CHAPTER 12 — MOUNT RULING

At the foot of Mount Ruling the four companions stopped once again. The twins stared at the mountain and looked toward Choosy Chicken.
“You climb Mount Ruling by making ruling choices, just like you made caring choices to get over Mount Caring,” Choosy Chicken said to the twins as if they’d asked a question.
“Make lots of OK ruling choices, and you will progress quickly up the mountain. And, again,” said Choosy, “once we start up the mountain, I can’t answer questions. So ask your questions now.”
“I’m not sure I know what ruling choices are,” Tammy said, eyeing her brother uncertainly. He nodded in agreement.
Choosy Chicken waved her wing toward a sign that was partly covered with weeds. The sign said, OK RULING IS WHAT WE SAY OR DO THAT SHOWS GOOD LEADERSHIP.
“The OK side of the mountain is hard for both children and grown-ups,” Choosy said. “Some grown-ups make too many ruling choices even when there is no need, and lots of children think they never make any!”
“Well, I sure can’t think of any we get to make,” Tommy said with a frown.
Just then a baby rabbit streaked across the clearing. With a joyful bark, Red dashed after it.
“Red! Come here. Leave that rabbit alone!” Tommy called.
“Come back, Red. Right now!” shouted Tammy.
Reluctantly, Red gave up his pursuit and returned to the children.
“Now, Red,” Tammy scolded, “no fair picking on a poor defenseless rabbit. Come on and lie down beside us until we’re ready to leave.”
Red sank to the ground at Tammy’s feet, put his head between his paws, and looked up with sad eyes.
Choosy Chicken chuckled. “I thought you children didn’t get to make any ruling choices. It certainly looks like you know how.”
“Oh, I think I get it,” Tommy said, after a moment’s pause. “Any time we make a suggestion or tell someone what to do, that’s a ruling choice. Like when I told Red to leave that rabbit alone.”
“Exactly,” Choosy Chicken nodded. “Some leadership is OK, but you have be careful. It’s very easy to become bossy, and that is OD ruling — it’s overdone.”
“How about when I told Red to lie down?” asked Tammy, “was that OK?”
“Well, the words could have been OK,” said Choosy Chicken, “but your tone of voice — well, what do you think?”
“I guess maybe I did sound a little bossy,” Tammy admitted.
“That’s pretty easy for lots of people to do,” said Choosy. She then looked from one twin to the other. “How about it,” she began, “are you children ready to start?”
“All we have to do is make OK ruling choices?” asked Tommy.
“That’s right,” said Choosy.
“Why don’t we practice as we go along?” Tammy suggested, remembering the problems they’d had on Mount Caring.
“Good idea,” replied Tommy. “Let’s go.”
Red barked, dashed up the path, then turned and barked again, urging the others to hurry. They laughed and set out after him.
The path, though clearly marked, was steep and treacherous, and the twins had plenty of opportunities to make ruling choices.
“Here, Tammy, put your foot here.”
“Watch out, Tommy, that rock’s wobbly.”
“Here, give me your hand.”
“Wait a second.”
“I’ve gotta catch my breath.”
“Come back, Red! Don’t get so far ahead of us.”
“Let’s stop and rest for a minute.”
Choosy Chicken fluttered from rock to rock, clucking merrily to herself at all the OK ruling choices the twins were making.
Suddenly, from high above them, there was a loud roar, and then a high-pitched yelp from Red.
“What was that?” Tammy asked in alarm. “Red where are you? What’s the matter, boy?”
They heard another roar and a yelp from Red. Frantically the children scrambled to the top of the rise, where they gasped in astonishment.
A huge, man-like creature stood there, completely covered with shaggy brown hair, except for his dirty face, and that face reminded the twins of Mr. Walkerton at the corner store. He held an enormous club in his hands and he waved it over the cowering Red, and shouted, “Go away, get away from here!” The club looked like a fat baseball bat, but it seemed to be covered with brown feathers.
“Hey!” Tommy cried sharply. “Cut that out! What do you think you’re doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” snarled the hairy creature. “I’m teaching this dog a lesson.”
“A lesson!” Tammy blinked. “What did he do to you?”
The club wavered. “He — he licked me!” the creature whined, sounding more like a spoiled child than a grown man. Tammy and Tommy looked at each other and had to struggle to keep from laughing. Tommy gave a moment’s thought to Mr. Walkerton. He sometimes wanted to teach someone a lesson, too, but Tommy couldn’t ever picture him whining like this silly creature.
“Stop that! You’re making fun of me!” cried the man in a shrill voice. He raised the club again. “I’ll show you!” He slammed the club down on a rock and it burst into a blizzard of feathers. Red whined and dashed behind the twins, his tail between his legs.
Tammy stepped forward boldly, hands on her hips. “You big bully!” she cried, looking him square in the eye. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”
The twins were amazed when the creature stepped backwards, and they noticed his lower lip begin to quiver. “You mean. . ., you mean you’re not scared of me?” he said.
Tommy’s laugh was scornful. “Scared of you? We’re not scared of, er, people, who pick on animals or kids who are lots smaller than they are!”
The creature seemed to grow smaller right before their eyes. “OK for you!” he said in an angry little boy voice, shaking his fist at them. “I’m going to tell my mommy on you!” and he turned and ran down the hill.
Tammy and Tommy grinned at each other, then burst out laughing as soon as the creature was out of sight. When they looked at Choosy Chicken, they saw her smiling and clucking softly to herself.
Giggling nervously with relief, the children brushed a few feathers off each other and climbed the few remaining steps to the top of the mountain. They sat down in the shade of a large boulder.
“Look, I think there’s a message on the rock above us,” said Tammy, after a few minutes, and she stood up and looked at it more closely. Carved into the face of the boulder was a sign saying OD RULING IS BEING BOSSY OR TAKING THE LEAD TOO OFTEN.
“Oh, being bossy,” said Tommy. “Yeah. I know how to make OD ruling choices,” he shouted as he leaped up and danced down the path with Red barking joyfully at his heels. “Pass me the ball! Take your hands off that! Don’t talk with your mouth full! Pay attention!”
Tammy laughed as she hurried after him and joined in the game. “Give me my shirt!” she sang out. “Stop fighting! Clean up your room!”
They kept it up all the way down the mountain. “Leave my things alone! Quit bugging me! I was here first!”
Finally, laughing and exhausted, they tumbled down on a carpet of soft grass at the base of Mount Ruling.
“And we thought we didn’t know much about ruling choices,” chuckled Tommy. “We make them all the time.”
“You sure know lots about OD ruling, but it might be good to think about whether you make OK ruling choices — with your friends, for instance,” Choosy Chicken said.
“Hmm,” said Tammy, thoughtfully.
Before she could say more, Choosy continued, “What do you think — are most of your ruling choices OK?” She looked from one twin to the other. “And how about the adults around you? Do they sometimes make ruling choices for you because you don’t make good ones for yourselves?”
The twins were quiet for a few moments.
“I guess Grandma makes those choices for us sometimes when we say there’s nothing to do,” Tommy said, with a funny little grin on his face.
“And when we don’t settle our own arguments,” added Tammy.
Choosy Chicken nodded, clucked softly, and beamed. “Exactly!” she said.

Chapter 12 — THE BIG IDEA

For Chapter 12 the Big Idea is: Ruling choices are things we say or do that show any kind of leadership.

Most children think that adults get to make all the ruling choices. But as Tammy and Tommy climbed Mount Ruling they realized that they make many ruling choices every day — especially during activities and games.

Think about some of your recent activities and games. What were some of the leadership (ruling) choices you and others made? Think about this idea and figure out how you can use it to make your life better.

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