William swung his feet back and forth as he sat at the kitchen table. Grandma was busy at the counter, her back to him. It smelled like cookies! "Grandma?" he asked. "What if pirates were nice?" Grandma turned around, her eyebrows raised. "Nice pirates? Whatever do you mean, William?" William hopped off his chair. "Like, what if they helped people instead of taking their treasure?" He made a face. "That wouldn't be very nice." Grandma chuckled. "You're right, William. But pirates aren't known for being nice, are they?" She winked. "Now, how about you go outside and play for a bit?"
Outside, William wandered around to his backyard. He loved looking for birds in the trees. Suddenly, he spotted something amazing behind the oak tree—a giant pirate ship! It even had a skull and crossbones flag! But this ship was different. It was full of bright colors and friendly-looking pirates were waving at him!
A big, friendly pirate with a parrot on his shoulder helped William onto the ship. "Welcome aboard! We believe in empathy, see? That means being kind and understanding to everyone, even dinosaurs!" William's eyes widened. "Dinosaurs?"
The ship was full of dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes! A long-necked Brachiosaurus munched on leaves, a spiky Stegosaurus lumbered across the deck, and a tiny Compsognathus, no bigger than a chicken, zipped around William's feet. "Wow!" he exclaimed.
"We rescued these dinosaurs from a lonely island," the pirate explained. "They were sad and missed their home. So, we're taking them back to where they belong—millions of years ago!"
William spent the rest of the day playing with the dinosaurs and learning about empathy from the pirates. He even helped give a baby Triceratops a bath!
As the sun started to set, the ship stopped. "This is your stop, young matey!" the pirate said. "Remember to always choose kindness, just like a nice pirate!" He winked.
William found himself back in his backyard. Had it all been a dream? He raced inside and found Grandma putting cookies on a plate. "Grandma! I met nice pirates and dinosaurs!" he exclaimed.
Grandma laughed and patted his head. "That sounds like a wonderful dream, William. Now, how about a cookie?"
That night, as William drifted off to sleep, he thought about the pirates and dinosaurs. Maybe empathy wasn't just for pirates and dinosaurs. Maybe it was for everyone! And from that day on, William always tried his best to be kind and understanding, just like a nice pirate.
