It was a windy afternoon, with clouds racing fast across the sky as if they were in a hurry to get somewhere. The tree leaves were dancing and Ellie's hair was blowing in every direction.

The four friends were sitting around the little table in Ellie's garden. In front of them were many colorful little bowls full of modeling clay. Do you know what modeling clay is? It's that soft, colorful dough that you can squish and shape to make lots of different forms!

"I'm making a giant pizza!" said Ale, squishing a nice piece of red clay.

"And I'll put mushrooms on top!" added Lori, who was super fast at making little brown balls.

Viola, with her blue eyes focused, was preparing some pretend strawberries. "These are for dessert!" she said with a determined voice.

Ellie instead did everything calmly. She had prepared a nice blue plate and was putting lots of little things on top: a yellow piece that looked like cheese, a green one that looked like lettuce, and a red one that looked like tomato.

Dad Andrew, who was very tall, appeared at the door. "What a lovely restaurant you've opened! What's it called?"

"It's called the Friends' Restaurant!" replied Ellie, smiling.

"And this pizza is as huge as you, Daddy!" laughed Ale, raising his plate.

Right at that moment, everyone heard a sound they knew well.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

"The little train!" shouted Lori, jumping to his feet.

From the back of the garden, puffing white smoke that the wind carried away immediately, came Toby the Magic Train. He was small, colorful, and had two round eyes that sparkled with joy.

"Dear friends, come along with me, a forest you will surely see! Talking trees you'll meet today, and surprises along the way!" said Toby the Magic Train with his cheerful voice.

The four children ran toward the train. Ellie turned toward Dad Andrew.

"Can I go, Daddy?"

Andrew smiled and made a funny bow. "Of course, princess of modeling clay! Have a good trip!"

The children climbed one after another onto the soft seats of the train. Ale jumped in with a big leap, Lori ran super fast, Viola climbed up with determination, and Ellie got on last, calm as always.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

The train departed, and the garden vanished in a flash. They traveled through a tunnel of colored lights, then stars, then leaves flying all around.

When Toby the Magic Train stopped, the children's jaws dropped.

They found themselves in a forest, but it wasn't a normal forest. Every tree had a face! There were trees with big smiling eyes, trees with cheeks red as apples, trees that looked like old grandpas with gentle wrinkles on their bark.

"Welcome, little ones!" said a large tree with a deep voice. "We are the Talking Forest!"

"The trees talk!" whispered Viola, squeezing Ellie's hand.

In the sky, now it was evening, a thin thin moon was shining, looking like a little silver boat. It gave enough light to see the path ahead of them.

"Look, Ellie!" said Ale, pointing at something on the ground. "There's a paper!"

Ellie bent down and picked up an old piece of paper. It was a map! There were drawings of trees, a river, and a big red X.

"A treasure map!" shouted Lori, hopping up and down.

But just as Ellie was looking at it, a very strong gust of wind snatched it from her hands!

"No!" shouted Ellie, trying to catch it.

The map flew up high, higher and higher, spinning and spinning in the sky.

"It's gone!" said Viola, with her hands on her hips.

Ellie watched the map disappear among the trees. She felt sad. What could they do now?

"Don't worry," said a tiny voice coming from behind a bush.

The children turned around. From behind the leaves peeked out a tiny little creature. It had long pointed ears like leaves, hair green as moss, and wore a tunic made of bark and leaves.

"What's that?" asked Lori.

"I'm an elf!" said the little creature. "An elf is like a magical little person who lives in the woods and protects the trees and animals." The elf came closer and made a bow. "My name is Leafling."

Leafling seemed kind. He wanted to help everyone, you could tell by the way he smiled and approached the children. But he also had a strange look about him: every few seconds, his tummy made a funny noise. Grrrr!

"Sorry," said Leafling, putting his hands on his belly. "It's just that I'm very, very hungry. I haven't eaten since the moon rose."

He carried an empty basket with him, without even a crumb inside. And he smelled of honey and pine needles, a wonderful smell.

"Poor thing!" said Ellie, who was always very attentive to others' feelings.

"I can help you find the treasure," said Leafling. "I know this forest like the back of my ears. But without the map, you'll have to trust your instinct. Do you know what instinct is?"

The children looked at each other.

"Instinct," explained Leafling, "is that little voice inside you that tells you what to do, even when you're not sure. It's like when you feel that something is right, here." And he put his hand on his heart.

They began walking through the forest. The trees greeted them as they passed.

"Hello, little ones!" said a tree with red leaves. "Watch out for the Darkness Ravine!"

"The Darkness Ravine?" asked Ale, with wide eyes.

"It's a big hole in the ground," said another tree with an old man's voice. "Very deep and dark!"

The children walked on. Leafling stopped every now and then and his tummy rumbled loudly. He seemed weaker and weaker.

At one point, Ellie stopped. In front of her were two paths.

"Which one do we take?" asked Viola.

"I don't know," said Lori, scratching his head.

"The map would have known," said Ale, a bit dejected.

Ellie closed her eyes. She thought about what Leafling had said. Instinct. The little voice inside her.

She smelled a scent. A sweet scent, like flowers and fruit. It came from the left path.

"That way," said Ellie, opening her eyes and pointing.

"Are you sure?" asked Viola.

Ellie nodded. She was calm, as always, but also certain.

They took the left path. They walked some more, and the scent became stronger and stronger.

But suddenly, the ground under Lori's feet began to give way!

"Help!" shouted Lori.

They were reaching the Darkness Ravine! The ground was all crumbly and crumbling!

"Back!" yelled Viola, grabbing Lori by his shirt.

Ale took Ellie's hand, Ellie took Leafling's. They all pulled back, away from the ravine.

They were safe, but now the path was blocked.

"Now what?" asked Ale, with his heart beating fast.

Ellie looked around. She saw that the nearby trees had worried faces.

"Trees," said Ellie with her gentle voice, "can you help us?"

The trees looked at each other. Then, slowly, their branches began to move. They stretched out, intertwined, and formed a bridge over the ravine!

"Thank you!" said all the children together.

They crossed the bridge of branches, holding hands. On the other side, they found a beautiful clearing.

In the center was a large tree with a very old and wise face. At its feet, there was a wooden chest.

"The treasure!" shouted Lori.

They all ran toward the chest. Ellie opened it carefully.

Inside there was... food! Fresh bread, cheese, colorful fruit, and little golden sweets!

"How wonderful!" said Ale, who already wanted to grab a sweet.

But Ellie looked at Leafling. The elf was sitting on the ground, exhausted. His tummy was still rumbling.

"Wait, Ale," said Ellie.

She took a piece of bread and offered it to Leafling. "Here. This is for you."

Leafling looked at her with shiny eyes. "Really? You're sharing it with me?"

"Of course," said Ellie. "Eating together is nicer."

Viola took a piece of cheese and gave it to Leafling. Ale gave him a sweet. Lori gave him a red apple.

Leafling began to eat, and as he ate, color returned to his cheeks. His eyes sparkled. And a golden light began to come out of him!

"Thank you, my friends!" said Leafling. "You have good hearts. Those who share what they have, receive much more."

The golden light wrapped around everyone, and when it faded, the children also had little plates full of delicious food in front of them.

They all ate together, sitting in the soft grass under the crescent moon. The trees told funny stories and they laughed. Leafling wasn't hungry anymore and hopped around happily.

"This is the best dinner," said Viola, biting into a strawberry.

"Because we're together!" added Lori.

Ellie smiled and leaned against the trunk of the old wise tree. She was a little tired, but happy.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

Toby the Magic Train arrived in the clearing, puffing.

"Little friends with hearts so kind, your journey was one of a special kind! Those who share their bread with love, fill their hearts with joy above!"

The children hugged Leafling.

"Will you come back to visit me?" asked the elf.

"We promise!" said Ellie.

They climbed onto the train. Leafling waved goodbye with his little hand, and all the trees in the forest waved their branches to say goodbye.

The train departed, traveled through the lights and stars, and in an instant they were back in Ellie's garden.

Dad Andrew was there waiting for them.

"So, how was the adventure?"

Ellie ran to hug him. She was very tired. She leaned on his shoulder.

"Daddy," she said with a sleepy voice, "we shared our bread."

Andrew picked her up and smiled. "And what did you learn?"

"That eating together is better," said Viola.

"And that those who share receive more!" added Ale.

Ellie, in her daddy's arms, was already closing her eyes.

"Good children," said Andrew softly. "Good children."

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**Do you know, children, what this story teaches us?**

Ellie and her friends found a treasure full of delicious food. They could have eaten it all themselves, but instead they saw that Leafling was hungry, and they decided to share with him.

And do you know what happened? By sharing the food, they got even more! And most importantly, they were happy together.

This is the moral: **Sharing your bread makes the meal taste better.** When we share what we have with others, we don't lose anything. In fact, we gain friendship, smiles, and joy. A sandwich eaten alone is good, but a sandwich eaten together with a friend is wonderful!

Next time you have something good, try sharing it with someone. You'll see that it will be even more special!

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