gray hair and straggly gray beard covered his wrinkled face. He wore old clothes with holes in. The old man looked like he hadn't washed in a long time. And he smelled terrible.
Roger thought how the man looked like the poor people he saw when he went shopping in town with Mom.
The old man told the class how he lost a lot of time from school because he was often unwell as a child. Because of this he never learned to read and write.
After school he found a job sweeping the floor in a factory. He liked his job and made a lot of friends, but one day the manager called a big meeting and told everyone the factory was closing. Nobody gave him another job, and that's how he became homeless.
Teacher asked the three guests to stand and everyone in the class gave them a big clap.
After the guests left Teacher asked the class which one of the three is most important.
Clever Clive immediately put up his hand. "The king is most important because he makes the laws everyone has to obey", he said.
"Does everyone agree?" asked Teacher.
Everyone nodded silently. Clever Clive always knew the answers.
But after a few seconds Strange Steve raised his hand. "I think the businessman is most important because the king was just born into his job but the businessman must be very clever and work very hard to be so successful", he said.
A few students silently nodded.
"Any other ideas?" asked Teacher.
Roger raised his hand. "I think they're all as important as each other," he said.
Teacher smiled and said, "That's right, Roger. Even though people wear different clothes and live different lives, everyone is just as important as everyone else. And we're all very important indeed."
Then Roger woke up.