Once upon a time in a magical jungle, there lived six friends named Zebra, Kangaroo, Elephant, Ape, Dolphin, and Giraffe. They all loved to play together, but one day, they decided to have a race to see who was the fastest.

Zebra was so confident, he said, "I'll win the race, because I have the fastest stripes!"

Kangaroo hopped up and down and said, "No way, I have the strongest legs and I'll win!"

Elephant trumpeted, "I may be big, but I have a secret, I can run faster than a cheetah!"

Ape swung from tree to tree, saying, "I may not be the fastest, but I'll use my brains and find a shortcut to the finish line."

Dolphin said, "Don't worry guys, I'll swim to the finish line and win."

Giraffe stretched his neck, "Ha! I have the longest legs, I'll win for sure!"

The race began and the friends were off. Zebra was running as fast as he could, with his stripes blurring past. Kangaroo was hopping and jumping, trying to catch up. Elephant was running so fast, the ground was shaking. Ape swung from tree to tree, looking for his shortcut. Dolphin was swimming fast, leaving a trail of bubbles behind. And Giraffe was running, his long legs taking big strides.

Just when they thought the race was over, they realized they were lost. They were in a different part of the jungle they had never seen before. Suddenly, they heard a loud noise, it was a gorilla king. He was angry because the friends had disturbed his nap.

The friends were scared, but they decided to use their unique talents to make the gorilla king laugh. Zebra started to dance with his stripes, Kangaroo started to hop, Elephant trumpeted a tune, Ape swung from tree to tree, Dolphin jumped out of the water, and Giraffe stretched his neck and made silly faces.

The gorilla king couldn't help but laugh, and he became so happy that he decided to give each of the friends a special prize for making him laugh. And so, the friends learned that working together and using their unique talents was more important than winning a race.

And that's the end of the story. The friends continued to play together, always finding new adventures in the magical jungle.

Reflections

1. Who were the six friends in the story and what were their unique talents?
2. Why was the gorilla king angry?
3. How did the friends make the gorilla king laugh?
4. What did the friends learn from this adventure?
5. If you were one of the six friends, what unique talent would you use to make the gorilla king laugh?
6. Can you think of a different ending to the story?