The boy who painted kindness Once upon a time, in a little house with a green door, lived a boy named Leo. Leo loved to paint, but he didn't use brushes or big canvases. Instead, he used special paints made from crushed wildflowers and rainwater, and he only ever painted on kindness. One sunny afternoon, a little field mouse with a very long tail scurried past Leo's window. The mouse looked sad and a little bit lost. Leo felt a pang of pity in his heart. He picked up his paints—a bright, daisy-yellow and a soft, blueberry-blue—and painted a tiny, cheerful path from his doorstep to a patch of wildflowers. The mouse followed the colorful path and found a feast of seeds and berries. His sadness disappeared, replaced by a happy squeak. The next day, a grumpy caterpillar was crawling slowly along a cobblestone path. He was cross because all the best leaves were on the other side of the big, scary mud puddle. Leo saw the caterpillar and mixed a vibrant, leaf-green paint. He painted a sturdy little bridge of green leaves right over the puddle. The caterpillar happily wiggled his way across and found a delicious, leafy dinner on the other side. His grumbles turned into a happy munching sound. News of the boy who painted kindness spread through the woods. The squirrel with the sore paw came asking for a painting of a soft, comfy nest. The busy little bee who was too tired to fly anymore asked for a painting of the sweetest nectar. Leo happily painted for all of them, using his special wildflower paints. Each of his paintings brought a little bit of magic and a lot of happiness to the forest creatures. One evening, as Leo was putting his paints away, he realized his jars were nearly empty. He had used all his daisy-yellow, all his blueberry-blue, and all his leaf-green. He felt a little sad, but then he heard a tapping at his window. He opened it to see the field mouse with the long tail, the happy caterpillar, the squirrel, and the bee. They had all come with little gifts. The mouse brought him a tiny pouch of freshly picked berries, the caterpillar brought a perfect, dewy leaf, the squirrel brought a handful of crunchy nuts, and the bee left a drop of golden honey. The air filled with the sweet smells of berries and honey, and the creatures all smiled at Leo. Leo looked at all the wonderful gifts. He realized his jars weren't empty at all. They were overflowing with all the kindness he had given away, now returned to him in a new, delicious way. He smiled, knowing he would always have enough paint to keep making the world a little brighter. And as he drifted off to sleep, he dreamt in a thousand happy colors.