By: Johnn Jin

There once was a boy who wanted a friend. His name was Max and he was a special kid. He loved animals, and he was born with a special ability to talk to them. This made him different from other kids. At school when it was time for recess, he wouldn’t play with the other kids, even though he wanted a friend. He didn’t want a human friend, but an animal friend.

At home his parents were worried about him, so they tried to set up playdates for him. But at the end of each one, the other kid would always say he was bored.

Finally, Max’s parents went to the doctor’s office. “It isn’t normal, but you should let him do what makes him happy,” said the doctor.

One day, Max was in the backyard, and he tried to be friends with a squirrel. “Do you want to be friends?” Max asked.

“You’re a human and I am an animal. How are you even talking to me?” The squirrel questioned him.

“I was born with this ability,” said Max.

“Sorry but I can’t be friends with you because you are a human,” said the squirrel, running away.

The next day while walking home Max saw a stray dog eating out of the trash. Before Max could stay anything, the dog started to bark and say, “GET AWAY FROM ME AND MY FOOD!”

Max quickly ran home. In his backyard there was a stray cat, so Max decided to give it one more shot. “Hello,” he said calmly. “Do you want to be my friend?” But the cat just shook his head and ran away.

In his bed that night, Max thought, “Why does no animal want to be my friend?” He kept thinking that until he fell asleep.

The next morning while Max was eating breakfast, his parents said to him, “We have seen how much you love animals, so we have a surprise for you!” Then in a basket they had in their hands was a little puppy.

“His name is Oliver,” said his dad.

Oliver ran up to Max and licked him. “Do you want to be my friend?” said Oliver. At that moment Max knew he had found his best friend!