

Lily and Ben were playing in the garden. They liked to look for bugs and flowers. They saw a lizard on a rock. It was green and brown and had a long tail.
"Wow, look at the lizard!" Lily said. "It is so cool. Can we touch it?"
Ben was scared of the lizard. He thought it might bite or scratch them. He shook his head.
"No, Lily, we can't touch it. It is not a toy. It is a wild animal. It might run away or hurt us."
But Lily did not listen to Ben. She wanted to see the lizard up close. She had an urge to touch it. She moved slowly towards the rock.
"Come on, Ben, don't be a baby. It is just a lizard. It is not a lion or a snake. It is cute and small. I want to pet it."
Ben tried to stop Lily. He grabbed her arm.
"Lily, stop! You are being silly. The lizard does not want to be petted. It wants to be left alone. You are scaring it. Come back here!"
But Lily pulled her arm away from Ben. She reached out her hand to the lizard. The lizard did not like Lily's hand. It felt threatened. It opened its mouth and showed its teeth. It hissed and jumped at Lily.
"Aaaah!" Lily screamed. She was surprised and scared. She fell back and dropped her hand. The lizard ran away and hid under a bush.
Ben ran to Lily. He hugged her and checked her hand. She had a small scratch on her finger. It was bleeding a little bit.
"Are you okay, Lily?" Ben asked. "Did the lizard hurt you?"
Lily nodded. She was crying. She felt sorry and stupid.
"Yes, Ben, I am okay. But the lizard hurt me. It was angry at me. I should have listened to you. You were right. I was wrong. I was silly. I am sorry, Ben."
Ben smiled and kissed her cheek. He took her hand and wrapped it with a leaf.
"It's okay, Lily. I forgive you. You are not silly. You are curious. But you have to be careful. Some animals don't like to be touched. They need their space. Next time, we can look at the lizard from far away. Okay?"
Lily smiled and nodded. She hugged Ben and said thank you.
"Okay, Ben. Thank you for being my friend. You are very smart and brave. And tall. I like you."
They walked back to the house. They saw their mom and dad. They told them what happened. Their mom and dad were glad they were okay. They gave them a hug and a cookie. They said they were proud of them for being honest and kind. They said they loved them very much.
