Did you hear that? A little monkey whispered, "Gratitude makes your dreams come true!" It's true!
William put on his bright-red shoes. He loved his red shoes! "Grandma, I'm ready for school!" he called. Grandma smiled. "You look very handsome in your red shoes," she said. William gave her a big hug. "Thank you, Grandma," he said. He was grateful for his Grandma and her yummy cookies.
At school, Ms. Lily was talking about monkeys. "Monkeys love to swing from trees," she said. William giggled. He liked monkeys! Ms. Lily held up a picture of a monkey with a bright red face. "This monkey is showing us how to be grateful," Ms. Lily explained. "When we feel thankful for the good things, our hearts feel happy, just like this monkey!"
After school, Grandma took William to the zoo! William's eyes opened wide. "Wow!" he shouted. The first thing he saw was a big, hairy monkey! It was swinging from a rope. "Look, Grandma, it's the grateful monkey!" William shouted. He waved at the monkey, and the monkey waved back!
"Grandma, I want to swing like the monkey," William said. "And I want to be grateful like the monkey, too! But how?" Grandma smiled. "Well, we can start by being grateful for this beautiful day at the zoo."
William thought for a moment. "I'm grateful for the sunshine," he said.
"And I'm grateful for these yummy peanuts!" He popped a peanut in his mouth.
The monkey swung over to them. "Those peanuts look delicious," the monkey said.
"Can I have one?"
William was surprised! Monkeys could talk? This day was full of surprises!
"Sure," William said. He held out a peanut to the monkey.
"Thank you," the monkey said. "You know, when you're grateful, amazing things can happen." The monkey winked and took the peanut.
Suddenly, William felt very strong, like he could lift a whole tree! He looked down at his shoes. They were glowing! He ran to the climbing frame and started to climb. He climbed higher and higher, just like the monkey!
"Woo hoo!" William shouted. He felt like he could touch the sky!
From that day on, William tried to be grateful for everything. He was grateful for his family, his friends, and even his toys. And you know what? The more grateful he was, the more amazing things happened. He even won a big prize at the school fair for being the most grateful student!
One day, William was playing in the park when he saw a little boy sitting on a bench, looking sad. "What's wrong?" William asked.
"I lost my favorite toy car," the boy said.
"Don't worry," William said. "I'll help you find it."
William looked all over the park. Finally, he found the toy car stuck high up in a tree!
"Wow, you found it! Thank you!" The little boy was so happy.
William smiled. He knew that being grateful wasn’t just about saying thank you, it was about helping others and showing kindness. And that made him the happiest little boy in Houston!
