What Basil Painted
Everything Basil paints with a magic paintbrush comes to life. What will he paint?
Basil found an old paintbrush in a dusty shop. The shopkeeper, Percy the pony, smiled. ‘Take it. It’s a special one,’ he said. ‘But I’ll let you find out why.’
At home, Basil painted a small, wobbly circle on a piece of paper. The circle wriggled. It wobbled. It popped off the page, and became a real, round, juicy apple. ‘Whoa!’ said Basil.
Basil painted a golden crown. It came right off the paper. Basil painted more things, and the room got fuller and funnier by the minute. Basil laughed and laughed. ‘I’m going to paint the best things!’
But one rainy afternoon, Basil heard a sad little sound. At the door was Cara the snail, wet and shivering. ‘I’m cold,’ said Cara, ‘and I’ve got nowhere to go.’
Basil knew just what to paint. He painted a warm, cosy bed, soft blankets, and a bowl of hot soup. Out they came, steaming and snug. Cara’s eyes grew round and happy.
‘Thank you,’ said Cara. ‘You’ve given me everything I need.’ Basil realised that the best thing the brush could paint wasn’t a toy or a treat. It was a little bit of kindness.
From then on, Basil used the magic brush only to help people. And Cara stayed on as Basil’s best friend, the very best painting of all.
The little lesson
Use your gifts to make others happy, and the world gets a little brighter.
Let’s talk about it
- If you had a paintbrush like that, what would you paint?
- What would you paint for a friend?
Finish stories to collect Basil as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
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Lily’s Well at the End of the Lane
Lily finds a well that grants wishes, but every wish has a surprise.
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