Sparkle was a little pony who lived in a meadow filled with wildflowers. But Sparkle wasn't like the other ponies. While they had coats that shimmered with bright colors – ruby red, sapphire blue, emerald green – Sparkle was…gray. A very plain, ordinary gray. She wished, more than anything, to have a colorful coat like her friends.
Every morning, Sparkle would watch the other ponies gallop and play, their colors flashing in the sunlight. She tried everything to brighten herself up. She rolled in red poppy petals, but the color just brushed off. She splashed in blueberry juice, but it only made her sticky. Nothing worked. She began to feel very sad and left the meadow to wander alone.
As she walked, Sparkle came across Old Man Tiber, a wise, but very grumpy, badger. Old Man Tiber’s garden, once famous for its vibrant blooms, was now looking very droopy and gray. “What’s wrong, Old Man Tiber?” Sparkle asked gently. The badger grumbled, “My flowers have lost their color! A mischievous breeze stole it all away, and now my garden is as dull as…well, as dull as a gray pony!”
Sparkle didn’t mind the comment. She felt a little spark of an idea. “Maybe I can help!” she offered. Old Man Tiber scoffed. “What can *you* do? You don’t even have any color yourself!” But Sparkle didn’t give up. She remembered her mother telling her that kindness could brighten anything.
Sparkle spent the whole afternoon carefully watering the flowers, pulling weeds, and talking to them in a soft, encouraging voice. She didn’t try to *get* color, she just tried to *give* care. She worked and worked, even though her gray coat got covered in mud.
As the sun began to set, something amazing happened. The flowers started to glow! First a tiny blush of pink on a rose, then a streak of yellow on a sunflower, and finally, a burst of brilliant blue on the forget-me-nots. The colors returned, brighter than ever before!
Old Man Tiber was astonished. “Well, I’ll be!” he exclaimed. “You did it! You brought the color back!” And then, something even more surprising happened. As Sparkle stood beside the vibrant garden, she began to shimmer. Not with red or blue or green, but with a beautiful, soft, rainbow glow. The kindness she had shown had brought the color *from within*.
Sparkle realized that she didn’t need a colorful coat to be beautiful. True beauty came from her kind heart and her willingness to help others. She galloped back to the meadow, glowing with happiness. Her friends didn’t care that she wasn’t red or blue or green. They were just happy to have their friend Sparkle back, shining brighter than ever before.
From that day on, Sparkle continued to spread kindness wherever she went, and her rainbow glow reminded everyone that the most beautiful colors come from within. Now close your eyes, little one, and let Sparkle’s glow fill your dreams with kindness and joy.