Quasimodo

Hello, up there. My name is Quasimodo, and I live in the tallest towers of a big, beautiful church in Paris called Notre Dame. From way up here, I can see the whole city sparkle, and my best friends are the giant, shiny bells. I help them sing their happy songs for everyone to hear: BONG. BING. BONG. They are very loud, but I love them. Some people say I look different, but my bells don't mind. This is the story of how I made a very special friend, a story people call The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

One sunny morning, I saw a girl named Esmeralda dancing in the square down below. She was so full of joy, and her little goat, Djali, hopped right beside her. Everyone loved to watch her dance. Later that day, I was very thirsty, and some people were not being very nice to me. But Esmeralda came right up to me and gave me a cool cup of water. She wasn't scared of me at all. She just smiled, and her smile was like the sun. In her eyes, I could see she was kind. She saw the real me, the me that lived inside. We became friends. I would show her my bells, and she would tell me stories of her dancing.

Esmeralda taught me that what is in your heart is the most important part of you. Our story, which comes from a very famous book, helps people remember that, too. It shows that true beauty isn't about what you look like on the outside, but about how much kindness you have on the inside. So whenever you hear a church bell ring or see a beautiful stained-glass window shine, you can think about my story and remember to look for the goodness in everyone you meet.