The Kingdom of Shinies Once upon a time, there was a land where shinies grew on everything on the rocks, on the flowers, and even on the blades of grass. Shinies were like little stars that had come down from the sky to live among the people. They twinkled and winked in the sunlight. With just one touch, a shiny could become a scoop of ice cream, a bag of sweets, or whatever your heart most desired. No wonder everyone gathered them by the basketful. High golden ladders climbed all the way into the clouds, for shinies floated there too, drifting like bubbles. But those ladders were tall very, very tall—and sometimes people fell. Then there was only sorrow. The King shook his head and called his councillors together. “We must make rules,” he said gravely. “Before someone else gets hurt.” So rules were made. But still, people reached for the shinies. The few who chose to leave them alone who simply walked past without touching them began to notice something strange. The grass seemed greener. The sky seemed bluer. The whole world somehow looked more beautiful than before. In this kingdom lived a girl named Abigail. She had bright green eyes and a quiet, kind nature. One morning, while wandering through the royal gardens, Abigail saw something extraordinary. It was a flower unlike any she had ever seen. Its petals were covered with the most brilliant shinies imaginable, glittering like a hundred tiny suns. Any other girl might have plucked every last one. But Abigail stood very still. She looked at the flower for a long time. Then, slowly, she knelt beside it and gently wrapped her arms around its stem. And she smiled—the way you smile at something you truly love. Then the most wonderful thing happened. The flower began to glow. Softly at first, then brighter and brighter, until new shinies bloomed from its very heart more beautiful than any Abigail had ever seen. Abigail sat back on her heels and thought about what had happened. The flower loved the earth. The earth loved the rain. The rain loved the trees, and the trees loved everything around them and beneath them. Everything was connected by love. And somehow, she understood. Love was the true source of all shinies. “What if,” Abigail whispered to herself, “we gave love first? What if we stopped reaching and started giving?” She went home and told everyone what she had seen. Some people listened immediately. Others took a little longer. But little by little, the kingdom began to change. And behold—it was not all at once. One by one, people began to care for the world the way Abigail had cared for the flower. They planted gardens, tended the fields, protected the trees, and shared what they had with one another. And the more love they gave, the more shinies appeared. Soon the kingdom was more beautiful than it had ever been. The flowers loved the earth. The earth loved the rain. The rain loved the trees, and the trees loved everything, and everything loved them in return. And so they lived happily ever after.
