Once upon a time, in a place called Sunny Hollow, lived a little turtle named Toby. Toby had a beautiful, bumpy green shell and four very steady, very slow legs. Plod, plod, plod. That is how Toby walked. Can you walk slowly like Toby?
One golden morning, Toby found something wonderful under the Great Oak Tree. It was a mountain. But not a mountain of rocks—it was a mountain of leaves! Orange leaves, red leaves, and yellow leaves that looked like little pieces of sunshine. They smelled like fresh earth and old adventures. They went 'swish-swish' in the wind. Can you hear them whispering? 'Crunch me, crunch me!' they said.
Toby’s little turtle heart went pitter-patter. He wanted to jump! He wanted to feel the 'Crinkle-crunch!' under his tummy. He started to climb up, up, up the leaf mountain. But then, he stopped. He looked back down. He was all alone. It was very quiet, wasn't it?
Toby thought about his best friends. There was Barnaby the Snail, who carried his shiny house on his back. And there was Bertha the Beetle, in her polished blue coat. They were even slower than Toby! If Toby jumped now, he would get the very first 'Crunch!' all for himself. But if he waited, the wind might go 'Whoosh!' and blow the leaves away. What should Toby do?
Toby looked at the big, lonely pile. Then he looked at the path. He decided that a 'Crunch' for one is fine, but a 'Crunch' for three is a party! He sat down and used his hard green shell like a little drum. Tump-tump-tump! Tump-tump-tump! 'Come along, friends!' he called. 'The Mountain of Giggling Leaves is waiting!'
Soon, he heard a tiny sound. 'Slide-shuff, slide-shuff.' It was Barnaby the Snail! Then came a 'Click-clack, click-clack.' It was Bertha the Beetle! They were huffing and puffing, but their little faces were full of smiles. 'Are we in time?' asked Barnaby. 'The leaves are still here!' cried Bertha. Toby wiggled his tail. He was so happy he waited.
The three friends climbed to the very top, right up to the Golden Leaf. Toby counted. Can you count with him? One... two... THREE!
Wheee! Down they went. Toby went 'Bum!', Barnaby went 'Zip!', and Bertha went 'Flop!' right into the middle of the pile. CRINKLE-CRUNCH! It was the loudest, most musical sound Toby had ever heard. The leaves flew into the air like colorful birds. They laughed and they rolled, and the leaves tickled their tummies.
Toby realized that while being first is fast, being together is much more fun. The sun stayed warm, the friends stayed close, and the leaves kept on giggling. And that’s how it all turned out just right.