In a leafy clearing, Muddle and a best friend found a shiny blue leaf. Sunlight flashed across its silver veins.
Muddle snatched the leaf. “It’s mine!” Muddle shouted, racing down the woodland path as dry leaves crackled under Muddle’s paws.
Muddle kicked a pinecone into the ferns. Bonk! It struck a sleepy frog’s lily-pad hat, and the frog splashed into the stream.
Muddle stopped. “Oh,” Muddle whispered, watching ripples spread across the stream. The pinecone bobbed beside the reeds.
Under an old oak, Muddle turned the blue leaf over and over. The stream gurgled nearby, and Muddle remembered a friend reaching for it too.
Muddle looked toward the clearing. The leaf no longer seemed like a treasure to hide, so Muddle started walking back.
At the clearing, Muddle placed the blue leaf on the moss. “I’m sorry,” Muddle said, while the best friend listened.
The best friend explained that the leaf belonged to both of them. A breeze lifted it, and it landed on Muddle’s nose.
Muddle and the best friend chased the flying leaf together. It skittered beside the stream, flashing blue between the grasses.
Together, they tucked the blue leaf into a shared nest of grass and leaves. Then they walked home side by side.
