The Little Girl who Dared to Wish
 
 
       As Amy Hagadorn rounded the corner across the hall from  her classroom, she collided with a tall boy from the fifth   grade running in the opposite direction.
       "Watch it, Squirt," the boy yelled, as he dodged around   the little third grader.  Then, with a smirk on his face,  the boy took hold of his right leg and mimicked the way Amy
  limped when she walked.
       Amy closed her eyes for a moment.
       Ignore him, she told herself as she headed for her classroom.
       But at the end of the day, Amy was still thinking about  the tall boy's mean teasing. It wasn't as if he were the  only one. It seemed that ever since Amy started the third
  grade, someone teased her every single day. Kids teased her  about her speech or her limping.  Amy was tired of it.
  Sometimes, even in a classroom full of other students, the  teasing made her feel all alone.
       Back home at the dinner table that evening Amy was  quiet.  Her mother knew that things were not going well at  school.  That's why Patti Hagadorn was happy to have some  exciting news to share with her daughter.
       "There's a Christmas Wish Contest on the radio station," Amy's mom announced.  "Write a letter to Santa and  you might win a prize.  I think someone at this table with
  blond curly hair should enter."
       Amy giggled.  The contest sounded like fun.  She started thinking about what she wanted most for Christmas.
       A smile took hold of Amy when the idea first came to her. Out came pencil and paper and Amy went to work on her  letter.  "Dear Santa Claus," she began.
       While Amy worked away at her best printing, the rest of the family tried to guess what she might ask from Santa.  Amy's sister, Jamie, and Amy's mom both thought a 3-foot   Barbie Doll would top Amy's wish list. Amy's dad guessed a  picture book.  But Amy wasn't ready to reveal her secret  Christmas wish just then.  Here is Amy's letter to Santa,   just as she wrote it that night:
 
  Dear Santa Claus,
 
       My name is Amy. I am 9 years old.  I have a problem at   school. Can you help me, Santa?  Kids laugh at me because of  the way I walk and run and talk.  I have cerebral palsy.  I   just want one day where no one laughs at me or makes fun of  me.
 
  Love,
  Amy
 

       At radio station WJLT in Fort Wayne, Indiana, letters   poured in for the Christmas Wish Contest.  The workers had fun reading about all the different presents that boys and
  girls from across the city wanted for Christmas.
       When Amy's letter arrived at the radio station, manager  Lee Tobin read it carefully. He knew cerebral palsy was a   muscle disorder that might confuse the schoolmates of Amy   who didn't understand her disability.  He thought it would  be good for the people in Fort Wayne to hear about this special third grader and her unusual wish. Mr. Tobin called  up the local newspaper.
       The next day, a picture of Amy and her letter to Santa  made the front page of The News Sentinel.  The story spread  quickly.  All across the country, newspapers and radio and   television stations reported the story of the little girl in   Fort Wayne, Indiana, who asked for such a simple, yet  remarkable, Christmas gift-- just one day without teasing.
       Suddenly the postman was a regular at the Hagadorn   house. Envelopes of all sizes addressed to Amy arrived daily  from children and adults all across the nation.  They came   filled with holiday greetings and words of encouragement.
       During that unforgettable Christmas season, over two thousand people from all over the world sent Amy letters of  friendship and support.  Amy and her family read every
  single one.  Some of the writers had disabilities; some had  been teased as children.  Each writer had a special message  for Amy.  Through the cards and letters from strangers, Amy   glimpsed a world full of people who truly cared about each   other.  She realized that no amount or form of teasing could   ever make her feel lonely again.
       Many people thanked Amy for being brave enough to speak  up. Others encouraged her to ignore teasing and to carry her  head high. Lynn, a sixth grader from Texas, sent this   message:
       "I would like to be your friend," she wrote, "and if you want to visit me, we could have fun.  No one would make fun of us, cause, if they do, we will not even hear them."
       Amy did get her wish of a special day without teasing  at South Wayne Elementary School.  Additionally, everyone at  school got an added bonus.  Teachers and students talked   together about how bad teasing can make others feel.
       That year, the Fort Wayne mayor officially proclaimed   December 21st as Amy Jo Hagadorn Day throughout the city.  The mayor explained that by daring to make such a simple  wish, Amy taught a universal lesson.
       "Everyone," said the mayor, "wants and deserves to be
  treated with respect, dignity and warmth."
 
  by Alan D. Shultz
 from Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul
  Copyright 1998 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty
  Hansen and Irene Dunlap