Once upon a time, in a sunny schoolroom full of bright crayons and soft beanbags, little Leah loved to tell stories."Zoom!" went her words out of her mouth like speedy race cars. One morning, Leah saw Teacher Mr.
Grant talking to the lunch lady. She tip-toed close and heard,"The bananas are brown today." Leah gasped. She ran to her friends."Pssst!" she whispered."Mr. Grant says the bananas are yucky!" Her friends gasped too."Ooooh!" they said. Like a little spider, Leah's words spun a web.
Each child added a new thread."The bananas are rotten!" said Max."They have spiders inside!" said Mia."We will all get tummy aches!" said Sam. The web grew bigger and bigger.
It went "Whoosh!" from ear to ear. Soon, the whole class stood in a circle, eyes wide, mouths open."No one touch the bananas!" they all cried. Mr. Grant clapped his hands."Children, come to the rug!" They sat in a cozy rainbow circle. Leah felt her tummy wiggle. She peeked at the snack table. The bananas looked fine - just a few little brown spots like tiny freckles.
Mr. Grant held up a banana."Look! Still yummy.
Who started this big story?" Leah's cheeks turned pink like strawberries. She raised her tiny hand. Her voice was soft."I did. I only heard 'brown,' but I told my friends 'yucky. '" Mr. Grant smiled his gentle smile."Thank you for being brave and honest, Leah. When we add extra words, they fly like balloons and grow bigger. Let's pop the silly balloons together!" "Pop!
Pop! Pop!" the children giggled, poking the air. Leah stood up."I'm sorry, friends. The bananas are just bananas. Brown spots are sweet, like tiny sugar kisses." Mia took a bite."Mmm! Sweet!" she said. Max took a bite."No spiders!" he laughed. Sam took a bite."Tummy feels happy!" Mr. Grant gave Leah a gentle high-five."Telling the truth keeps our web kind and safe." Leah felt warm inside, like cocoa on a cold day.
She learned words are magic, and she wanted to use her magic for happy things. The next day, Leah saw Mia drop her crayons. Instead of gossip, she told the truth kindly."Mia is a super sharer!" Leah told the class."Yay, Mia!" everyone cheered. The happy web grew again, but this time it shimmered with gold and sparkles, wrapping everyone in giggles and love.
And every time Leah spoke, she asked herself,"Will my words make a happy web or a worried web?" Can you guess? She always chose the happy one!"Zoom!" went her kind words, flying like butterflies to every ear. The End.