"Lily, Lily! Do you know what empathy is?" Evelyn, a curious three-year-old, looked at her pet rock, Lily, with wide, sparkly eyes.
Lily, of course, didn't answer. She was a rock, after all, even if she was 54 in rock years! But Evelyn, with her big imagination, pretended Lily giggled. "It means we think about how others feel!" Evelyn declared.
Suddenly, a beautiful song, high and sweet like a silver bell, filled the air. Evelyn gasped. "A Little Bird! Maybe it needs empathy!"
Following the sound, Evelyn, with Lily tucked safely in her pocket, tiptoed out of her house in Charlotte. The song led her to a hidden path, and as she walked, the air grew hot and smelled like popcorn!
Finally, she reached a clearing, and in the middle, a giant volcano rumbled and bubbled! The Little Bird perched on the edge, singing sadly.
Evelyn, a super diver, knew just what to do. "Don't worry, Little Bird! I'll help you!" she shouted. She took a deep breath and jumped into the volcano!
Okay, maybe not *into* the volcano. It was full of hot lava, and that wouldn't be very empathetic! Evelyn landed in a secret cave hidden behind a waterfall of lava.
The Little Bird flew down and chirped sadly. "I dropped my favorite berry in the lava!" it chirped, pointing with its tiny wing.
Evelyn saw a bright red berry bobbing in the cool lava flow near the edge. "Don't worry," she said, carefully scooping it up.
Back outside, Evelyn gave the Little Bird its berry. The Little Bird chirped happily and flew up, showering Evelyn with grateful bird kisses!
Evelyn giggled, her heart full. Empathy felt good! She climbed out of the volcano, Lily still tucked in her pocket. "See, Lily," Evelyn whispered, "helping others feels amazing!"
As she walked home, Evelyn couldn't stop smiling. She had shown empathy to the Little Bird, and it made her heart sing even louder than the Little Bird's song!
