Lily and Rose were sisters, and they loved to play together. But sometimes, being sisters was… tricky! Lily loved building tall towers with her colorful blocks, and Rose loved decorating them with sparkly stickers. One evening, Lily started building the tallest tower ever, reaching almost to the ceiling! Rose, excited, grabbed her sticker book.
“Wait, Rose!” Lily called. “I want to finish building first, *then* you can add stickers. If you stick them on now, the tower might wobble!” Rose frowned. She really wanted to decorate *right now*. “But stickers make everything better! And it’s *my* turn to add something!” She carefully placed a shimmering star sticker on the very bottom block.
Lily gasped. “Rose! You didn’t listen! Now it *will* wobble!” And wobble it did! The tower swayed, then tumbled down with a clatter, scattering blocks everywhere. Lily’s eyes filled with tears. “You ruined my tower!” she cried. Rose’s lip trembled. “I didn’t mean to! I just wanted to make it pretty.”
Their mama came into the room, hearing the upset. She sat between them and gave each a warm hug. “It sounds like you both had a different idea of how to play together,” she said gently. “Lily, you were excited about building. Rose, you were excited about decorating. Sometimes, when we want different things, we need to talk and find a way to share.”
Lily and Rose looked at each other. Lily took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I yelled, Rose. I was just sad my tower fell down.” Rose squeezed Lily’s hand. “I’m sorry I put the sticker on before you were ready. I should have waited.” They started to rebuild the tower together, this time taking turns. Lily built a few layers, then Rose added a sticker, then Lily built some more, and then Rose added another sticker.
It wasn’t the tallest tower Lily had ever built, but it was the prettiest! It sparkled and shone with Rose’s stickers, and it stood strong because they had built it *together*. As they finished, Mama tucked them into bed. “You see,” she whispered, “sometimes the best creations are made when sisters work together, with kindness and love.”
Lily and Rose snuggled close, feeling happy and peaceful. They knew that even when they disagreed, their sisterly love was the strongest magic of all. They closed their eyes, dreaming of all the wonderful towers – and sparkly stickers – they would build together tomorrow. Sweet dreams, little ones.