This is a story about Gizer and how Gizer
helped some of his Young Friends remove some FEARS that were bothering them.
Maybe you’ve had some Fears bothering you too and after you listen to this story, maybe a few
times or maybe several times, I think you will find that it helps you as well as it did Gizer’s friends.
So let’s get started, one day Gizer . . .
One day Gizer decided he wanted to go to visit his friends at the Zoo.
Now right away, you may be wondering who is Gizer. Gizer is a very old
Dog who has lots of friends. He has lots of Dog friends of course. He has Cat friends, Bird friends, Squirrel
friends, and many other Animal friends. And he also has People friends too – Girls and Boys, and Mommies and Daddies,
GrandParents friends, Uncle and Aunt friends, and even Teacher friends.
And who are his friends he goes to visit at the Zoo?
They’re Young Animal Friends who all play together in a special area for Young Zoo Animals.
Sometimes they play in a park and sometimes they go to school together. Sometimes Gizer is invited to teach classes
at their school, but today he just went to visit them in the park where they play.
When he got there, he was very surprised to find them all sitting around looking worried, sad, and
well, just not happy.
He asked them why
they were looking this way – worried, sad, and well, just not happy.
Bob the Bear answered first. He said they were having a really good time playing and all of
a sudden a mouse had run out and scared Ellie the Elephant and some of the older animal kids – who were Bullies,
started making fun of her for being afraid of a mouse and then Ellie started crying.
Then Maria the Monkey, who was afraid of Bullies got scared because she saw them being mean to Ellie
for being afraid of a mouse and she was afraid they would start being mean to her too.
But when LeBron the Lion saw that Ellie and Maria were afraid of the Bullies,
he went over and stood beside Ellie and Maria. And the Bullies left!
And then several of the young ZOO Animal Children started thinking about things they were afraid
of and they just all sat down together and started talking about FEARS and being Afraid. And the more they talked about
FEARS and being Afraid, the more afraid and sad and unhappy they were.
Gizer looked at them and said “How interesting!”
Gizer said that a lot when he wanted to make a point. Why? Because
when you say “how interesting”, it seems to get people’s attention.
All the Zoo Animal Children gathered around Gizer to find out what he thought
was so interesting.
When they did, he asked
them if anyone was afraid of anything else besides mice and bullies.
Ollie the Ostrich said she was afraid of lightning and thunder.
Zeb the Zebra said he was afraid of being alone, because sometimes he got home
from school before his Mother got home from work.
Bob
the Bear said he was afraid of monsters in his bedroom and closet and sometimes even afraid of the stuffed animals in his
room and the pictures on the walls. And one time his sister left her doll in his room and he was even afraid of her
doll!
Several of the other Zoo Animal Children
nodded their heads and said some of them were afraid of monsters in the closet or under their beds. A couple more said
they were sometimes afraid of their own stuffed animals or other toys, and then LeBron the Lion said he was afraid of the
dark.
Glenda the Giraffe said she was afraid
of falling and high places. Now who would have thought that a Giraffe would be afraid of high places since Giraffes
are so tall?
And Thomas the Tiger said
he didn’t even know what he was afraid of, but sometimes he just felt afraid – and it was scary to be afraid and
not even know why.
Several of the other
Zoo Animal Children agreed with Thomas.
Gizer
said, “When I was a puppy, I sometimes felt afraid too. So I know how you feel because I felt that way too, but
here’s what I found out!!!!”
“When
I was still little, now you may be thinking that’s funny because I’m still a little dog, older, but still small,
but back then I was just a very little puppy – I lived with a family with a little boy and a little girl – they
were about your age.
And this is
what I learned about fears and feeling afraid. And like me, you can learn too”
Now, it’s been a long time, so I don’t remember if I learned it
from the Mother, the Father, or maybe it was the GrandMother or GrandFather, it might have even been an Uncle or Aunt.”
“Now some people say Ant instead of Aunt, but you know they mean the
kind of Aunt that is part of the family, not an ant that lives in the ground. But then I guess if you’re an ant,
you would have Uncle and Aunt ants – isn’t that funny!”
Several of the Young Zoo Animal Children laughed at Gizer’s joke about ants and Aunts.
Oh, I almost forgot, “I’m supposed to tell you what I learned about
FFFEEEAAARRRSSS” – and Gizer said the word FEARS in a very funny voice and made a very funny face. The Zoo
animal children laughed – they thought it was so funny how Gizer said ‘FFFEEEAAARRRSSS’ and made the funny
face.
When Gizer saw them laughing, he
laughed too. He said, “You thought that was funny – watch this! I’m going to make my very scariest
face. The scariest face you’ve ever seen!”
And then he made his scariest face.
The children laughed even more. Gizer looked surprised and said “Why are you laughing at my scariest
face?”
Ellie the little Elephant
said, because you look so funny!” And then she laughed some more!
So Gizer said, “Well I thought when I made my scariest face, you’re supposed to feel
afraid. But you didn’t?”
Maria
the Monkey said – “NO”
Thomas the Tiger said – “NO”
LeBron the Lion said –
“NO”
And even Bob the Bear said – “NO”
Gizer said “hmmmmm, so you laugh at me when I make my scariest face, but you feel afraid when
the little monsters you imagine are in the closet, or imagine under your bed, make a scary face, or when the thunder and lightning
make scary noises and flashes, or the dark doesn’t even make a face? Now isn’t that interesting?”
“OK – I want all of you to practice making scary faces to see if
I laugh.” Gizer said.
They
all made scary faces and Gizer laughed at them and they all laughed at each other too. Then Gizer said, “That’s
one of the funnest things I learned about FEAR when I was a puppy. I can laugh at scary faces – just like you
learned how to laugh at scary faces. now.”
“Now,
let’s make another kind of face. Let’s all make a face like you do when you feel afraid. Come on –
look like you’re really, really, really feeling afraid.” Gizer told them.
Now when the Zoo children did this, they all started laughing again, because
they all thought how funny it was to pretend to feel afraid.
In fact, that’s what Glenda the Giraffe said. She said “I feel silly pretending that I’m
afraid and I start laughing!”
Gizer
said, “You’re right – and laughing is good. You don’t feel afraid when you’re laughing,
so you don’t feel afraid when you’re pretending to feel afraid. So if you’re feeling afraid, then
instead, just pretend you’re feeling brave and happy or something else, and next thing you know – you’re
laughing and feeling better.”
All
the Zoo Children practiced that and again, they were all laughing!
Now, Gizer said, “I’m going to teach you the funniest thing about making faces.
Watch, I’m going to make a really, really, really funny face.”
He did. He made a funny face. He made his ears stand up, he raised his eyebrows, he stuck
his tongue out, and then he stood up on his hind legs and danced.
What happened? All the Zoo Animal Children were laughing and laughing and laughing. And
I know you’re probably laughing too!
“OK”,
Gizer said, “Now I want each one of you to do it.” They did and of course, they were all laughing and laughing
even more!
So Gizer said, “OK, now
let’s go back and review. Review – that means to think about – what we just learned.”
“When I make a scary face, or you make a scary face, or something scary
makes a scary face – we laugh! Right?”
And the Zoo Animal Children all said “RIGHT!!!!!”
“And when I make a most scared face, and you make a most scared face, and I guess even if something
scary makes a scared face – we all laugh at that too. Right?”
And the Zoo children laughed and said “RRRIIIGGGHHHTTT!!!
“And then the last part.” Gizer said, “When I make a funny
face, or you make a funny face, or something scary makes a funny face – we laugh even more! Right?”
And of course, all the Zoo Animal Children said “RIGHT! RIGHT!
RIGHT!” And they were just rolling around on the grass laughing, especially Maria the Monkey.
Gizer asked, “So what did we learn today about FEARS so far?
Thomas the Tiger said, “We learned to laugh at scary faces and scary
things, because they’re really not that scary when we laugh at them.”
And Maria the Monkey said, “And we learned to laugh at ourselves when we make our most scared
faces because, well just because we do!”
And
Bob the Bear said, “We also learned to make funny faces and laugh at ourselves when we make funny faces because it’s
more fun than feeling scared!!!!”
Gizer
agreed they had all learned something very useful.
Now,
he said, let me teach you something else I learned. I found a new way of thinking about FEAR. Does anyone know
how to spell FEAR?
Zeb the Zebra spelled
it “F E E R”, but then Ollie the Ostrich said, “I think it’s spelled F E A R.” Gizer said,
“I guess we could spell it F E E R if we wanted to, but I saw it on a spelling test when I was still a puppy in
puppy school and the right answer is F E A R.”
Gizer
continued, “A friend of mine – Barney, who is a Cat told me that FEAR really stands for FUN, EXCITED, ALWAYS,
and REALIZE. What Barney did was take the F the first letter in Fear and made it into FUN, then he told me the E, the
second letter in Fear meant EXCITED, and the A, the third letter in Fear was ALWAYS, and the R, the last letter in Fear
was REALIZE.”
I asked Barney what
that meant and he said, “Anytime I feel a lot afraid, or just a little afraid, I tell myself, this could be FUN and
then I tell myself, I’m EXCITED about this, and that I REALIZE.”
Barney noticed a sunbeam and ran off and started chasing the sunbeam. When he came back, he
asked if I had any questions.
I said, “Yes!
What am I suppose to REALIZE Barney?”
Barney
made a funny face at me and said, “SAFE, you silly puppy!”
“Can you imagine he called me a silly puppy after going off and chasing a sunbeam himself?
That was Barney’s way of not being embarrassed when he realized that he forgot to tell me what I was supposed to REALIZE.”
“SAFE?” I asked.
“SAFE” Barney said “You know, safe like in my own bed. Safe like in my own
home. Safe like knowing my Mom and Dad and other people love me and care for me.”
“Oh – SAFE! Yes, I know what you mean.” Gizer
said. “So if I begin to feel FEAR, I just think to myself. How can I have FUN with this? And feeling
EXCITED is more FUN than feeling afraid. And that I ALWAYS REALIZE that I’m SAFE because I feel loved and cared
for. And when I feel loved and cared for, I feel SAFE.”
Barney said “Now you know what FEAR really means so now you know there’s really nothing
to fear!”
Gizer continued the story,
“Then Barney decided it was time for a nap. So that night I decided to use what Barney taught me. And you
know what? It helped, I found out it helped me to stop feeling scared and afraid. And instead, I felt safe and
loved.”
“Have I told you what
I use to feel afraid of?” Gizer asked.
Ellie
the Elephant and LeBron the Lion both said “No” at the same time and everyone laughed.
Gizer said, “Well, let me tell you. I used to feel afraid of my
own toys that I used to have so much fun with. I even sometimes felt afraid of my favorite toy. It was a Teddy
Bear that looked a lot like you Bob!”
Bob
the Bear smiled and felt special.
“And
sometimes I would feel afraid to be in my own room by myself. I guess like you might have felt sometimes Zeb.”
Zeb the Zebra seemed relieved that he wasn’t the only one that felt that
way.
“And Thomas, sometimes I would
just feel afraid and not even know what I was afraid of. So I know just how you felt too.”
Thomas the Tiger said, “You know what Gizer? I’m beginning
to feel better already and less afraid just knowing that you and others have felt afraid just like me.”
Gizer said, “You make a good point Thomas. Everyone, and I mean
everyone, has felt afraid about something, sometimes.”
Ellie the Elephant said, “I don’t think my Daddy has ever been afraid of anything.”
Gizer smiled and said, “Well he is big and strong now, but at one time
he was just a little boy elephant and I bet if you ask him, he’ll tell you that he felt afraid of something when he
was little too. He might have even felt afraid of a mouse too. And maybe that’s why you feel afraid of mice.
Maybe you might remember a funny story your GrandMother told you about how your Father was scared by a little mouse one time
when your Father was little.”
Ellie
the Elephant laughed just to think about her Father who was such a very large elephant ever being a little boy elephant and
how a little mouse might have scared him when he was little.
Ollie the Ostrich asked Gizer, “Were you ever afraid of lightning and thunder?”
Gizer said, “Well, I was almost afraid one time when there was a really
big storm, but as soon as the storm started, I noticed the little boy and girl I lived with ran into the room with their Father
and Mother and before they could say they were afraid. The Father said “Look, isn’t the light show from
the lightening beautiful? And isn’t that thunder just so very tremendous?”
“And when the Father said it like that, they just had to agree.
And even though I didn’t know what the word ‘Tremendous’ meant at the time, I felt like it must be good,
so I didn’t feel afraid either!” Gizer said with pride!
Glenda the Giraffe said, “I like how you turned FEAR into something positive. Can you
teach us some more ways not to be afraid?”
Gizer
said, “OK, here’s something to do – STOP saying you ARE or you are BEING Afraid or Scared. Instead
say “I’m feeling afraid.”
LeBron
the Lion looked puzzled and said, “Gizer, isn’t being afraid and feeling afraid the same thing?”
Gizer said, “Well it might seem the same because we all talk like that,
even our parents and our teachers, but they really haven’t thought about it very much. As you know, I think a
lot, especially about words.”
‘Being’
is like something that always is. Like you are a Lion, so you are ‘being’ a Lion. But ‘Feeling’
isn’t always. Have you ever felt Hot or Cold? Or Lonely or Happy? And those kinds of feelings aren’t
always. Are they?”
Gizer continued,
“So instead of BEING afraid, you can just FEEL afraid, like you might feel Hot or Cold. And know that just like
when you feel cold, you can put on a jacket and feel warm. Or you can wiggle around in your bed and feel more comfortable,
then you can find a way to stop feeling afraid and start feeling happy and safe.”
Thomas the Tiger said, “OK, that makes sense. So when I know it’s
just a feeling, I can change my feeling
to Brave or Happy or Safe, instead of Afraid?”
“Yes, that’s Right!” said Gizer.
Gizer looked at his friends with happiness. “I’m proud of
you – all of you. (And just in case you’re wondering, Gizer is proud of YOU too!) You’re learning
a really tremendous lesson today. Remember when I told you I found out what ‘tremendous’ means – well
it means Wonderful, Terrific, and other good stuff like that!”
“OK, now” Gizer asked “How many of you know your ABC’s?”
Several of his Zoo Animal Friends said they did, or raised their hands, but
a few of the younger ones said they didn’t know their ABC’s. Well, not yet anyway.
Gizer said, “Well, here’s another thing that Barney the Cat taught
me. He said all I really needed to know to help get rid of the FEARS was just A… B… C….”
Gizer said A then B, then C, very slowly.
He
continued, “A means ‘ALWAYS’ just like we talked about earlier. And ‘B’ means ‘BE’
like ‘Being”. And ‘C’ means ‘CONFIDENT’ or ‘CALM’, whichever you like
better.”
“So” said Bob
the Bear, “If I FFFEEEEEELLL (and he said the word FEEL very slowly to show Gizer he understood the difference between
feeling and being) a little afraid, I can think ABC – Always Be Calm!”
“Or Confident” added Thomas the Tiger.
Gizer smiled. “Yes, exactly! And those of you who know your ABCs all the way to
the Z, you can start thinking your ABCs and that will take your mind away from whatever you were feeling afraid of at the
time!”
Zeb the Zebra said, “I
like saying my ABCs, especially when I get to the Z part!” The other animals laughed because Zeb said he like
that his name started with the last letter of the alphabet – Z.
Since it was getting time for the Zoo Animal Children to go back home and also for Gizer to go home,
Gizer asked them to review again what they had learned before they all went home.
Ollie the Ostrich said she learned the difference between “feeling” afraid and “being”
afraid.
Bob the Bear said he learned how
much fun it was to make funny faces.
Ellie
the Elephant said she learned that everyone, even her Father, at one time probably felt afraid of something, and that
told her she could stop feeling afraid when she got older, or maybe even now!
Zeb the Zebra said he found out that he wasn’t really alone, that there were always people
who loved him and cared for him. (And I’m sure you have people who love and care for you too.)
Thomas the Tiger said he learned that he could say his ABCs – Always
be Calm or Confident.
Maria the Monkey
said she just liked the laughing when she made scary faces to scare away whatever was trying to scare her.
LeBron the Lion said he liked how he felt when he went over and stood by Ellie
the Elephant and Maria the Monkey when the Bullies were being mean. And that’s when he said he was afraid of the
Bullies too, but he knew that if all three of them stood together, the Bullies would leave them alone.
And Glenda the Giraffe said she just felt better when Gizer told them all about
when he was a puppy and the story about the Father of the little boy and girl telling them about how pretty and exciting the
lightning and thunder were.
Gizer was very
happy. All his friends learned something and he’s just as happy knowing that you learned something now too.
And you know what?
After you listen to this story several times, you’ll begin to know that
you don’t have to feel afraid anymore either. And that makes Gizer feel very happy. And it makes me feel
very happy too!
And now, if you’d
like to, you can play the story again or listen to it as many times as you want to. You can even listen to it as a bed
time story to help you go to sleep! And pretty soon, all those fears will vanish and be gone. And you can even
listen to this story with your parents because even grown people sometimes need help letting go of fears.
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