The Friendship Garden

At Sunshine Elementary School, there was a little girl named Sunny who had the sweetest smile. True to her name, Sunny was like a bright, golden ray of sunshine, and everyone loved playing with her. Whenever the recess bell went ring-ring-ring, her classmates would gather around and call out, "Sunny, Sunny, let's go play on the slide!" or "Sunny, let's go read books in the library!"

Back then, Sunny's heart felt as sweet as honey. She felt like the luckiest little girl in the whole wide world.

One day, Sunny was happily jumping rope with her good friend Joy. Just then, a girl named Grace walked over and asked shyly, "Sunny, Joy, can I play with you guys?"

Sunny wrinkled her nose. She thought to herself, Oh, man, I only want to play with Joy. If Grace joins us, I won't get Joy all to myself.

So, Sunny said rather bossily, "No! Joy, don't play with Grace."

Hearing this, Grace lowered her head sadly and walked away.

The very next day, Sunny was playing hide-and-seek with Grace. Suddenly, a girl named Flora ran over, jumping with excitement. "I want to play, too! Can I join?" she asked.

Once again, Sunny thought, I don't want Flora interrupting our fun.

So, she scrunched up her eyebrows and said, "No! Grace, don't play with Flora."

Flora's eyes grew red with tears, and she quietly walked away.

Just like that, wanting to keep her friends all to herself, Sunny acted like a little boss, turning away anyone who wanted to join the fun over and over again.

Slowly, something strange began to happen.

The crowd of friends that used to surround Sunny got smaller and smaller. Everyone started to feel that while playing with Sunny was fun, her bossy habit of leaving others out made them feel uncomfortable and sad.

Then, during recess one day, Sunny ran out to the playground with her favorite jump rope and shouted, "Who wants to jump rope with me?"

But nobody answered. In the distance, Joy and Flora were building sandcastles, and Grace was swinging on the swings with some other kids. They all glanced at Sunny, but no one came over.

Sunny stood all alone in the middle of the playground. Her heart felt completely empty, her nose tingled, and she felt like she was going to cry.

That night when she got home, Sunny threw her arms around her mom and burst into tears. "Mommy, why didn't anyone want to play with me today? It's like nobody likes me anymore."

Her mom gently stroked Sunny's hair, held her close, and softly asked what had happened at school.

After listening to the whole story, her mom took Sunny's little hand and said, "Sunny, your heart is like a beautiful little garden. If you lock the garden gate and only let Joy or Grace in one at a time, your garden will become very quiet and lonely. If other people aren't allowed inside, eventually, they'll stop knocking on your door."

Her mom smiled and continued, "But if you open the gate wide and welcome everyone inside, your garden will be filled with laughter and bursting with life. Friends don't belong to just one person. When everyone plays together in your garden, that's when your world becomes the most beautiful!"

Sunny blinked her eyes. Suddenly, she understood. Keeping others out was exactly what had made her so lonely.

The next morning, as the big, bright sun rose in the sky, Sunny gathered her courage and went back to school.

She walked right up to Joy, Grace, and Flora, took a deep breath, and said loudly, "I'm so sorry! I was being too selfish before. I never should have told you not to play with other people. Can we all play together?"

The girls looked at Sunny in surprise, but then big smiles spread across their faces. "Yes!" they cheered together.

Just then, a little boy ran up to them and asked, "Can I join?"

Sunny's first instinct was to say no, but then she remembered the garden her mom had talked about and how lonely she had felt just yesterday.

So, she flashed a giant smile and said, "Of course you can! The more, the merrier!"

For the rest of the day, Sunny was surrounded by friends once again. And this time, because everyone was included, the laughter was louder and happier than ever before.

Sunny finally figured it out: sharing your friends actually makes you so much happier. And just like that, she became the school's most beloved little sun all over again.