The Boy Who Cried Boo

. . . Here ensues, a brief summary of the plot, and an anthropological tracing of how the tale was born . . .

. . . A lover of the English language, of all things, whilst I was looking-up the etymology of the word / interjection 'boo' I came across this passage written in the late 19th c., by Walter W. Skeat, which not only creates the opening of my story, but also encapsulates it's intended moral, & effect:

"To be able to say Bo! (sic) to a goose is to be not quite destitute of courage, to have an inkling of spirit, and was probably in the first instance used of children.
A little boy who comes across some geese suddenly will find himself hissed at immediately, and a great demonstration of defiance made by them, but if he can pluck up heart to cry 'bo!' loudly and advance upon them, they will retire defeated.
The word 'bo' is clearly selected for the sake of the explosiveness of its first letter and the openness and loudness of its vowel"

Such, is the idea of this story: a young boy, who is unpopular, and habitually shy, at last plucks up his courage, and his first act of retribution, is to crie 'Boo!' at a gaggle of geese; he then proceeds to crie 'Boo!' in several other tricky situations, each time, becoming stronger in heart, and taller in courage.