The Boy Who Didn't Care

Barnaby Buttercup was a boy who didn’t care much for anything. He didn’t care for school, he didn’t care for chores, and he certainly didn't care for the yearly town talent show. He much preferred spending time with his pet hamster, Pip, dreaming up silly inventions that never quite worked.

One sunny afternoon, while Barnaby was testing his latest creation - a self-folding laundry contraption - he was visited by a group of goofy-looking squirrels wearing tiny goggles. They were the 'Nutty Ninjas,' and they’d come to the village to cause a bit of harmless mischief. They’d planned on stealing all the town's acorns as part of a big prank!

They 'captured' Barnaby and tied him (very loosely) to a tree. The head Nutty Ninja, a squirrel named Squeaky, declared, “We'll steal all the acorns unless you care about the towns acorns!”. Barnaby just shrugged, “Okay,” he said, yawning, “if you want to.” The Nutty Ninjas were taken aback! They'd never encountered someone who didn’t react to their threats. Usually, people would be worried. But Barnaby didn’t even flinch.

News of the unconcerned boy spread like wildfire through the village. People were amazed – and a little bit amused. The local newspaper ran the headline: 'Boy too Bored to be Scared!' Barnaby, with Pip tucked into his shirt pocket, became an overnight sensation. Everyone wanted to know how he could be so chill.

The Nutty Ninjas, completely confused, started to second-guess their plan. They had expected panic, but Barnaby’s calmness was more confusing than any tantrum. Eventually, Squeaky, frustrated, threw their stolen acorns back into town. Barnaby just blinked at the falling acorns, then went back to working on his laundry machine. From then on, Barnaby was known in his village as the boy who had not cared, but he eventually learned that caring for even small things could be exciting, he just needed to be excited by the right thing. And sometimes it is okay not to be scared or worried, even when things are not going to plan.