Once upon a time, there was a musher named Max who lived in the tundra. Max loved dogsledding and had a team of huskies, but he didn't like the mandatory diphtheria shots for his dogs. So, he came up with an idea to insulate the shots by making them into a fun and exciting game.

Max challenged his friends to a grueling dogsled race across the tundra with an incentive of a giant bone for the winner. The catch was that before the race, each musher had to give their dogs a mandatory diphtheria shot. To make it more fun, Max turned it into a relay race where each musher had to give a shot to their own dog, then pass the baton to their teammate.

The race was a huge success, and all the dogs received their shots without any fuss. From that day on, the diphtheria shots were no longer dreaded but a fun part of the annual tundra dogsled race. The end.

Reflections

1. Why did Max turn the diphtheria shots into a fun relay race?
2. What was the incentive for the mushers in the race?
3. How did the dogs react to getting their shots?
4. What do you think would have happened if Max didn't come up with this idea?
5. Can you think of any other ways to make getting shots less scary for kids?