Sparky was a little dragon, and he *loved* shiny things. He had a cave full of them! Smooth, colorful stones, sparkly bits of glass, even bottle caps that shimmered in the dim light. He loved to arrange them, count them, and admire them all by himself.
One sunny morning, Rosie the rabbit and Barnaby the bear came to visit. “Wow, Sparky! What a lot of shiny things!” exclaimed Rosie. Barnaby’s eyes grew wide. “Can we play with them?”
Sparky hugged his favorite blue stone tightly. “No!” he said. “These are *my* shiny things. I don’t want anyone touching them.” Rosie and Barnaby looked sad. They wandered off to play hide-and-seek amongst the trees.
Sparky continued to play with his shiny things, but… it wasn’t as fun as usual. He kept glancing at Rosie and Barnaby, who were laughing and having a wonderful time. He realized his cave felt a little lonely, even with all his treasures.
Slowly, Sparky gathered a small pile of his shiniest stones. He walked over to Rosie and Barnaby. “Here,” he mumbled, offering them the stones. “You can… you can play with these.”
Rosie and Barnaby’s faces lit up! “Really, Sparky?” asked Barnaby. Sparky nodded, feeling a little shy. They all sat together, building a magnificent sparkly castle with the stones. They pretended the stones were jewels and the castle was for a friendly dragon king.
Sparky laughed and laughed. He discovered that playing *with* friends was much more fun than playing alone, even with the shiniest things in the world. He learned that sharing his treasures didn’t make them less special; it made playtime even *more* special.
As the sun began to set, Rosie and Barnaby thanked Sparky for sharing. Sparky felt warm and happy inside. He snuggled into his cave, surrounded by his shiny things, but this time, he knew the best treasures weren’t the things themselves, but the friends he shared them with. And that made it the perfect end to a perfect day.
Now close your eyes, little one, and dream of sparkly adventures and the joy of sharing, just like Sparky the dragon.