Leo the lion cub loved puzzles. He loved the way the little pieces fit together to make a big, beautiful picture. He had puzzles with colorful animals, puzzles with shiny cars, and even a puzzle of the starry night sky! But tonight, his Aunt Millie gave him a brand new puzzle, and it looked… tricky.
It wasn’t a picture puzzle. This puzzle was made of shapes – squares, triangles, circles, and stars. And they didn’t seem to fit together in any way Leo understood. He tried a square here, a triangle there, but nothing worked. Leo started to feel frustrated. He pushed the puzzle away with a sigh.
His best friend, Rosie the rabbit, hopped over. “What’s wrong, Leo?” she asked, twitching her nose. Leo explained about the puzzle. “It’s too hard! I can’t do it!” Rosie smiled. “Maybe we can try together! Sometimes, puzzles are more fun with a friend.”
Soon, Penelope the penguin waddled over, and then Finley the fox trotted along. They all sat around the puzzle, looking at the shapes. Finley said, “Let’s try sorting them! All the squares together, all the triangles together…” That was a good idea! They sorted the shapes into little piles.
Penelope noticed something. “Look! Some of the sides are straight, and some are curved. Maybe the straight sides need to go with other straight sides?” They tried that, and slowly, slowly, pieces started to connect. It wasn’t easy. They tried different combinations, and sometimes they had to take pieces apart and start again.
Leo felt a little bit grumpy at first when things didn’t work. But Rosie reminded him, “It’s okay to make mistakes, Leo! That’s how we learn.” Penelope added, “We’re a team! We’ll figure it out together.”
Finally, after a lot of trying, the last piece clicked into place! The puzzle wasn’t a picture, but a beautiful, colorful pattern of shapes. Leo jumped up and down. “We did it! We solved the puzzle!”
He felt so proud, not just because the puzzle was finished, but because he had worked with his friends to solve a tricky problem. Aunt Millie came over and gave Leo a big hug. “I knew you could do it, Leo,” she said. “Sometimes, the best way to solve a puzzle is with a little help from your friends.”
Leo snuggled into his bed, feeling warm and happy. He learned that even when things seem hard, with a little perseverance and the help of good friends, you can solve any puzzle. And that’s a very good feeling to drift off to sleep with.