Panda’s magic stick

Panda Molly closed her eyes and blew the candles on her birthday cake. All her friends from the zoo came to the party and brought her presents, but the one she was truly waiting for was her grandma’s present.

Every year Molly’s grandma had something special for her, something she was planning all year long.

“What could it be this year?” thought Molly while she was eating her bamboo cake.

Right after the party at the playground, Molly ran to her cave on the other side of the zoo, to open the most important present.

“Happy birthday, my dear”, said her grandma.

“Thank you, grandma”, said Molly looking around the cave in search of her present.

The grandma saw how impatient she was and gave her a white box with a red ribbon.

“It can’t be!” said Molly after she opened the present. “A magic stick! A real magic stick?”

“Yes, my dear”, said the grandma kissing Molly’s head.

“Can it make every wish come true?” asked Molly.

“Well, almost every wish”, said the grandma.

“Can I use it to get a new doll or a princess castle?” she asked. “Or maybe a new pair of rollerblades!”

“Well, it is a special magic stick”, said her grandma. “You cannot use it for yourself, but for others.”

“But grandma, that’s not fair”, cried Molly. “It’s my birthday and my present! It should work for me, not for others!”

“Try it first and you will see”, said the grandma.

Molly’s joy turned into disappointment. She had been waiting for this present all year long, but that wasn’t what she had expected.

“Why would my grandma do this to me?” thought Molly.

Molly threw the magic stick behind her bed and went to sleep in tears.

The next morning Molly was woken up by a baby’s cry. She looked out of the window and saw a little parrot, lost and scared, wandering around looking for the nest.

“Poor baby”, thought Molly.

All of a sudden Molly remembered her grandma’s present.

“Wait the second, why wouldn’t I try the magic stick? Maybe it will work!” thought Molly.

She found the magic stick behind the bed and waved it through the air.

“Make this baby find his mum”, she said.

At the same moment, the mother parrot appeared in the sky flying quickly toward the baby.

“Mummy, mummy!” yelled the baby parrot.

Molly looked at the mother parrot hugging her baby; then she looked at the magic stick. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

“It can’t be! It works for real!” she thought.

Suddenly, she felt joy in her heart. She was so happy for the baby that she decided to take the magic stick with her all the time, just in case.

Later that day, while she was having a bamboo snack, she heard somebody calling for help. She looked around the zoo and saw the lion lying under the apple tree in pain. He was having a toothache.

Molly took the magic stick and waved through the air.

“Make the lion’s pain disappear!” she said.

Suddenly an apple fell off the tree, hit the lion over the head and his tooth fell out. The lion felt a sense of relief and fell asleep immediately.

Once more, Molly felt so happy that she couldn’t explain it. There was a warm feeling around her heart that she had never felt before.

The next day Molly wanted to play with her best friend, giraffe Sally. When she got to Sally’s cave, she found her mum in tears.

“What happened”, asked Molly. “Where is Sally?”

“She is being moved away”, cried the mother giraffe. “She has been sold to another zoo.”

Molly took the magic stick and ran toward the zoo’s gate.

“Make Sally stay here!” Molly cried. “Please, make my friend stay here forever!”

The wheel of the van carrying Sally broke and fell off. The elephant used his trunk to open the cage door and Sally ran out. She was finally safe.

Molly couldn’t stop crying, but this time she was crying tears of joy. While she was hugging her best friend, she remembered that it was all the credit of her wise grandma’s.

Molly ran back to her cave and hugged her grandma.

“Thank you! Thank you, grandma!” she said. “This is the best present ever!”

Her grandma just smiled and kissed Molly. The grandma knew that Molly would reveal the joy of giving and helping others.

Years went by and Molly continued using her magic stick whenever she could. Her grandma’s birthday present taught her that doing good deeds to others could make her feel happier more than any present she might get.