Hannah's Swirly-Whirly Surprise

Hannah loved kindy. She loved the big, squishy cushions in the reading corner and the smell of paint and play-doh. Best of all, she loved looking after her friends. If someone scraped their knee, Hannah was the first to run and get the teacher. If a drawing went wrong, Hannah was there with a big hug. She was like a little sunshine helper.

One sunny afternoon during playtime, her friend Eli ran up to her, his hands behind his back. "I've got something for you, Hannah!" he said with a grin. He pulled out a beautiful, shiny candy cane, with red and white stripes that went swirly-whirly, all the way to the top. "Wow!" breathed Hannah. She had never seen such a perfect, sweet-and-twirly treat.

Hannah held the candy cane carefully. It felt smooth and cool in her hand. She was just about to take a tiny lick when she heard a small sniffle. Over by the sandpit, her friend Mia was sitting on the ground, looking at a crumbled biscuit in the sand. A big tear rolled down Mia's cheek. "My bikkie," she whispered sadly. "It's all sandy now." Hannah looked at her special candy cane, and then at her sad friend. Her tummy wanted the treat, but her heart felt a little wobble for Mia.

Remembering how good it feels to make someone smile, Hannah made a decision. She walked right over to Mia, holding out the swirly-whirly candy cane. "Don't be sad, Mia," she said kindly. "Bikkies in the sand are no good. But we can share my sweet-and-twirly candy cane!" She snapped it in two—CRACK!—and gave the bigger half to Mia. Mia's eyes went wide, and the tear on her cheek was replaced with a wobbly, happy smile.

Sharing the candy cane felt even better than eating it all by herself. It tasted like sugary peppermint and friendship. Their teacher, Mrs. Gable, saw Hannah’s kind act and came over with two shiny star stickers, one for each of them. As Hannah and Mia sat together, licking their candy canes and sticking their stars on their shirts, Hannah knew that a shared treat was the sweetest treat of all.