
Last week, one of the boys discovered a kitten on the outskirts of the grounds of the orphanage. Right away, I was so worried for the little cat, assuming it would be accidentally killed by the boys who hadn’t proven to be the most gentle of souls in the world. In fact, looking at the size of it, I assumed it wouldn’t be able to eat on it’s own and it would eventually starve. But, the boys proved me wrong. One of the boys fetched a saucer of milk, another got a cardboard box, and everyone pulled out their gentle sides. To my surprise, the cat drank the milk, then when the boys had to go to school, it was content in it’s cardboard box, waiting for them to come back and play with it.
It was a special little adventure having the kitten around for a few days. Normally the boys just hit each other for fun, so it was a good experience for them to be able to spend time around something that had to be cared for and treated gently. I worried the poor cat would be stepped on or squeezed too tight, but every boy, no matter how young, seemed to recognize that they needed to be careful around the little cat. I think this proves that there is more to the boys than meets the eye. I already knew that, but this is a good reminder.
Deep down (and not so deep down) every kid is good and gentle and caring.