One sunny morning, Baby Monkey Xuka woke up feeling excited and ready for another fun day. Usually, the first thing he did after breakfast was run outside to find his best little friend—a cheerful yellow duckling. The two friends spent hours together exploring the garden, chasing butterflies, splashing in tiny puddles, and playing hide-and-seek among the trees.
But today, something was different.
The duckling happily waddled toward Xuka, flapping his tiny wings as if to say, “Come play with me!” However, instead of smiling and running over, Xuka turned his head away.
The duck was confused.
“Quack, quack!” he called again, hoping to get Xuka’s attention. But Xuka quietly climbed onto a small rock and sat alone.
Their friendship had always been full of laughter, so why didn’t Xuka want to play anymore?
Mom watched them carefully and noticed that Xuka seemed upset. She gently sat beside him and asked what was wrong. At first, Xuka didn’t want to talk. After a few quiet moments, he finally pointed toward his favorite pile of leaves.
Earlier that morning, the duckling had been playing near Xuka’s special collection of colorful leaves. Without realizing how important they were, the duck had scattered them everywhere and accidentally torn some of them apart.
Xuka had spent many days collecting those beautiful leaves. He felt sad and disappointed, but instead of telling his duck friend why, he simply decided not to play with him.
Mom smiled gently and explained that the duckling probably didn’t understand why the leaves were special. “Sometimes our friends make mistakes without meaning to hurt us,” she said.
Xuka looked at his duck friend, who was standing nearby with his head lowered. The little duck seemed to know that something was wrong.
Slowly, Xuka climbed down from the rock and walked toward him. He showed the duck the torn leaves and explained why he had been upset. The duckling listened quietly before giving a soft, sorry little quack.
Then something wonderful happened.
Together, Xuka and his duck friend searched the garden for new colorful leaves. Soon, they had collected an even bigger and more beautiful pile than before.
Xuka finally smiled. He realized that talking about his feelings was much better than walking away from a friend. By the end of the day, the two best friends were playing together again—happier than ever and ready for their next adventure.
