Hannah's Quiet Giggle

Hannah was the queen of the playground giggles. The bright yellow slide would WHOOSH as she went down, and the swings would CREAK-CROAK a funny song, but the best sound of all was the laughter Hannah made. She could wiggle her ears and cross her eyes in a way that made her friends, Sarah and Tom, tumble onto the soft grass, holding their bellies and laughing until they hiccupped.

But one sunny afternoon, Hannah saw someone new. A boy named Leo was sitting all by himself near the big sandbox. He wasn't sliding or swinging. He was just quietly drawing circles in the sand with his finger, his head pointed down. The playground was full of noise and fun, but Leo was in his own quiet bubble. Hannah felt a new mission pop into her head: she had to make him laugh!

First, Hannah tried her wiggliest worm dance. She flopped on the ground and wiggled from her toes to her nose. Then, she puffed out her cheeks like a giant bullfrog and hopped around, shouting, "Ribbit-Wobble! Ribbit-Wobble!" Sarah and Tom roared with laughter, but when Hannah looked at Leo, he only lifted his head and gave a tiny, shy smile before looking back at the sand. Hannah's wiggles slowed down. She felt a little confused. Her funny tricks always worked.

Hannah stopped hopping. She remembered her dad saying that sometimes the quietest games are the most fun. She tiptoed over to the sandbox and sat down a little ways from Leo. Without a word, she started drawing in the sand, too. She drew a silly snail with a long, curly shell. Leo watched from the corner of his eye. Then, slowly, he reached out his finger and drew a tiny top hat on her snail. A little sound escaped from him, soft as a whisper. It was a quiet giggle.

Hannah smiled and let out her own quiet giggle to match his. For the rest of playtime, they didn't need any big, loud jokes. They filled the sandbox with a whole family of snails wearing silly hats and curly shoes. Hannah learned that making someone happy didn't always mean being the loudest. Sometimes, the best way to make a new friend was to share a quiet moment and a tiny, perfect giggle.