Carl the crocodile was invited to a sleepover! It was the first time he’d ever been invited to one, and he was very excited… and a little bit nervous. Carl wasn’t very good at being calm and quiet. He was, well, a silly crocodile. He loved to wiggle, jiggle, and make funny faces.
His friend Beatrice the beaver had organized the sleepover. There was Penelope the penguin, Finley the fox, and Horace the hedgehog. Beatrice had made a list of sleepover rules: ‘Quiet voices, no splashing, and absolutely no tickling!’ Carl gulped. That sounded… difficult.
The sleepover started with a game of ‘Statues.’ Carl tried *so* hard to stand still, but his tail kept swishing back and forth, knocking over a tower of building blocks. Everyone giggled. ‘Oops!’ said Carl, blushing green. ‘I’m a very wiggly crocodile.’
Next, they tried to read a story. But Carl kept making silly voices for all the characters. He gave the brave knight a squeaky voice and the grumpy dragon a very polite one. Penelope the penguin had to pause the story to giggle. ‘Carl,’ she said kindly, ‘you’re very funny, but it’s hard to follow the story!’
Then came the hardest part: quiet time. Beatrice turned off the lights and everyone snuggled into their sleeping bags. Carl tried to be quiet, he really did. But he accidentally let out a big, booming sneeze! ‘ACHOO!’ It echoed through the room. Horace the hedgehog jumped. ‘Bless you, Carl,’ he squeaked.
Carl felt terrible. He was ruining the sleepover! He whispered, ‘I’m just too silly. I can’t be good at sleepovers.’ Beatrice heard him. She crawled over and patted his arm. ‘Carl,’ she said, ‘we invited you because you *are* silly! It makes us laugh. It’s okay to be yourself.’
Finley the fox added, ‘Yeah! If you weren’t silly, it wouldn’t be a fun sleepover!’ Penelope the penguin nodded. ‘We like your funny voices and your wiggly tail.’ Horace the hedgehog even smiled. ‘A little sneeze never hurt anyone!’
Carl’s green face brightened. He realized his friends didn’t want him to change. They liked him just the way he was – a silly crocodile! He wiggled his tail happily, and this time, everyone wiggled with him. They spent the rest of the night telling silly jokes and making funny faces.
Even though he accidentally splashed a little water while pretending to be a submarine (Beatrice quickly reminded him about the rules!), Carl had the best sleepover ever. He learned that it’s okay to be silly, and that true friends love you for who you are. And as he drifted off to sleep, Carl smiled, knowing that being himself was the best thing he could be.