The Feathernest Spring Picnic was ready.
“This is a beautiful table,” Mama Bear said.
“Let’s eat.”
Everyone began filling their plates.
They were hungry,
and the food was warm and delicious.
Soon, they started talking.
“I went to the stream!” said Bobby the Bear.
“The water splashed my paws!”
“I caught the apples when they fell!” said Sissy the Cat.
Fred the Frog bounced in his seat.
“I did the biggest frog jump ever!”
Lela the Elephant lifted her trunk.
“I carried all the chairs!”
Soon, everyone was talking together.
Fred tried to talk louder.
“BOING!” he shouted proudly.
Then everyone tried talking louder, too.
“STREAM!”
“APPLES!”
“CHAIRS!”
Some of the little animals covered their ears.
A tiny bunny started to cry.
“I can’t hear anything,” he sniffled.
Mama Elephant looked around.
“Hey, everyone,” she said.
Her voice was loud and clear,
and everyone stopped talking.
“We all have stories to share,” Mama Elephant continued.
“But when everyone talks at once,
we can’t listen to each other.”
“We need to take turns.”
“Do you want to go first, Sissy?” Mama Elephant asked.
Sissy sat up straight.
“I liked catching the apples when Fred shook the tree,” she said.
“They bounced all over the grass!”
Fred giggled.
Then it was Bobby’s turn.
“I was washing the vegetables in the stream,” he said.
“Some of them floated away,
and I had to run after them!”
“The water splashed everywhere!”
Everyone liked listening to Bobby’s story.
Now it was Fred’s turn.
Fred puffed out his frog chest.
“I helped with the apples,” he said.
“And I put all these plates on the table.”
He waved toward the table proudly.
“I did it using frog jumps…
and a stool!”
Fred bounced in his seat.
“Boing! Boing! Boing!”
Everyone laughed again.
Then Lela lifted her trunk.
“I liked carrying the chairs,” she said.
“I placed them all around the table
so we could sit.”
“And I fell on the sacks for the race!”
“But my friends helped me put everything back.”
They all giggled.
Next, it was Mama Bear’s turn.
“I felt proud when you all decided to make a fruit salad,” she said.
“That way,
everyone could have their favorite fruit.”
“I liked watching everyone help each other,” Mama Elephant said.
“And I’m excited for the games after we eat,” Mama Cat added.
The picnic table felt different now.
Everyone was listening.
Everyone was having fun.
The tiny bunny had stopped crying.
He leaned against his mama
and listened to all the stories.
When his turn came,
he didn’t know what to say.
It was his first time sharing something
at the picnic table.
But everyone was quiet.
Everyone was waiting.
The little bunny took a small breath.
“I liked eating the fruit salad,” he said.
“And sitting with everyone.”
“Yay!” they all cheered.
The little bunny cheered, too.
Mama Bear looked around the table.
“I like eating with all of you,” she said.
The sun felt warm above the meadow.
And in Feathernest Woods,
meals are a time to sit together,
listen to each other,
and make everyone feel included.
The End
➡️ Read all the stories in the Feathernest Woods Spring Picnic Series
This story is part of the Feathernest Woods collection
For older children, explore the Silverbrook Valley collection
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