King Of The Hide And Seek

Once upon a time in the Heart-of-the-Jungle, there lived a tiger named Toby. Now, Toby wasn’t like the tigers you see in books. He wasn’t scary, he wasn’t fierce, and he certainly didn’t know how to creep quietly through the grass.

In fact, Toby was very, very clumsy.

One sunny morning, Toby decided he was going to be "The King of Hide-and-Seek." He found a big, sturdy tree and sat right behind it. He closed his eyes tight, tucked in his paws, and thought, "I am invisible! No one can see a giant orange tiger behind this tiny tree."

The Secret Spectator Up in the branches lived Momo the Monkey. Momo loved two things: bananas and jokes. When he looked down and saw Toby’s long, striped tail poking out from one side of the tree and Toby’s bright red nose poking out from the other, he couldn't help but giggle.

Momo swung down to a lower branch. He didn't make a sound. He peered over Toby’s shoulder, his big eyes wide with mischief.

"I think I see a tiger," Momo whispered right into Toby’s ear.

The Big Surprise Toby jumped so high that his stripes almost wiggled off!

"Gah!" Toby cried, his tongue sticking out in surprise.

"Gotcha!" laughed Momo, somersaulting through the leaves.

Toby looked at his tail, then at the tree, and finally at Momo. He realized that a skinny tree is not a very good hiding spot for a chunky tiger. Instead of being grumpy, Toby let out a big, happy "Roar-giggle."

A New Game From that day on, they didn't play hide-and-seek anymore. Instead, they played "Follow the Leader." 1. Momo would swing through the high branches. 2. Toby would stumble along the ground, tripping over roots and laughing the whole way.

Toby learned that he might be the worst hider in the jungle, but he was definitely the best at making friends. And Momo learned that tigers aren't scary—especially the ones that hide behind trees that are smaller than they are!