BANANA GUIDE GOES TO CAMP   

Pre-story prep: take a not-too-ripe banana, using a long darning needle, pierce the skin at the side and push the needle through the fruit of the banana all the way to the skin...yes, this is hard to describe! I'll tell you what you *want* to have happen... When you peel this banana you want it to fall into many slices. All the way down the banana, about every half inch, I push the needle through the peel, moving it from side to side in order to make a "slice". Try to keep the skin completely intact! Optional: I put a smiling face on using a black marker.

Story: (here follows one camp version of the story; you may have to modify it to use it in your circumstances)

I brought my friend Banana Guide with me to our campfire today. Doesn't she look nice? I really enjoy Banana Guide's company. Did you know she went to Guide camp this year? Yes, but she didn't enjoy herself a lot. All the Guides at camp made fun of her. They said nasty, hurtful things to her. Can you imagine what they might have said? (ask for suggestions of what was said)e.g. You have too many freckles!.....You're not a nice yellow color like me!.....You're too small!

Well, I can tell you that this did not make Banana Guide very happy. Look at her face...doesn't she have a nice smile? She didn't let any of the Guides know that they were hurting her. Did you know words could hurt? Has anyone ever hurt you with words? Banana Guide just kept smiling and tried not to feel hurt but inside...well, she wants us to know how she felt inside. (begin to peel the banana)

Sometimes when we say things that are not nice the people we say them to look just the same as they did before but inside they begin to feel like Banana Guide did...can you see what the mean words did to Banana Guide? (by the time you are half finished peeling, the banana will fall apart into many slices...help the children to reflect on what hurtful words can do and what we can do to prevent our friends/fellow campers from feeling hurt inside.)

Hope you enjoy this little story. It was very helpful in a situation where there was a girl who was "differently-abled" and many of the girls were snubbing her or even being mean to her. This story was told at campfire time. The day after campfire several of the girls began helping out and being nice to her!!