Level Two. Right and Wrong.
Level Two – Right and Wrong.
By Michelle Lloyd.
New One had a moral compass. It was not an actual thing that he could hold in his hand but he knew it was there, inside him and with it he could tell right from wrong. This his Mum and his Dad had told him. It was lovely to have it because for New One it gave him a sense of direction in life.
It was thought of as simple by New One to tell if an incident or an action was correct or incorrect. All he had to do was think hard about it and use that moral compass to help him decide. It had been easy to do so and never had his moral compass failed him, New One relied on it and trusted it. When he stumbled one day upon his two friends, R V and Little Herbert in what appeared to be a dispute he thought that he should get in and sort it out.
Find out New One did why R V was upset with Little Herbert and then he heard the facts about why Little Herbert was at odds with R V. Hardly ever did those two fight and that was why New One had to admit he was a bit thrown by it all. He handled it as well as he could, he achieved a kind of truce between the two and at least the two were not both shouting their version of the facts at him at once.
New One told them to time out of their problem and that he would, as his parents had advised for him to do, look to his moral compass for the answer. R V and Little Herbert both gave him rather unconvinced looks at this suggestion but they decided to give it and him a go.
There was a moral compass somewhere and New One knew this because he had used it on many occasions before but this time, try as he might, he could not seem to locate it. It was not as easy New One discovered to utilise that moral compass when you had a lot riding on the outcome. He could understand why R V was so sad about Little Herbert letting him down when he had promised he could go over to his house but then, to be fair, when Little Herbert had explained why he had to do it because of his Grandpa’s unexpected need for them to go visit him then he could not blame him either. Which was right? Who was wrong? Both R V and Little Herbert looked to New One and his promised moral compass for the answer. An answer he seemed not to have.
New One took the problem home with him like homework, but unlike homework this could not be solved with a bit of logical thinking. He huffed about it, he sighed loudly and then so loudly again that even Lana dog looked up from where she had been trying to chew on her tail. In the end New One went to his Mum and asked her what he should do with a moral compass that seemed not to be working. If something was faulty, often you could get it repaired and this is what New One was hoping his Mum could tell him. Actually her response was far from what he had expected…
A moral compass New One’s Mum told him was not something that could break. It could be a bit difficult to interpret what it told you but if you looked hard enough you would be able to find the answer. She asked him what the problem was and why it had been so perplexing? New One explained about the two most important loved ones in his life, other than his family, who had fallen out. He told her the facts, the whys and wherefores.
New One’s Mum after listening told him that maybe he should try his moral compass again because often it was in those dilemmas that we had to deliberate on the most that had the most meaning. New One thought about this and what his Mum had told him. He went away and thought about those people who meant so much to him. He knew both R V and Little Herbert well, part of the problem, a big part was that they looked forward to being able to go to each other’s houses so much and it was the disappointment that had meant they had not really behaved in the ways that they normally would. New One thought about it and then he had an idea.
At school New One saw that his friends, R V and Little Herbert were ignoring each other. There were looks, backs turned and amongst all the hubbub of the classroom silence between them. In he went with his suggestion of an alternative meet up time for them and at his house. He explained that if they got together on that day then they could take Lana out as well because his Dad would be at home too. At first, no one said anything. Then, slowly R V began to show interest in the taking Lana out for a walk idea, Little Herbert too thought that this he would like to do because everyone loved Lana and her sniffing, snuffling escape of a walk were lots of fun. All too soon the three were discussing what they would do on this alternative after school outing and New One even saw R V say sorry to Little Herbert about not being understanding when told of his plans with Grandpa. New One felt relieved because when he thought about it the moral compass he had was so valuable. It gave him a lot to be thankful about and mostly that was being able to trust in what he knew.