A grey morning greeted Pip. He rolled out of his bed of grey leaves and took a bite from a grey berry. A pink spot appeared on his nose. He gasped and licked it — sweet, like summer.
Pip followed a faint trail of pink dust through the grey forest. A grey squirrel stopped him in his path and held out a paw.
Pip rubbed his pink nose against the squirrel's quill. The squirrel's fur blushed red for just a second — then faded back to grey.
By a grey stream, Pip met a grey rabbit and a grey frog. He tried rubbing his nose on each of them, but the color slipped away too quickly. The frog croaked a lonely sound and disappeared under a grey lily pad.
Pip pushed through a curtain of grey vines and gasped. A hidden valley opened before him — every color he had ever dreamed of, glowing all at once.
In the center of the valley, a crystal spring glowed like liquid light. Pip dipped his quills in — and they exploded with rainbow stripes.
Pip ran back as fast as his little legs could carry him. He found the squirrel, the rabbit, and the frog waiting by the stream.
Pip rubbed his rainbow quills against the squirrel, the rabbit, and the frog. This time, the color stayed — red fur, orange ears, green back.
Color stayed this time — red fur, orange ears, green back. The three friends cheered, and the grey forest filled with laughter and bright, happy light.
Pip curled up in his bed of leaves that night, warm and smiling. The forest was no longer grey. It never would be again.