Stephen C. Satterly, II – Author

Well hello! This is Steve, the narrator. Today, we’re gonna talk about a story that involves something you might have done yourself. Do you know what a tantrum is? It’s a sudden outburst of anger, often done by children, although some adults have been known to have them as well. It can involve yelling, acting out, and crying. It’s definitely not an acceptable behavior. In today’s story, Haimish comes upon his little brother Stevie having a tantrum.

Haimish is walking down the hallway of his Haggis burrow home when he hears some growling and yelling coming from Roman and Stevie’s room. He opens the door and stares in shock at what he sees.

The room, which is usually neat and tidy, looked like a tornado had gone through it. Clothes were scattered around the floor, and Stevie’s bed was all messed up. Worse, Stevie was standing in the middle of the floor. He had a sweater over his head, and as Haimish looked on, he slammed the sweater down onto the floor with a growl.

Haimish stared for a moment, but finally found his voice. “Stevie, Gonnae no’ dae that!” he said. That means ‘Don’t do that!’

Stevie whirled around and growled, “Leave me alone!”

Haimish replied, “Och! Yer aff yer heid, ya numpty!” That means ‘You’re acting crazy, silly person!’ He turned and went to get his father.

Haimish found his da in the living room, smoking his pipe in front of the fireplace.

“Pa,” Haimish begins, “Stevie is being a numpty!”

Pa smiles, “That be woon way tae say it, laddie. Oi can ‘ear ‘im. Wut’s ‘e goan oon aboot?” He was asking, ‘What’s the problem?’

Stevie thought a moment. “I dinnae ken, Pa. He’s throwin’ ‘is clothes everywhere, growling and acting like a bampot.” He was saying his brother was acting crazy.

Pa’s face grew serious. “Your braf be up tae high doh,” (Your brother is frustrated.) he said as he got up out of his chair. “Stay here, laddie. Ah’ll gae talk to ‘im.”

Pa found Stevie sitting in his room. The room was in complete chaos, with clothes everywhere, and Stevie’s bed was messed up. Stevie was sitting in the middle of it all, crying.

Pa walked in and knelt next to Stevie. “Ye’ve gie it laldy, laddie.” (He was showing his disapproval.) “Wut air ye off yer heid aboot?” (What’s making you upset?)

Stevie sniffled a couple of times. “Ah wanted tae play wi’ me mates, but Ma said ah had tae clean mae room first.”

Pa looks around the room at the mess. “It seems tae me,” he tells Stevie, “That ya’ve made yer room worse.”

Stevie sadly replies, “Ah ‘ave, Pa.”

Pa put his arm around Stevie. “Laddie, we all ‘ave times when we want tae do something fun, but have tae do summat else first. Ye ‘ave tae do wut yer supposed tae do first. It’s called ‘responsibility’, laddie. Ye can still go play wi’ yer mates, just clean yer room. Ya still want tae play, dinnae?” (You still want to play, don’t you?)

Stevie, still sniffling, nods. “Och, aye, Pa!” (Yes, Pa!)

Pa hugs Stevie, “Well, laddie, then ya better git tae cleanin’ up this mess.”

Stevie looks around in dismay, “But Pa, the mess is so big!”

Pa nods, “Och, aye, laddie. Whit’s fer ye’ll no go by ye. (What will be will be. He’s saying it just has to be done.) Just start wi’ one thing and get that done, then move on tae the next thing.”

Stevie stands up and picks up a shirt off the floor. “Aye, Pa.”

Pa turns and sees Haimish standing in the doorway. Pa says, “Haimish, a burden shared is a lighter burden fer all.”

Haimish thinks a moment, then smiles. “Och, aye, Pa! Hey, Stevie! Ah’ll help ya.” He steps into the room and begins picking up clothes. “Betcha ah can do it faster!”

Stevie smiles and says, “Bet ya can’t ya numpty!” They begin racing around the room to put the clothes where they belong. Roman comes into the room, sees what they’re doing, and says, “Ah bet ah can do it better!”

Soon, all three are running around the room, picking up clothes and putting them where they belong. In no time, the room has been picked up. The three started arguing over who did it best and ended up wrestling on the floor, laughing.

Ma came by and saw Pa standing in the door, smiling. “Wut air the bairns up tae?” she asked, (Bairns means children.)

Pa chuckled. “Laddies bein’ laddies.”

Questions to talk about

Why was Stevie crying?

What is a tantrum?

What might be a better way for Stevie to act when he was told what to do?

Do you remember ever having a tantrum? How did you feel after it?

What does “responsibility” mean?

What did Pa mean when he said, “A burden shared is a lighter burden fer all”?