The Zombie Who Couldn't Scare

In a forest where moonbeams danced between the leaves, there lived a zombie named Zed. But Zed wasn't like the zombies in scary stories. He was green and patchy, yes, but his heart was made of sunshine.

Every night, Zed tried to be frightening. He would moan, "Brrraaaains," but it always came out sounding like a burp. He would stumble out from behind trees, but he always tripped over his own feet and did a somersault instead.

The forest animals didn't run away. They giggled.

One evening, Zed heard a yap-yap-yapping sound. Following the noise, he found a small golden dog dancing in circles around a fishbowl. Inside swam a tiny goldfish named Gilligan.

"Help!" cried the dog, whose name was Buster. "Gilligan jumped out of his bowl and now he's flopping on the ground!"

Zed had never helped anyone before. His bumpy fingers trembled as he scooped up the little goldfish and plopped him back into his bowl.

Gilligan did three happy bubbles. "Thank you, Mr. Scary-Looking Guy!"

Buster's tail wagged so hard it almost knocked over the fishbowl. "You're not scary at all! You're the kindest person I've met!"

Zed's green cheeks turned pink. "But I'm a zombie. I'm supposed to be frightening."

"Why?" asked Buster, tilting his head.

Zed had never thought about that. Why did he have to be scary if he didn't want to be?

"I don't know," Zed admitted.

"Then be yourself," said Gilligan, blowing a heart-shaped bubble. "Being kind is better than being scary any day."

From that night on, Zed stopped trying to frighten anyone. Instead, he became the forest's helper. He used his long arms to reach apples for squirrels. He let birds nest in his hair. And every evening, he sat by the pond with Buster and Gilligan, watching the stars twinkle above.

The other zombies finally asked why he wasn't scary anymore.

Zed smiled, showing his crooked teeth. "Because I found something better. I found friends."

And somewhere in that magical forest, if you listen closely on a quiet night, you might hear the gentle laughter of a zombie, a dog, and a goldfish, all having the best adventure of all—friendship.