Vroom! Vroom! It was the night of the Great Forest Race! Kiwi the green koala polished his go-kart. Taro the purple sloth stretched sloooowly. Tang the orange possum wiggled with excitement. “I want to be the fastest!” he cheered.
“Ready, Set, GO!”
The go-karts zoomed! Kiwi was careful. Taro was steady. But Tang was fast. Super fast!
Tang saw a shortcut through the trees. “I can win!” he thought. He zoomed off the track. But… BUMP! CRASH! Tang’s kart hit a big wire. POP! All the lights in the forest went out. It was dark.
“Oh no!” cried the little critters. It was too dark to race.
Tang felt sad. “I did it,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”
But Kiwi wasn’t mad. He opened his big red toolbox. Clank! “I have an idea!” said Kiwi.
He took out a wheel and a long vine. He built a special running machine! Kiwi ran on the wheel. Run, run, run! And… the lights turned ON! Flicker, flash!
“Hooray for Kiwi!” everyone shouted. “What a bright idea!”
The race could start again! One more lap! “Ready, Set…” SNAP! The vine on Kiwi’s machine broke! The lights at the very end of the track went dark again.
Tang was in the front. He could zoom to the finish line and get the big, shiny trophy! But he looked back. His friend Kiwi needed help.
Tang stopped his kart. He chose his friends! He zipped into the forest and found a new, super-strong vine.
Together, Kiwi and Tang fixed the machine. Flicker, flash! All the lights were back on.
The three friends crossed the finish line together, holding hands. They didn’t win the trophy. They won something better. They were a team!
And everyone agreed, helping a friend is the best prize of all.