Most children know what forgiveness means but this little story gives a good example.
Christian Children’s Story – Dorothy and the Cartoon Dolphin
Adam screamed at Dorothy with such loudness that his voice began to crack. “Well, you are the stupidest sister ever!”
A reddened Dorothy shouted, “I’m not stupid, Adam!” And she stormed out of the game room, ran upstairs to her room and slammed the door so loud that the neighbors heard it. She threw herself on her bed and cried.
To forget the fight, she turned on her favorite cartoon TV show, Marvin the Dolphin, in her room. She hated fighting Adam but she was so mad right now, she did not know what she would do. As she watched cartoon characters doing silly, mostly ridiculous things, she became distracted.
“Being a cartoon character must be easy,” she thought to herself before drifting off to sleep.
The shrill cartoon voice of Marvin the Dolphin woke Dorothy up as he said, “It’s time for Shakey the Shark to blow up!” She sat straight up looking for the floor in her room, but there wasn’t one. She just sat there. Under her were waves of water in crayon colors but they weren’t water because she was walking on them. Her panic caused her to spin around and see a cartoon world all around her.
She reached desperately for something, but since it was cartoon reality, everything slipped through her fingers.
Upon leaping from the Skalley Walley Ocean, Marvin the Dolphin asked Dorothy, “Why are you here with me?” The word SPLASH appeared above the cartoon water, but Dorothy did not get wet, just covered in cartoon goo that vanished in the next frame.
Trying to figure out how she was about to escape the cartoon and return to real life, Dorothy asked Marvin: “Where are my parents, where is my brother?”
As Dorothy turned around, Chester the chicken grabbed her aboard a huge orange and yellow cartoon jet ski. “But I thought you wanted to be in a cartoon.” Chester the chicken was driving and laughing wildly. The jet ski took off with a swirl of exhaust and then landed near Chester the Chicken’s town, Skalley Wumpkum Town.
In a tone that was always too high or too low but never in the middle, Chester said, “We know you’re mad at Adam, Dorothy. Here in cartoon land, we’ll give you lots of funny ways to get back at him. “SHALZOOM!” Chester said and a cartoon version of Adam appeared.
Dorothy almost ran toward him until he popped out his eyes and turned his feet into springs. She realized he was just a cartoon then.
As mayor of Shalley Wumpkum Town, you are guilty of making Dorothy mad at you. Your sentence is SHALZOOM!” The cartoon Adam was squished by a massive rock as it dropped out of nowhere. As Dorothy screamed, he oozed out of the rock and returned to the shape of cartoon Adam.
Cartoon Adam laughed. “Wowzie Zowzie, that hurt!” he exclaimed.
Chester urged Dorothy, “Don’t let Adam get away with making you mad anymore.”
“But I don’t want Adam to be hurt!” she pleaded.
“Well then I will do it!” Chester replied, opening a wood door in his chicken belly and saying, “SHALZOOM”.
Adam was confronted by a swarm of angry cartoon insects as they rushed out of the door. Adam started running down the road whooping and jumping as they did two loop-de-loops, and each one stung him in the back.
Dorothy did not know what to do. All of this is meaningless and silly. She needed to get some wisdom from someone she trusted to help her deal with her anger at Adam.
“Oh, I wish I was with someone wise today.” She said as she sped up on her cartoon legs which had turned into wheels as she passed Adam. And then she fell, falling, falling, falling.
Suddenly, she awoke.
She heard Grandpa’s voice. She was dozing on his lap. “I think you had a nightmare,” he said to her.
As she began to say, “I did Grandpa. I was a cartoon on the Marvin the Dolphin show, and I was mad at Adam. They were making me do awful things to him.
In a tone only Grandpa could command, he said, “Shush, little girl. You are safe here now. You are angry with Adam. What should you do?” he asked.
As she continued, she decided that she had not yet mastered the art of talking in more than one sentence. “I said some terrible things to him before I returned to my room. I pouted and escaped into the cartoon world and I felt awful. I am not sure how to forgive him, and I know I have to ask for his forgiveness, and..”
Grandpa stopped her and said, “You don’t need magic from cartoons to make things right. You have a secret superpower called forgiveness. If you forgive Adam, you’ll be filled with love again. All those awful feelings will go away.”
In a state of confusion, Dorothy asked her grandfather, “But how?”.
“Do you know how Jesus forgives your sins and comes into your heart?” Grandpa asked.
“Yes, Grandpa. He forgives me for everything and makes me clean inside.”
The forgiveness that Christ gave to you was the same forgiveness that he gave Adam when he died and rose again.
Just turn to Jesus in your heart and ask him for help. As a result of the Holy Spirit, you will be able to let go of resentment and anger. You can forgive Adam from the bottom of your heart. Then, you’ll be able to ask him to forgive you too.”
She hopped down and ran to the door happily hugging Adam and shouting to him, “I feel it already, Grandpa. I think Jesus has given me the superpower of forgiveness.
“Aren’t you supposed to have one more task to do after you make up with Adam?” Grandpa asked her. Dorothy paused and thought for a second before laughing her happy giggle.
She said, “There sure is Grandpa.” She was going to stop watching Marvin the Dolphin right away!
I hope this Christian children’s story about forgiveness from Making Christ Known touched your heart. Please visit often to read others. Thank you so much for visiting. In Christ – Bob