Page 29 - SB-Collard Green Garden

The third negative character is one most apparent in real life, the Bull, who controls through intimidation. In the Young Girl’s reaction to the bull, she thought of the worst things that could happen. “If I change the garden, the Bull will break down the fence and kill me.” By assuming the worst (Stinky Thinking), you cause strong negative emotions such as fear or anger and overreact in your behavior. In the story, her thinking about the Bull leads to her running to her home and refusing to think any more about changing her garden.
If you think like this when getting ready for a test, you upset yourself so much that you do not study well or avoid studying altogether. You don’t fail the test because you are not smart enough but rather because you are too upset to study correctly. If you think like this often, you will be too worried about the possible bad things that might happen to ever try anything new.
You recognized that Cosmos Crow represents Good Thinking. He challenged the Young Girl’s Stinky Thinking. You can not expect to always be free of Stinky Thinking that will generate negative emotions and behaviors. But you can learn the skill of challenging them.
Cosmos demonstrated this challenging skill for the Young Girl. When she voices her concern about what might happen to the Rabbit if she changes the garden, he told her, “It is not your fault that the Rabbit might have to move. You are suffering so he can be happy ... pretty silly. You don’t know that the Rabbit might be happier in the new garden.”
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