One sunny afternoon, Sammy the squirrel was playing in the forest near his big oak tree. He chased butterflies, climbed branches, and collected acorns, just like he did every day. But today, something shiny caught his eye.
Near the edge of the forest, by a sparkling stream, lay a beautiful rock. It shimmered in the sunlight with swirls of blue and silver, almost like a tiny rainbow trapped inside. Sammy’s little eyes grew wide with excitement.
“Wow! This must be a magic rock!” he exclaimed, twitching his bushy tail. He looked around to see if anyone else had spotted it. But the forest was quiet.
Sammy scooped up the rock and held it close. “I bet this rock can do something amazing!” he whispered.
Meeting Freddie the Frog
As Sammy carried the shiny rock back to his tree, he bumped into Freddie the frog, who was lounging on a lily pad in the stream.
“Hey there, Sammy! What’s that you’ve got?” croaked Freddie, his big eyes blinking curiously.
“It’s a magic rock!” Sammy said, proudly holding it up. “I think it can make wishes come true.”
Freddie’s eyes widened. “A magic rock? Wow! Can it make me jump higher than the trees?”
Sammy scratched his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t made a wish yet!”
Freddie wiggled with excitement. “Then you should try it! Go on, make a wish!”
A Big Wish
Sammy closed his eyes tightly, clutched the shiny rock in his little paws, and made a wish. “I wish… I wish for the biggest pile of acorns in the whole forest!”
He opened one eye, then the other, and peeked around. But nothing happened. No acorns. No magic sparkles. Just Freddie sitting on his lily pad, looking confused.
“Maybe the rock needs time,” Sammy said with a shrug. “I’ll just wait by my tree and see what happens.”
The Helpful Crow
On his way back to the oak tree, Sammy met Carla the crow, who was perched on a branch.
“Hello, Sammy! What’s that sparkly thing you have there?” Carla asked, tilting her head.
“It’s a magic rock,” Sammy said, holding it up again. “But I don’t think it’s working yet.”
Carla cawed softly. “Magic? Maybe it’s not the rock that’s magic. Maybe it’s what you do with it that makes the magic happen.”
Sammy blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Try sharing it with someone,” Carla said with a wink. “Magic often grows when it’s shared.”
Sammy thought about that as he scampered the rest of the way to his tree.
Sharing the Magic
The next morning, Sammy saw Freddie the frog hopping along the stream. “Hey, Freddie!” Sammy called. “Want to borrow the shiny rock?”
Freddie’s eyes lit up. “Really? You’ll let me borrow it?”
“Sure!” Sammy smiled, handing the rock to his friend. “Maybe it will help you jump even higher!”
Freddie gave a mighty leap—and although he didn’t jump higher than the trees, he jumped farther than he ever had before. He was so happy, he croaked a song all morning.
The Real Magic
That afternoon, Carla the crow came by and saw Sammy smiling under the oak tree. “How did it go, Sammy? Did the rock bring any magic?”
Sammy chuckled. “Freddie jumped higher than ever, and it made him so happy! I think you were right, Carla. The magic isn’t in the rock—it’s in making other animals happy.”
Carla cawed with delight. “Now that’s the best kind of magic, Sammy.”
Sammy grinned and tucked the shiny rock into a little hole in his tree, where he could see it glimmer whenever the sunlight hit it just right. “I’ll keep it as a reminder,” he said, “that the real magic is in sharing and being kind.”
From that day on, Sammy made it his mission to share magic moments with all the animals in the forest. And though the shiny rock stayed in his tree, the magic it inspired spread through the forest like sunshine—one happy heart at a time.
