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Morning sunlight filters through tall forest trees beside a slow river. Sunny perches on an overhead branch, beak open in song, while Henry, small and spiky, stands on the soft grass below with a deep frown.
In a quiet forest near a slow river, many animals lived peacefully among tall trees and soft grass. Henry the Hedgehog lived there too. Small and covered in sharp spikes, he liked silence and being alone. Sunny the Sparrow was very different. She was cheerful and loved to sing. Each morning her song filled the forest and made many animals smile. Henry did not smile. He thought she was too loud.
Inside a sunny forest clearing, Henry kneels beside a berry bush, paws stained red. Sunny hovers on a nearby twig mid-song, and Henry tilts his head upward with an irritated scowl, crushed berries scattered on the mossy ground.
One morning Sunny landed near Henry as he picked berries and began to sing. "Why must you always sing?" Henry frowned. "You are too noisy." Sunny looked hurt. "I sing because it makes me happy," she said softly, then flew away. After that, Henry was unkind to others too. Soon the animals stopped talking to him. At first he said he did not care, but the forest began to feel lonely.
During a night storm, rain lashes a shadowy forest path lit by stray lightning. Sunny lies tangled in a thorn bush, one wing drooping, as Henry stands nearby under dripping quills, eyes wide with concern.
One afternoon a strong storm swept through the forest. While flying home, Sunny was blown into a thorn bush and hurt her wing. Rain poured as she cried for help. Henry heard her. At first he thought, "Not my problem." Then he remembered her sad face and wondered how it felt to be hurt and alone. Henry followed the sound and found Sunny shaking. "I cannot fly," she whispered.
At golden dawn in the forest clearing, Sunny, wing bandaged, perches on a low branch singing softly toward Henry. Henry stands beside a gentle deer, both smiling upward as warm light streams through leaves onto damp grass.
"I should have been kinder," Henry said. He blocked the wind with his body and stayed until morning, then called the other animals. The deer carried Sunny and the owl checked her wing. She would heal. Days later Sunny could fly again and sang softly near Henry. "Thank you," she said. Henry smiled. "I learned to understand how others feel." From then on he spoke kindly, and the forest felt warmer.