Clever Girl

In a world where dinosaurs roamed the planet freely lived a young T- rex named Sanovia. She was a good kid with a vibrant spirit and a caring nature who loved to play but had no friends to play with. All the kids were terrified of her and rightly so; she was three times their size, her feet were as large as their heads and she had a roar that could be heard from a mile away. One day, Sanovia was walking through the forest when she saw three other kids. Their eyes were fixed on something, Sanovia stopped to look for a couple of seconds and then resumed her walk. The kids continued to stare, their eyes wide, drool dripping from their mouths as they came to realize what they were looking at.

"They look perfect," John said.

"There's bananas, apples, grapes, and pears. How are there so many fruits on one tree?" Georgia asked.

"There's so many colors. I'm going for it," Jeremy said. He started sprinting as fast as he could. "I'm going for the apple! " he yelled. But just before he got there, he fell backwards as if he had run into a wall.

 "What happened?" Georgia said.

"Are you ok?" John asked.

"Something really weird just happened," Jeremy said. He looked stunned and surprised.

The three kids were baffled at what they saw. An invisible barrier surrounded the tree. A monkey appeared from the top of the tree. He jumped from branch to branch and landed directly in front of the kids on the other side of the barrier. He threw a blank stare at each of them. After the awkward staring contest that he won all three at, he smiled and started to speak, "Welcome to the Rainbow Tree. A magical tree that produces all the fruits of the forest and is said to taste better than any fruit from any other tree.”

The kids were eyes glowed with wonderment at the news. “But,” the monkey resumed, “to enter the barrier, you must first answer this riddle. What can you keep after giving someone?" The old monkey said with a proud smirk. The kids looked at each other, a thoughtful expression on their faces. An hour slid by and the kids were yet to solve the riddle. Meanwhile, Sanovia who was just returning from her short trip saw that the kids’ shoulders were slumped in defeat.

"We'll never get the fruit," John cried out at last.

"Why is this riddle so hard?" Georgia whined, stamping.

"Only a genius could answer it correctly," Jeremy cried.

Sanovia walked over and asked, "Are you trying to get fruits from the tree?"

"Yes, but we can't answer the riddle," Georgia said.

The monkey reappeared from the sky. "Ah! I see there is another that would like to eat from the Rainbow Tree. You also must answer this riddle first, what can you keep after you give to someone?" The monkey said with a grin, quite sure this kid won’t be different from the rest, though she looked it.

Sanovia looked at the monkey and without a moment’s thought replied, "The answer is your word."

The kids stared at the monkey in anticipation. The monkey started to laugh then said, "That is correct, you may enter."

The kids’ faces were flushed with joy and they jumped about excitedly.

"But only you may enter," the monkey declared, pointing to Sanovia.

The kids' faces dropped and turned into despair.

"Why not all of us?" John asked.

To this the monkey replied, ''She answered the question. You can only come in if she allows it."

Without a second’s hesitation, Sanovia yelled, "I allow it!"

"Then you may all enter,” the monkey announced, opening the barrier to them.

Once again, the kids' faces filled with joy. The kids started eating the delicious fruits.

John started with the pears while Georgia went for bananas, Jeremy went for apples and Sanovia went for the grapes. While eating, Jeremy asked Sanovia, "How did you know the answer? You're one clever girl."

Sanovia smiled and said, "My parents taught me about what your word is and what it means to give it to others.”

"I want to be smart like you," Georgia said.

"Me too" John followed.

They continued to eat until their stomachs felt like they would burst open. On their way outside the barrier, they all turn and say goodbye to the monkey and tell him they’ll see them tomorrow. The monkey grins then he responds, “I look forward to seeing you and I’ll have a new riddle waiting for you.”

The End.