Sofia the First: Sticks & Stones

Hugo's Lesson

Sofia and Hugo met up with Amber, Hildegard, and Clio outside.

"Grape, there you are," Hildegard said.

"Hey, Grape, don't you need your purple crayons to finish your book?" Amber joked.

Sofia was angry with Amber, and she wanted this to stop.

"Stop it!" Sofia growled. "Just stop it!"

Amber was shaken by Sofia's anger.

"What's wrong?" Amber asked.

"I'll tell you what's wrong—the nickname!" Sofia snarled. "I don't like being called 'Grape'!"

Everyone but Hugo was surprised that Sofia didn't like her nickname.

"Oh, come on, Sofia," Hildegard urged. "This is supposed to be fun."

"It may be fun for you, but it hurts my feelings," Sofia pointed out. "Why do you think I asked you to stop calling me that in the first place? Just because you like it, it doesn't mean it's okay for you to keep calling me that. This really isn't funny."

"Aw, Sofia, remember what I told you before?" Amber asked. "Sticks and stones can break your bones, but names can never, ever hurt you."

"Amber, that phrase is 100% untrue—names can hurt," Hugo pointed out. "They can even be dangerous. I know because I understand Sofia's feelings very well."

"You do?" Sofia asked.

"Remember last Saturday at flying derby practice when I was feeling blue?" Hugo asked. "Yeah, and you said you didn't want to talk about it," Sofia said.

Hugo's heart had a little anguish in it. "Well, I'm going to tell you now," he sighed. "It was before flying derby practice. It was a beautiful sunny day in Albuquerque, and I didn't know what to do with myself." To explain what happened, Hugo began to sing.

Just last week on a sunny day

I didn't know what I wanted to play

Axel asked me to play basketball

So I ran up and answered the call

When I got the ball, I gave it all I got

But the hoop was so high that I missed my shot

Then Axel's friends started laughing at me

And calling me names...it hurt, you see

And what I learned that day would be

That it's sometimes really bad to give nicknames

And it's really not always a very funny game

So you'd better watch what you say,

Or you'll learn that the hard way

'Cause no one really likes to be called a mean nickname

Sofia felt really bad for Hugo. "I'm really sorry your brother's friends made fun of you like that," she sighed sadly.

"So does that mean we can't give each other nicknames anymore?" Amber asked.

"Well, you can as long as the nickname is kind and that person likes it," Hugo said. "Sofia liked it when I referred to her as several purple flowers I could name."

"Yeah, they really made me feel better," Sofia smiled.

"That's good to know," Hugo smiled. Then he continued his song.

So if you ever give your friend a nickname,

Make sure that they really love it just the same

Just remember to be kind

And I know you're sure to find

You can have a lot of fun with the kindest nicknames

You can have a lot of fun with the kindest nicknames

Everyone understood the words in the song, and the princesses felt bad that they called Sofia a nickname she didn't like.

"I think we understand now," said Clio.

"Yeah, I know I really wouldn't like it if people called me a mean nickname," Hildegard agreed.

"Me neither," Amber added.

Amber turned to her younger sister and said, "I'm really sorry, Sofia."

"We all are sorry," Clio added.

"Forgive us please?" Hildegard pleaded.

Sofia knew that everyone was sorry for calling her "Grape", and she knew they deserved her forgiveness.

"All is forgiven," Sofia smiled.

The three princesses hugged Sofia tightly, happy that Sofia had forgiven them. But then Sofia remembered one thing. "Hugo, did your brother's friends ever apologize to you for hurting your feelings?" she asked him.

Hugo knew what Sofia meant; Axel's friends still didn't apologize to him for calling him "Shorty", and he was still hurt and angry.