Here is a story about the tragedy of September 11 - a story for American moms and dads to tell to their children:

We belong to a big family called the USA.

Some people who live in another part of the world think our family did things to hurt their family, so they wanted to hurt us back.

They stole some aeroplanes and crashed them into some buildings full of people.

And many people were hurt and many died and some of them were our close friends.

And we are angry and scared, because we do not think we did anything that bad to the people who did that to us.

It is like some kids at school all of a sudden beat you up one day. And maybe you knew that they did not like you, but you did not have any idea that they hated you that much, because they really hurt you.

It makes you and your friends really scared.

So what do you do? You tell your teacher.

And you tell your mom and dad. And you get your friends to wait together at the bus stop so you will not be alone.

And maybe you tell the police. Then maybe the police catch the kids and punish them and warn them not to ever do anything like that again.

And maybe they change the rules in school so there is always a teacher or a parent or a policeman there to watch out so nobody does something like that to you again.

Maybe, even, after they stop being angry and scared, your parents talk to the other kids' parents and try to figure out why the other kids wanted to be so mean.

Maybe they will even find out that there's something you can do to help the kids stop being so hateful, and maybe they will even get to be your friends.

That is what our big US family is doing, now.

They are going to try to catch the people that hurt us and punish them and warn them not to do it again.

They are going to have policemen at the airports and on the aeroplanes so nobody can steal one again.

They are getting together with all the other countries that are our friends to figure out how to protect each other better.

Maybe they will even talk better with the countries that are our enemies and figure out why they are so angry at us and try to make them more our friends.

You need to know that this isn't a world where crazy people do terrible, unpredictable things.

This is not a world full of monsters.

This is a world where people do things for reasons.

And when you grow up, maybe you will help figure out the reasons, so you can help everybody in the world do more good things and not do so many terrible things.

Wells Hively, PhD, is a psychologist at Ashton Associates and the Family Learning Centre. Staff of The Family Learning Centre are available to counsel families suffering from the aftermath of September 11. Call 295-1116.