Anne was a very quiet girl who had an inherent fear of almost everything. The kids at school would play tricks on her all the time. They would hide behind the door of the school janitor’s closet, then jump out to scare her. Once, a boy dressed up like a vampire and chased her down the street. Anne hated being constrained by her fears, but she didn’t know how to be brave.

She was walking home from school one day when someone came up behind her. Before she could turn around, a powerful man grabbed her. She couldn’t scream because a huge hand was put over her mouth. Anne knew that this could not be another stunt by her classmates. The scary man restrained her arms and legs and carried her to his house. He tied Anne to a chair. Her guts began to hurt because she was so scared.

The man prodded Anne with his forefinger and said, “You’ll stay right here until I get a ransom from your parents. Then I’ll be rich!” The dirty man spit when he talked. A string of saliva hung from his moist lips. Anne was terrified and intimidated by the horrible man. But she knew she had to escape somehow.

Eventually, the man yawned. Anne waited quietly until he fell asleep. As he slept, she carefully wiggled her arms and legs until the ropes became loose. She slipped out of the ropes and carefully opened the door. She sprinted to the bus depot and boarded a bus to the police station. She told the police what happened, and they arrested the kidnapper.

The kids at school were amazed. They asked her, “Weren’t you too scared to escape?”

She said, “Nope, I knew that I had to be brave and get out of there!”

The kids were very tolerant of Anne from then on. They even decided that they would emulate her bravery if they ever got into a tough situation.