When danger strikes, most people freeze or run. Not these kids. They turned into superheroes.
HERO: 11-year-old Prasannata Shandilya, India
THE HEROIC DEED: Stopping a home invasion
WHAT HAPPENED: One evening in 2011, Prasannata was in her room near the kitchen when she heard her parents screaming. Robbers had invaded their house. They were demanding the family’s valuables and brutally beating her parents. Prasannata knew she had to do something. “I tiptoed into the kitchen,” she said, “and prepared a mix of turmeric and chili powder.” Then she slipped into the room with the robbers and threw the spicy mix into their eyes. The robbers fled, eyes streaming. “She has always been a smart kid,” said her father. “We were amazed by her courage and are proud of her.”
HERO: 11-year-old Jonah Yano, Hawaii
HEROIC DEED: Thwarting a car thief
WHAT HAPPENED: Jonah and his 9-year-old sister were sitting in their dad’s pickup truck in front of their house. Seconds earlier, Mr. Yano had walked to the back of the truck to grab something. He noticed a man walking across the street toward the truck, but before he could react, the man jumped into the driver’s seat and took off down the road with the kids. What the car-jacker didn’t know: Jonah is a student of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. “I grabbed his shoulder and started punching his face, telling him to get out of the truck,” Jonah told reporters. Jonah’s fast fists gave his dad time to catch up with the truck and pull the criminal out of it. Jonah said he wasn’t scared, even though the thief was much bigger than he was. All he could think about was protecting his sister.
HERO: 15-year-old Mohamed Ibrahim, the Maldives
HEROIC DEED: Stopping an assassination
WHAT HAPPENED: In 2008, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives—an island nation in the Indian Ocean—stood before a cheering crowd. Nearby, dressed for the occasion in his blue Boy Scout uniform, Mohamed waited in line to greet the president. Suddenly, a man rushed at the president with a knife. Mohamed reacted instantly. He grabbed the knife with his bare hands, deflecting it enough that all it did was rip the president’s shirt. “There was blood on the president’s shirt,” said Gayoom’s spokesman. “But it was the boy’s.” Though Mohamed’s hand needed stitches, his bravery was applauded. How’d he know what to do? His training as a Boy Scout taught him to “Be Prepared.”
HERO: 10-year-old Priyanshu Joshi, India
HEROIC DEED: Saving his sister from a leopard
WHAT HAPPENED: Priyanshu and his sister were walking to school one day when a leopard sprang at the girl. Within moments, the big cat had torn loose her earlobe. “There was no time to waste,” said Priyanshu. “My school bag became my weapon. I began hitting him with the bag. I also punched him.” Luckily, a noisy army vehicle passed by and distracted the leopard. “Otherwise, it would have carried us away,” said Priyanshu. In 2010, the Indian Prime Minister gave the bag-toting leopard fighter a National Bravery Award.
HERO: 8-year-old Reese Ronceray, New Jersey
HEROIC DEED: Saved a kid from drowning
WHAT HAPPENED: Reese was playing near a lake with his 5-year-old neighbor. When the younger boy fell into deep water, Reese remembered an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants in which one character rescues another who is drowning. Reese jumped right in after his friend. He tucked the younger boy under one arm and paddled with the other—the same technique he saw on SpongeBob. “We just plopped and went under the water,” Reese said, “but I kept moving my arms all the way to the surface.” Reese paddled his young neighbor to safety. What did the boy’s mom say to her son’s rescuer? “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” Reese told an interviewer. (Who says cartoons have no redeeming value?)
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TONGUE TWISTED
Sixteen skeletons juggle skulls by the seashore.