The Perfect Dinosaur

Long, long ago, back in the age of the dinosaurs, there was a lush, green forest filled with towering plants. Deep in this forest lived two best friends who went everywhere together: a T-Rex named Toothy and a triceratops named Sparky.

Toothy was a very kindhearted T-Rex, but he had one teeny-tiny problem. He just wasn't happy with the way he looked.

Whenever he looked up and saw the pterodactyls soaring freely through the bright blue sky, he would think to himself, "If only I had wings so I could fly," and let out a big, heavy sigh.

When he looked at the three handsome horns on his best friend Sparky's head, he felt jealous, wishing, "If only I could grow cool horns just like those."

And when he watched a brontosaurus stretch its long neck to easily munch on the softest leaves at the very top of the trees, Toothy would look down at his own tiny little arms and his big, heavy body. He felt so sad, thinking, "If only I had a wonderfully long neck, too." He was always wishing he could be as perfect as all the other dinosaurs.

Trying to change who he was, Toothy started doing some very silly things. One day, he found two sturdy branches and tied them tightly to his head with vines, pretending to be a handsome triceratops. The very next day, he gathered up giant banana leaves, tied them to his tiny arms, stood on top of a big rock, and flapped as hard as he could, hoping to fly up into the sky like a pterodactyl.

But instead of flying, Toothy fell with a giant THUD right into the dirt, covering himself in sticky mud and getting a few little scrapes. The other dinosaurs walking by couldn't help but cover their mouths and giggle. Feeling incredibly embarrassed and upset, Toothy hid away in his dark cave and refused to come out for days.

That is, until one afternoon, when sudden, frantic cries for help echoed through the forest!

"Help! Somebody help me!"

It was Sparky! While he was out playing, he had accidentally slipped right into a deep, gooey mud pit. The pit was so slippery that the more Sparky wiggled, the deeper he sank.

All the other dinosaurs rushed over to help. The pterodactyls circled anxiously in the sky, but the mud pit was too narrow for them to fly into. The other triceratops tried to use their horns to scoop Sparky out, but the pit was so deep their horns couldn't even reach him. A brontosaurus stretched its long neck down, trying to pull Sparky up with its big mouth, but Sparky was just too heavy, and the brontosaurus couldn't budge him at all.

Everyone was pacing around nervously, completely stumped about what to do.

Just then, Toothy heard the cries. He immediately started pumping his strong, powerful legs—STOMP, STOMP, STOMPING his way to the rescue! Seeing his best friend in danger, his heart raced. He had only one thought: he had to save Sparky right now!

Toothy quickly looked around and spotted an extra-thick, super-strong vine nearby. He marched over, clamped his powerful jaws tightly onto one end of the vine, and tossed the other end right into the mud pit.

"Sparky!" he roared. "Grab the vine!"

Sparky quickly bit down on the vine. Toothy took a giant, deep breath and planted his huge feet firmly on the ground. His big, heavy body suddenly became the perfect, immovable anchor. Toothy pulled backward with all his might, his strong legs and powerful neck doing all the heavy lifting.

"One... two... three... PULL!"

With Toothy's incredible strength, Sparky was slowly pulled up, up, up out of the sticky mud and safely back onto the soft, green grass.

All the dinosaurs in the forest erupted into loud cheers for Toothy!

The pterodactyls flapped their wings happily in the air and squawked, "Amazing job!"

The brontosaurus nodded in admiration and said, "You are so strong, Toothy!"

Sparky rushed over excitedly, rubbed his head affectionately against Toothy's side, and said gratefully, "Thank you, Toothy! If it weren't for your heavy, steady body and your amazing strength, I never would have made it out!"

Hearing Sparky's words, Toothy gave a shy, happy smile. He looked down at his tiny little arms, then patted his big, heavy body, and suddenly felt that being a T-Rex was actually pretty great. He finally understood that every single dinosaur is special in their own unique way. He didn't need to wish he was anyone else, because he was perfectly wonderful exactly the way he was.