The Zombie Who Loved Goldfish

In the middle of the Magical Forest lived Zed, the friendliest **zombie** anyone could ever meet. Zed wasn't scary at all – he had bright purple skin, sparkly green eyes, and the biggest smile in the whole forest. His favorite thing to do was sit by the crystal pond and watch the beautiful **goldfish** swim around.

"You're so pretty," Zed would say to his goldfish friend Goldie. "I wish I could swim like you."

Goldie would splash her tail and blow bubbles that floated up to Zed's face. Pop! Pop! Pop!

One sunny afternoon, Zed heard something loud coming through the forest. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! He hid behind a big oak tree and peeked out. A massive brown **bull** was **running** right toward the pond!

"Oh no!" cried Zed. "Goldie, hide!"

But the bull stopped at the water's edge and looked at Zed with gentle brown eyes. "Hello," said the bull softly. "My name is Bella. I'm not scary either."

Zed stepped out from behind the tree. "I'm Zed. And this is Goldie."

Bella the bull lowered her head so Zed could pet her soft nose. "I've been running all day looking for friends," she said. "Nobody wants to play with a big bull like me."

Goldie splashed happily. "Play! Play!" she seemed to say.

That day, the three friends played the best game ever. Zed would pretend to chase Bella, and Bella would run around the pond while Goldie raced alongside in the water. They laughed and played until the stars came out.

From then on, Zed, Bella, and Goldie were the best of friends. They learned that the best friends come in all shapes and sizes – even purple zombies, brown bulls, and little goldfish.

And every evening, they'd sit together by the pond, watching the sunset paint the sky pink and orange, grateful for their magical friendship.