“Is that a robot?” he asked. “Dad, mom, I love robots!”

“We know you do, little boy,” said Carol. “Do you like it? Daddy made it for you!”

“I love it, mom and dad!” chirped Levi, wiping his tears. “I love it very much! And I love you so much! Thank you!”

Levi was delighted. He loved the robot costume Darren had made out of cardboard and duct tape. Yes, it wasn’t expensive, but it had his heart and his dad’s efforts.

But on the day of the fancy dress event, Levi was crying because of the costume. He was sad because all his classmates were teasing him.

“Look, Levi is wearing a piece of colored cardboard!” a boy said and laughed. “He couldn’t even buy a new costume!”

“Don’t say that, Tony!” Levi protested, swallowing the tears in his eyes. “My dad worked hard on this! He went through videos on his computer, and he did so much hard work!”

“Oh, did he?” another kid said and chuckled with his friends. “Well, that outfit makes you look like a loser! I bet your dad’s a loser too!”

All the kids were so mean to Levi that he started crying. When his name was called, he didn’t show up on the stage and instead cried backstage.

Soon, the show was over, and everyone got to flaunt their costumes except Levi.

“I’m so sorry, dad…” He sniffed. “I didn’t even take part in the competition! I wasted your hard work! I’m sorry…”

Suddenly, Levi heard a loud gasp. He looked at the stage and couldn’t believe his eyes. The school principal, Mr. Frederick, was on the stage, and he was dressed as a robot! A red one, unlike Levi, who was wearing a blue costume.

“Where is my fellow robot? Levi, where are you, child?” he called out from the stage.

“Mr. Frederick?” Levi exclaimed as he stepped onto the stage. “You have the same costume as me!”

“Call me, Captain Red!” he said stiffly. “Agent Blue, you got a nice suit there! Mine took so much time to make!”

“You look cool, Captain Red!” Levi smiled, having forgotten his worries. “My dad made me this suit! I just love it!”

“That’s wonderful, Agent Blue! I’ll ask your dad to make me a suit next time! I saw some kids didn’t appreciate your costume, so I thought, why not show them they’re wrong? You know what? I love your outfit! You’re lucky! Your dad spends love on you, which is more important than just spending money on children…”

That day, Levi won the competition. His dress stood out from the bunch of Spidermans, Batmans, Avengers, and Disney princesses, and he had a huge smile on his face as he lifted the trophy with Captain Red!

At that point, the group of mean kids huddled around Levi and apologized. “WE ARE SORRY, LEVI!” they cried in unison. “Your costume was awesome!”

Levi was happy that the other kids loved his costume. He shared the big basket of candies he had won as a part of the prize with them and said, “It’s ok! I’m not sad anymore. Let’s not be mean to others, ok? Mommy and daddy say we should love each other!”

“That’s absolutely right, Levi,” Mr. Frederick said gently. “Always remember, kids, that we need to stand up for each other and encourage the good in this world. Never put others down! That’s what Captain Red and Agent Blue also believe in!” he added with a wink, and all the kids happily nodded as they devoured the Halloween candies.