Once upon a time, in a sparkly purple forest, lived a big blue monster named Momo. Momo had soft fuzzy fur and kind round eyes. But Momo never smiled. Never ever."Boo hoo," sniffled Momo."No one wants to play with me." The little bunnies hopped away fast. The tiny birds fluttered away quick.
Momo's big feet went stomp, stomp, stomp. His heart felt heavy like rain clouds. One sunny morning, Momo heard giggles! Giggle, giggle, giggle!
He peeked behind a fluffy pink tree. There was Sunny the sunbeam and Lolo the ladybug playing tag. Sunny went "Whoosh!" as she zipped through the air.
Lolo went "Zoom!" as he scurried through grass. Momo wanted to say hello. His mouth opened...
but no words came out. He felt scared."Oh no," whispered Momo."They will run away because I'm big and scary." But Sunny spotted him! Her golden light twinkled."Hello big blue friend! Want to play?" Momo's eyes got wide. Really? They weren't scared? Lolo waved his tiny red wing."We need a third friend for our game!" Momo stepped forward slowly. His big feet went STOMP, STOMP. But he tried to be quiet.
Sunny flew in a circle."Let's play the Happy Game!" "How do we play?" asked Momo in his rumbly voice."We make each other smile!" giggled Lolo. First, Sunny made a silly face. She crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue!
Pfffft! Lolo laughed so hard he rolled into a ball."Hee hee hee!" Momo watched.
His mouth moved a tiny bit. Was that... a smile starting? Next, Lolo did a funny dance.
He wiggled all six legs and spun in circles."Whee!" Momo's lips curled up more. Almost a smile!
Now it was Momo's turn. Momo felt nervous. His big blue hands shook."What if I mess up?" he worried. Sunny gently touched his fuzzy arm."Just be yourself!" Momo took a deep breath.
Breathe in... breathe out... Then Momo made the funniest sound!"HONK HONK HONK!" like a silly goose! Sunny burst into golden sparkles of laughter! Lolo laughed until he fell off his leaf!
And Momo... Momo started to smile! First it was small like a crescent moon. Then bigger and bigger until...
CRAAAAACK! His huge happy smile showed all his not-so-scary teeth!"Wow!" said Sunny."Your smile lights up the whole forest!" More animals peeked out. The bunnies twitched their noses. The birds tilted their heads."Look!" said a bunny."Momo is smiling! He looks friendly!" One by one, animals came closer. Not running away. Walking closer! Soon Momo had many new friends.
They played tag and hide-and-seek. Momo's laughter rumbled like happy thunder. Every day, Momo practiced his smile in a shiny puddle."Hello me!" he would say."You have a nice smile!" The next morning, Momo heard crying.
Sad, sniffly crying from behind a rock. It was a tiny squirrel who had dropped all his acorns."Boo hoo! My winter food is everywhere!" Momo knelt down gently. He gave the squirrel his biggest smile."Don't worry," said Momo."I'll help!" Together they picked up every acorn. Momo's smile made the squirrel feel safe."Thank you!" squeaked the squirrel."Your smile makes everything better!" Now Momo knew the secret. When he smiled, others smiled too! The purple forest became the happiest place.
Everyone smiled and laughed together. And Momo? Momo smiled every single day. Big, bright, beautiful smiles!
Every night, Momo would count his friends instead of feeling lonely."One Sunny, two Lolo, three squirrels, four bunnies..." He had so many friends he lost count! And remember: when you see someone looking sad or lonely, try giving them a smile.
It might make their whole day sparkle! The End! Can you show me your biggest smile right now?