Leo loved rocks. Not just any rocks, but *shiny* rocks! He had a whole box full of them – sparkly red ones, smooth blue ones, and even one that looked like a tiny rainbow. He spent hours arranging them, counting them, and admiring their gleam. “These are *my* rocks,” he’d say to himself, carefully polishing each one.
One sunny afternoon, Leo was building a magnificent rock castle in his backyard. His friend Mia came over to play. “Wow, Leo! Those are amazing rocks!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide with wonder. “Can I see?”
Leo clutched his box a little tighter. He didn’t *want* to share. These were his special rocks! He mumbled, “Um, maybe later. I’m building a castle, and I need them all.” Mia’s face fell a little. She sat down quietly, picking at the grass.
Leo continued building, but something felt wrong. The castle didn’t seem as fun to build when Mia wasn’t excited about it too. He glanced at Mia. She was trying to build a tiny house out of pebbles, but it didn’t look very happy. He remembered how much fun they had building things *together* before.
Leo took a deep breath. He walked over to Mia and opened his box. “Here,” he said, offering her a sparkly red rock. “You can have this one. It’s my favorite, but I think you’d like it even more.”
Mia’s face lit up! “Really? Thank you, Leo!” She carefully placed the red rock on top of her pebble house. “It’s perfect!” Then, Leo offered her a smooth blue one, and a rainbow rock too. Soon, they were both building, laughing, and sharing rocks.
Leo discovered that building a castle with a friend, and sharing his shiny rocks, was much more fun than building it all by himself. The castle was bigger, brighter, and filled with happy giggles. He learned that sharing didn’t make his rocks less special; it made playtime even *more* special.
When it was time for Mia to go home, she gave Leo a big hug. “Thank you for sharing your rocks, Leo! It was the best day ever!” Leo smiled. He knew that sharing wasn’t just about rocks; it was about sharing happiness and friendship too. And that was the shiniest feeling of all.