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Small
Wooden People
The
Wemmicks were small wooden people. Each of the wooden people was carved by a
woodworker named Eli. His workshop sat on a hill overlooking their village.
Every Wemmick was different. Some had big noses, others had large eyes. Some
were tall and others were short. Some wore hats, others wore coats. But all
were made by the same carver and all lived in the village.
And all day, every day, the Wemmicks did the same thing: They gave each
other stickers. Each Wemmick had a box of golden star stickers and a box of
gray dot stickers. Up and down the streets all over the city, people could
be seen sticking stars or dots on one another. The pretty ones, those with
smooth wood and fine paint, always got stars. But if the wood was rough or
the paint chipped, the Wemmicks gave dots. The talented ones got stars,
too.. Some could lift big sticks high above their heads or jump over tall
boxes. Still others knew big words or could sing very pretty songs. Everyone
gave them stars.
Some Wemmicks had stars all over them! Every time they got a star it made
them feel so good that they did something else and got another star. Others,
though, could do little. They got dots. Punchinello was one of these. He
tried to jump high like the others, but he always fell. And when he fell,
the others would gather around and give him dots. Sometimes when he fell, it
would scar his wood, so the people would give him more dots. He would try to
explain why he fell and say something silly, and the Wemmicks would give him
more dots.
After a while he had so many dots that he didn't want to go outside. He was
afriad he would do something dumb such as forget his hat or step in the
water, and then people would give him another dot. In fact, he had so many
gray dots that some people would come up and give him one without reason.
"He deserves lots of dots," the wooden people would agree with one another.
"He's not a good wooden person." After a while Punchinello believed them.
"I'm not a good wemmick," he would say.
The few times he went outside, he hung around other Wemmicks who had a lot
of dots. He felt better around them. One day he met a Wemmick who was unlike
any he'd ever met. She had no dots or stars. She was just wooden. Her name
was Lulia. It wasn't that people didn't try to give her stickers; it's just
that the stickers didn't stick. Some admired Lulia for having no dots, so
they would run up and give her a star. But it would fall off. Some would
look down on her for having no stars, so they would give her a dot. But it
wouldn't stay either.
'That's the way I want to be’, thought Punchinello. 'I don't want anyone's
marks.' So he asked the stickerless Wemmick how she did it. "It's easy,"
Lulia replied. "every day I go see Eli." "Eli?" "Yes, Eli—the woodcarver. I
sit in the workshop with him." "Why?" "Why don't you find out for yourself?
Go up the hill. He's there." And with that the Wemmick with no marks turned
and skipped away. "But he won't want to see me!" Punchinello cried out.
Lulia didn't hear. So Punchinello went home. He sat near a window and
watched the wooden people as they scurried around giving each other stars
and dots. "It's not right," he muttered to himself. And he resolved to go
see Eli.
He walked up the narrow path to the top of the hill and stepped into the big
shop. His wooden eyes widened at the size of everything. The stool was as
tall as he was. He had to stretch on his tiptoes to see the top of the
workbench. A hammer was as long as his arm. Punchinello swallowed hard. "I'm
not staying here!" and he turned to leave. Then he heard his name.
"Punchinello?" The voice was deep and strong. Punchinello stopped.
"Punchinello! How good to see you. Come and let me have a look at you."
Punchinello turned slowly and looked at the large bearded craftsman. "You
know my name?" the little Wemmick asked. "Of course I do. I made you." Eli
stooped down and picked him up and set him on the bench. "Hmm," the maker
spoke thoughtfully as he inspected the gray circles. "Looks like you've been
given some bad marks." "I didn't mean to, Eli. I really tried hard."
"Oh, you don't have to defend yourself to me, child. I don't care what the
other Wemmicks think." "You don't?" "No, and you shouldn't either. Who are
they to give stars or dots? They're Wemmicks just like you. What they think
doesn't matter, Punchinello. All that matters is what I think. And I think
you are pretty special."Punchinello laughed. "Me, special? Why? I can't walk
fast. I can't jump. My paint is peeling. Why do I matter to you?"
Eli looked at Punchinello, put his hands on those small wooden shoulders,
and spoke very slowly. "Because you're mine. That's why you matter to me."
Punchinello had never had anyone look at him like this-much less his maker.
He didn't know what to say. "Every day I've been hoping you'd come," Eli
explained. "I came because I met someone who had no marks." "I know. She
told me about you." "Why don't the stickers stay on her?"
"Because she has decided that what I think is more important than what they
think. The stickers only stick if you let them." "What?" "The stickers only
stick if they matter to you. The more you trust my love, the less you care
about the stickers."
"I'm not sure I understand." "You will, but it will take time. You've got a
lot of marks. For now, just come to see me every day and let me remind you
how much I care." Eli lifted Punchinello off the bench and set him on the
ground. "Remember," Eli said as the Wemmick walked out the door. "You are
special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes." Punchinello didn't
stop, but in his heart he thought, "I think he really means it." And when he
did, a dot fell to the ground.
(The source of the story entitled Small Wooden People is a book by a
prolific Christian writer named Max Lucado . The actual title is You Are
Special . Max Lucado has lots of other children's books as well as adult
books. Explore his website at:
http://maxlucado.com )
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Last Edited
04/14/08
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