A Child Who Just Wants To Play

My son, Levi, was born with a congenital hand defect known as Symbrachydactyly (webbed, shorten fingers that are missing joints). It is a considerably obvious defect that children have commented on throughout Levi's life. So far, I have managed to be nearby when other children have unintentionally made thoughtless comments that could have left Levi feeling bad about his hand.
"What's wrong with your hand?" some children have asked Levi with me in earshot and close by.
In typical mama bear fashion, I swooped in and replied with our go-to response, "Oh, that's just his T-Rex hand. Isn't it cool!"
The children would stare in wonderment/horror and all shake their heads in agreement that Levi's small, T-Rex hand was in fact "cool".
But, as Levi has grown older, he has begun to wander further away from his "mama bear's" protection and has encountered a situation that has left him feeling more insecure than I expected him to ever become at such a young age.
"Ewww, what is wrong with your hand!?" a little girl cried, drawing the attention of her three other, young, girlfriends who all circled around Levi as our family was enjoying a nice, spring day at the park.
I heard and saw the commotion, but was not nearby and didn't want to make things worse by obviously rushing over and possibly embarrassing my son, who is now six and much more aware.
All the girls began gawking at my son's hand, who was smiling ear to ear, hoping he was on the brink of making several new friends.
"I was born with it!" Levi exclaimed happily as I pushed his younger brother in a swing, pretending not to be eavesdropping.
I couldn't hear what the girls were saying as they crowded around Levi before running off, and I'd assumed they had dropped it and moved on with life. What I didn't realize is, the girls had said some pretty hurtful things that had all at once ended my son's days of being blissfully unaware of just how prejudice people can be towards those who are different than them.
A few weeks passed, and I began to realize something had changed in my normally outgoing, super social son. We were at the same park, and I saw Levi going over to a group of kids that were playing. I wasn't surprised by this; Levi has always been one to make immediate friends any and everywhere we go. I was concerned, however, to see that he had both of his hands shoved deeply into his pockets. It was a warm, spring day in Florida, so I knew he wasn't cold. I watched as Levi continued keeping his hands hidden from view as he attempted to make some new friends, growing worried that he felt the need to hide a part of himself in order to do so.
The next day, Levi wore a pair of gloves to church, something he has never done before. And, as mothers often do, I had an intuitive feeling that something had happened weeks early with the group of girls at the park. Something big.
Pulling my son aside, I asked him if he was wearing the gloves because he was trying to hide his hand. He said that he was. I asked him why he wanted to hide it. What he told me next, broke my heart.
"Those girls at the park said my hand was ugly," Levi told me, looking up at me with big, sad eyes. "They told me I couldn't play with them and to get away."
Y'all, thank heaven I know the Lord because I would be so filled with rage without Him. Now -- I'm just sad.
"What?" I said. "They told you to get away?"
"Yeah," Levi replied. "I kept trying to play with them, but they told me I was scary and to get away."
My heart was breaking, but I forced a smile as I tried to think of a way to cheer Levi up. Then, an idea came -- Levi is a super cute kid and everyone always tells him how cute he is, but he has always hated it; he wants to be dangerous and cool. So I tried to work that angle.
"You're just dangerous," I told Levi with a smile. "Those girls are just scared because they're being sissys (I know, I know -- not my shining moment as a parent, but I was upset)."
Levi grinned from ear to ear at the thought of being dangerous, just like he'd always wanted.
I worked to pump him up a little more, explaining that lots of people might be scared of his hand because it looks so dangerous, hoping to get the jump on any future run-ins like this, to keep Levi from ever being ashamed of himself.
Levi seemed appeased. But when I asked him if he still wanted to hide his hand, even though it was so cool and dangerous, he lowered his eyes to the floor and said, "Yeah, I want to hide it with a glove, because I want to make friends."
Now, y'all, besides being completely brokenhearted, I am also so at a loss. Do I help Levi find a glove to wear out in public (he's only just turned six and it kills me that he already feels the need to do this)? Or do I help encourage him to keep his hand uncovered and that the right friends will love his hand? IDK, I'm just heartbroken and lost as to what to do.
Also, to those of you out there who are parents, please spend time with your children teaching them how to respond to those with disabilities, disfigurements and just differences in general. Teach them to do two very simple things: a. ask about it if they must. b. move on and treat them like a regular human being (because THEY ARE!)

Thanks for taking the time to read and thank you in advance for any positive, helpful responses. <3