What if you don't make friends

 *What if you don't make friends*

Once upon a time, in a sunny town filled with laughter and play, there lived a boy named Hanz. Hanz was a bit shy. He loved playing with his toys, reading books, and exploring the quiet corners of his backyard. But whenever other kids would invite him to play during recess or at the park, Hanz would say no. He thought he was fine playing alone. "What do I need friends for?" he'd think.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Hanz noticed something. At school, kids were laughing in groups, playing tag, and sharing snacks together. At the park, kids were riding bikes in packs, making big games of hide-and-seek, and telling jokes that made everyone giggle. But Hanz was always by himself. He'd watch them from a distance, wondering why he wasn't part of it.

One day, his teacher, Mrs. Smith, asked the class to do a group project about animals. Hanz was excited to learn about tigers and elephants on his own—but Mrs. Smith paired him with three other kids: Anna, Leo, and Sam. Hanz hesitated. "I can do it myself," he said quietly. But Mrs. Smith smiled. "Working with friends makes learning more fun, Hanz. You’ll see."

At first, it was hard. Hanz didn’t know how to talk to them like they talked to each other. Anna wanted to draw pictures of monkeys; Leo wanted to write about dolphins; Sam wanted to make a big poster. Hanz wanted to research alone in his notebook. "What if I don’t like what they like?" Hanz thought. But slowly, he started listening. Anna laughed at Leo’s silly dolphin jokes. Sam showed everyone his drawings of animals wearing hats. Hanz giggled. For the first time, he felt like he was part of something.

The group finished their project. They presented it to the class—and everyone loved it! Mrs. Smith said, "Great teamwork!" Anna said, "Hanz did awesome research!" Leo smiled, "We made a cool poster!" Sam added, "We’re a good team!" Hanz felt happy. He hadn’t known that friends could help make things more fun.

After that day, Hanz started saying "yes" when kids asked him to play. At recess, he joined a game of tag. At the park, he rode bikes with Leo. At lunch, he talked about his favorite books with Anna and Sam. He learned friends didn’t have to be exactly like him—they could be different, and that was okay! Together, they laughed more, played more, and even helped each other when needed.

But then one day, Hanz had to move to a new town. He was nervous. "What if I don’t make friends here?" he thought. The first day at his new school was quiet. Kids played in groups like before—but Hanz remembered what he’d learned. At lunch, he smiled at a girl eating a sandwich. "Want to sit together?" he asked. She said yes. They talked about games. Soon, Hanz was playing with kids at recess, joining clubs, and smiling more.

Years later, Hanz grew up. He had lots of friends. He remembered that story about "what if you don’t make friends." "What if" had turned into "what happened." He’d learned friends made life brighter. You didn’t have to be alone. Friends helped you laugh when you were silly, cheered you up when you were sad, and celebrated with you when you were happy.