Lala the lemur loved nothing more than curling up in her old hammock at the end of a long day. Strung between two tall palm trees, it had been her favorite resting spot for years. But lately, the fabric had begun to fray, and the once-bright colors had faded under the jungle sun.
One afternoon, while Lala was trying to nap as the wind gently rocked her tattered hammock, her best friend Thuy, a cheerful toucan with a colorful beak, flew down with a twinkle in her eye.
“Lala!” Thuy called out. “You’ve been working so hard helping everyone—picking fruit, watching the little ones, fixing nests. I thought it was time you got a little surprise.”
Before Lala could ask what she meant, Thuy whistled, and from behind a thick bush, a group of animal friends appeared—squirrels, parrots, and even a shy sloth—carrying something big and bright between them.
It was a brand-new hammock! Woven from soft jungle vines and decorated with blossoms and feathers, it was the most beautiful hammock Lala had ever seen. Her eyes widened in shock. “Is… is that for me?” she asked, blinking.
Thuy laughed and nodded. “We all chipped in! I made the design, the squirrels wove the vines, and the parrots found the flowers. You deserve it, Lala!”
Touched beyond words, Lala jumped down and hugged Thuy. “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice full of emotion. “No one’s ever done something like this for me.”
Together, they carefully strung the new hammock in the same spot. When Lala climbed in and let the breeze rock her gently, she sighed with delight. It was even more comfortable than her old one.
From that day on, whenever anyone asked about the beautiful hammock in the palms, Lala would smile and say, “That’s not just a hammock. It’s a reminder of how lucky I am to have such thoughtful friends.”
