

Lily loved to paint. She had many colors and brushes and papers. She liked to make pictures of flowers and animals and stars. She was very happy when she painted.
One day, she wanted to paint a huge rainbow. She took a big paper and put it on the floor. She found her red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple paints. She started to paint a big arc with red. She was very careful and proud.
But then, her little brother Tom came into the room. He saw the paints and wanted to play with them. He did not ask Lily. He took the blue paint and poured it on the paper. He made a big mess. He laughed and clapped his hands.
Lily was very angry and sad. She saw her rainbow ruined by the blue paint. She shouted at Tom. "No, no, no! That is my paint! That is my rainbow! You are bad! Go away!" She pushed Tom away and started to cry.
Mom heard the noise and came into the room. She saw the paint and the paper and the children. She understood what happened. She hugged Lily and said, "I'm sorry, Lily. I know you worked hard on your rainbow. It was very pretty. But Tom is too little to know. He did not mean to hurt you. He just wanted to have fun. Can you forgive him?"
Lily looked at Mom and then at Tom. Tom looked sorry and scared. He said, "I'm sorry, Lily. I like your rainbow. Can I help you make a new one?" Lily stopped crying and wiped her eyes. She said, "OK, Tom. But you have to ask me first. And you have to be gentle with the paints. They are not for pouring. They are for painting." Mom smiled and said, "That's very kind of you, Lily. I'm proud of you. And I'm proud of you, Tom, for saying sorry. Why don't we all clean up this mess and then we can paint a new rainbow together?" Lily and Tom nodded and said, "Yes, Mom." They hugged each other and said, "I love you." Mom said, "I love you too." And they all lived happily ever after. The end.
