Xena and the Paintbrush That Came Alive
Everything Xena paints with a magic paintbrush comes to life. What will she paint?
Xena found an old paintbrush in a dusty shop. The shopkeeper, Ravi the owl, smiled. ‘Take it. It’s a special one,’ he said. ‘But I’ll let you find out why.’
At home, Xena 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 Xena.
Xena painted a sunflower. It came right off the paper. Xena painted more things, and the room got fuller and funnier by the minute. Xena laughed and laughed. ‘I’m going to paint the best things!’
But one rainy afternoon, Xena heard a sad little sound. At the door was Dylan the hedgehog, wet and shivering. ‘I’m cold,’ said Dylan, ‘and I’ve got nowhere to go.’
Xena knew just what to paint. She painted a warm, cosy bed, soft blankets, and a bowl of hot soup. Out they came, steaming and snug. Dylan’s eyes grew round and happy.
‘Thank you,’ said Dylan. ‘You’ve given me everything I need.’ Xena 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, Xena used the magic brush only to help people. And Dylan stayed on as Xena’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 Xena as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
More Magic & Fairies stories
Dani’s Magic Paintbrush
Everything Dani paints with a magic paintbrush comes to life. What will she paint?
Nico’s Magic Paintbrush
Everything Nico paints with a magic paintbrush comes to life. What will he paint?
Bear and the Three Wishes
Bear finds a well that grants wishes, but every wish has a surprise.
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