THERE are many different types of children in the world. Some are quiet, some are loud. Some are cheerful, while others are thoughtful, some are messy and others are neat and orderly. Ahmed was, however, blatantly obnoxious. He did mischievous things almost to everyone.

For instance, he broke his younger sister’s doll for no reason at all and when she cried and complained to their mother, he smiled mischievously and didn’t bother to mend his ways. He enjoyed the crazy barking of his neighbour’s dog when he threw rocks at the poor animal. And at school, he bullied every other boy in his class; he loved to see kids crying or become afraid of him. He bluntly disobeyed his teachers and no punishment ever had any effect on him. Everyone was quite fed up with him.

So one day their complaints and petitions rose in spirit and something supernatural occurred. All the woes and petitions summoned a mysterious, supernatural being, who suddenly appeared in Ahmed’s room. It was the first thing Ahmed saw when he woke up that morning — it was a kind of human. He was tall and had a strange long nose. His eyes were very large, too large for an ordinary human face. He had big ears and wore a long, bright yellow coat and a strange, bright green hat making him look hilariously creepy.

“Hello, Ahmed,” the creepy guy said.

The boy blinked and gasped at the strange apparition that had appeared out of nowhere in his bedroom.

“Who are you?” Ahmed demanded.

“It’s rude not to exchange a greeting. I can see why everyone thinks you’re obnoxious,” the stranger said.

Ahmed jumped out of bed and bellowed, “I ask who you are?”

“I? I’m called by many names. I show up whenever a child is being very obnoxious, like you. I force them to mend their ways by being equally obnoxious, which is why I’m called Mr Not-Nice.”

The boy glowered at the stranger and said, “So, you get others to be nice by not being nice yourself? That’s stupid.”

“Cry all you like. From now on I’ll be following you around.”

“I’ll call the police,” said Ahmed confidently, “... because ... because that’s called stalking.”

“Ahah! Do you think people will believe you? Look little brat, only you who can see me.

“And if you tell anyone, they’ll just think you’re crazy.”

It really was a predicament. Ahmed hurried to school and Mr Not-Nice followed him from class to class. Whenever and to whoever he tried to bully or be rude with, Mr Not-Nice would pinch his arm. And, of course, Ahmed was unsuccessful in his attempts to draw attention to Mr Not-Nice.

Three days passed, Mr Not-Nice kept pinching, pushing and irritating him to the limits. Even during the night, when Ahmed would drop off to sleep, Mr Not-Nice would start singing loudly next to his ear, leaving Ahmed miserable and as a result he looked haggard and tired in school each morning.

Eventually, he was forced to mend his ways. He fixed his sister’s doll one day and tried to be nice with everyone in the house. In school, he apologised to all the classmates whom he had bullied. A few days later, he became more respectful towards his teachers and he also stopped throwing stones at the neighbour’s dog.

Ahmed was completely transformed in just a month. And when Mr Not-Nice was fully satisfied, he informed Ahmed one afternoon that his work here was done.

“But if I ever catch you being obnoxious again, the way you were,” he threatened, ‘I’ll come right back. And will be more horrible then you can ever imagine. Understand?”

Ahmed nodded his head fervently. After that, Mr Not-Nice left. He never had to visit Ahmed again, for he became much kinder afterwards.

I really hope you’re all not as obnoxious as Ahmed. Because if you are, then I bet you’ll be meeting Mr Not-Nice soon.