Humpty Dumpty and the Bully

Humpty Dumpty put on his new red sweater because it was rather cold. Then he said good-bye to his mother and went to school. It was the first day of school after the summer holidays.

When he came there, he saw a small bull near the school. "He must be a new boy at school," thought Humpty Dumpty.

"Hello," he said to the bull. "My name is Humpty Dumpty. What's your name?"

"I don't want to tell you my name," the bull said angrily. "I'm a bull — the strongest animal in the world. What kind of animal are you?"

"I'm not an animal," Humpty Dumpty answered. "I'm an egg."

"An egg!" the bull shouted. "Ha, ha, ha! An egg!"

Humpty Dumpty went to the door, but the bull pushed him aside.

"Watch where you are going," the bull shouted again, "or I shall break your shell."

Humpty Dumpty didn't say anything.

Later that morning, the bull came up to the squirrel and took a box of nuts out of his hands. The squirrel was very frightened, but the bull walked away and ate all the nuts. Then he saw the elephant and a pig in the corner of the yard. He came up to them and said: "What funny animals go to school here!"

He turned to the pig. "This animal is as fat as a pig."

Then he said to the elephant, "And this animal has the biggest nose I have ever seen."

The pig and the elephant were so frightened that they ran away and hid behind the school.

Suddenly he saw Humpty Dumpty again.

"Well," said the bull, "this is my friend, the egg. Don't you know that bulls hate red? You had better take that sweater off."

Humpty Dumpty was very angry with the bull because he didn't like the way the bull was treating his friends.

"I think I shall not take my sweater off," answered Humpty Dumpty.

"What!" shouted the bull. He lowered his head and ran towards Humpty Dumpty.

Humpty Dumpty waited until the bull was near him, and then he jumped aside.

The bull crashed his head into the wall of the school! All the animals in the yard began to laugh.

The bull turned around and looked at Humpty Dumpty. He lowered his head and began to go towards him again.

This time Humpty Dumpty did not jump. He waited until the bull was near him, and then he gave him a good punch on the nose.

The bull was so surprised that he sat down and began to cry.

"Oh, my nose, my poor nose! Nobody will like me."

"It's because you push everybody around and take things away from them," said Humpty Dumpty. "If you stop doing that and don't tell people that they are fat or ugly, then perhaps they will like you."

"I think you are right," said the bull. "I'll try to remember."

The bull apologized to the elephant and the pig. Then he took some sweets out of his pocket and gave them to the squirrel.

The bull was not such a bad bull after all. Thanks to Humpty Dumpty's punch on the nose, soon he and the other animals were all good friends!