Once upon a time, in a little village nestled among rolling hills in South Africa, lived a young girl named Elna. Elna loved playing with her colourful toys, especially her beautiful wooden doll, Anna.
One evening, as the sun painted the sky in hues of orange and pink, Elna's friend, Tiaan, came to play. Tiaan brought with him a shiny, new toy train.
Elna’s eyes sparkled as she saw the train. She had never seen anything so impressive! She felt a bit sad because her favourite toy, Anna, was a bit dusty and a little old. Tiaan noticed her expression and smiled.
“Let’s play together, Elna!” Tiaan exclaimed, handing Elna the toy train. “You can drive Anna on a journey, with me as the engineer.”
Elna’s heart warmed. She had never thought to share her favourite toy with anyone. Elna giggled and said, “But Anna is my best friend. I love Anna very much!”
Tiaan replied, “I love Anna too, Elna. I love helping you play.”
Elna realised Tiaan was right. Tiaan did not want to play with her toy train *instead of* Anna. Instead, Tiaan wanted to play *with* her.
Elna carefully placed Anna in the train, her eyes brimming with happiness. She had a splendid time with Tiaan, imagining Anna going on adventures on the train, to exciting places in their imaginary world.
Soon, the stars began to twinkle, and the sky turned a deep blue. Tiaan had to leave for home.
Before Tiaan left, he said, “Let’s play again tomorrow, Elna.”
Elna nodded, her heart full. She loved how much fun they’d had together. Elna knew that true friends enjoyed playing and sharing with each other.
She realised playing with Anna and Tiaan was an even better adventure than she could have ever imagined. As she drifted off to sleep, she smiled, knowing that friendship is a wonderful gift.
Elna had learned that by sharing and being kind, we make our playtimes even more enjoyable and our friends even closer.