Week 3 Story: The Story of the Troubled Boys

The Story of the Troubled Boys

There once lived a group of boys who went to Saint Servan’s school in Glasgow, Scotland. The leader of the group of boys was Alexander, along with Charles, Isaac, Mark, and Xavier. They all met about ten years ago when they first came to Saint Servan’s school. They were always little troublemakers, but they were smart little boys. Five years after going to school, a new boy joined their class. His name was Kentigern, and he was a scrawny little fellow. Charles looked at Alexander and nodded his head as if he were saying “that’s our new target.” But Alexander shook his head because they only messed with people who deserved it. Lo and behold, Kentigern soon became their target. He was a know it all and a kiss up, but Saint Servan loved him best and always gave him opportunities that no one else got. It wasn’t fair.

The group of boys and many more at the school became jealous of Kentigern. They began to tease him and try to get him in trouble. Isaac and Xavier would laugh or talk when it was Kentigern’s turn to read, but he never failed, so they gave up on that trick.

Mark and Charles tried to make him mad by calling him names like “four eyes,” but Kentigern never got upset, so they had to give up. The group of boys tried to trick him into trouble and make him do something bad, but Kentigern never wanted to make Saint Servan angry. Then again, they had to give up.

The group of boys went to Alexander’s room after school. They were frustrated and angry. “Why does this always happen?” said Xavier, “He won’t ever do anything bad” said Isaac, “We’re going to have to get creative if we want this to work” said Mark. And then alas, as if a lightbulb went off inside Alexander’s head. “I got it” said Alexander. He told them the plan and they went off to prepare.

Tonight, was Kentigern’s turn to tend to the fire that kept the whole school warm. The boys knew that Kentigern would wake at midnight to tend to the fire, so they had to act before. The boys also knew that Saint Servan would be extremely mad if the fire went out, so they got a pail full of water and threw it onto the fire. They figured that Kentigern would be the one to blame since it was his night to tend to the fire. 

The next morning the boys were snickering, thinking that Kentigern was about to get in trouble. They all went downstairs for breakfast just to see the fire burning. The boys looked at each other in astonishment and then became furious. They hated him, they wanted him to fail, they wanted him to get in trouble, and they didn’t care what they had to do in order to make that happen.

The boys were brainstorming ideas on what to do and then Charles said the cruelest act, but they knew that Kentigern would be punished. Saint Servan had his most prized possession, his beloved robin. The boys snuck into Saint Servan’s room, grabbed the robin, and then ripped off his head. Xavier was in tears as he was the one who pulled its head off and Charles, Mark, and Isaac were about to be sick. Alexander however was ready for the action. He placed the bird in his hands and then they all marched over to Saint Servan.

“Oh dear!” cried Alexander, “look at this monstrous thing Kentigern has done, he killed your robin!” The boys began to cry and the other boys at the school shook their head at Kentigern in disgust. Saint Servan sulked as he took his bird into his hands. He walked over to Kentigern and the group of boys followed. 

“What have you done?” said Saint Servan, “how could such a violent act be committed, I loved this robin!” Kentigern was upset and cried “Oh dear, who could’ve done such a thing?” Then the boys chanted “you did, we all watched you do it!” Kentigern was shocked. The boys looked at each other proudly, knowing that they finally got him in trouble.

But then Kentigern said he was going to prove that he didn’t do it and he took the bird into his hands and prayed. He prayed that he would be able to restore the robin’s life if he wasn’t the one who had killed it. The boys looked in awe as the bird came back to life. The boys then stood there looking guilty as ever as they were the ones who brought the bird to Saint Servan. The boys were punished, and they finally gave up on teasing Kentigern. The group of boys and Kentigern actually grew close and became friends. 

Alexander took a step down, and Kentigern became the leader of the group. The new group of boys were kind and gentle and never teased anyone ever again.

                                                                        Robin from the Story

Author's Note: The original story is Saint Kentigern and the Robin by Abbie Farwell Brown. The original story was written about Kentigern. I decided to write my story about the group of boys that pestered Kentigern and their point of view. I gave the group of boys names and added their thoughts.

Bibliography: Saint Kentigern and the Robin from The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts by Abbie Farwell Brown.