Oliver was a six-year-old boy, curious but a little stubborn. His favorite thing was his toys. He especially didn’t want anyone to touch his red fire truck.
He knew exactly how to say, “This is mine!”
One morning, Oliver’s mother
said to him, “Today you’ll play with your friends in the park.”
Oliver was delighted, but he also thought to himself, ” I won’t have to share my toys with anyone, right?”
The park was very crowded. The swings were full, children were running around, and laughter filled the air. Oliver immediately pulled the fire truck out of his bag and started playing with it all by himself.
After a while, Ali came up to him.
“What a beautiful car you have! Can I play with it for a bit?” he asked.
Oliver hid the car behind him.
— No. This is my toy, he said sharply.
Ali walked away sadly. Then Elif came, then Deniz… Oliver gave them all the same answer. Soon Oliver was left alone in the middle of the park.
At first, he wasn’t bothered by it. But after a while, the park started to seem very quiet. The other children were playing games together, laughing. Oliver was just driving his car back and forth all alone.
He realized he wasn’t having fun anymore.
At that moment, the fire truck’s wheel got stuck on a stone, and there was a cracking sound. The truck wouldn’t move.
Oliver’s eyes welled up. Just as he was about to cry, Ali came back to him.
“If you want, we can try to fix it,” he said.
Oliver was surprised.
— But… I hadn’t shared it with you, he said shyly.
Ali smiled.
“That’s alright. It’s nicer doing it together,” he said.
A little later, Elif and Deniz also arrived. Together, they repaired the car. Then they played a firefighter game. Oliver let them take turns driving the car. The game was more fun, and time passed more quickly.
On the way home, Oliver
said to his mother, “Mom, sharing didn’t reduce my toys. But I gained more friends.”
Her mother hugged her.
“That’s the secret of sharing,” she said.
From that day on, Oliver still loved his toys very much.
But now he knew that it was even better to love them together, not alone .
