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The Honest Woodcutter

In a magical forest, there lived a cheerful woodcutter named Tim. Tim loved to chop wood and sing songs to the trees, 'Chop, chop, choppity chop, wood to make a fun tabletop!'

A cheerful woodcutter A cheerful woodcutter with a plain, wooden axe, dressed in simple, colorful clothes, with a broad, honest smile in a magical forest, singing while he chops wood.

Tim always told the truth, no matter what. Everyone in the forest knew Tim was the most honest person around. The trees whispered, 'Tim's true, Tim's bright, Tim makes everything alright!'

The forest trees with faces whispering praises about A cheerful woodcutter with a plain, wooden axe, dressed in simple, colorful clothes, with a broad, honest smile's honesty.

One sunny day, Tim was chopping near the sparkling river, 'Splish, splash, splitting logs, sending all the frogs!' Suddenly, his shiny new axe slipped from his hands and plopped into the river!

A cheerful woodcutter with a plain, wooden axe, dressed in simple, colorful clothes, with a broad, honest smile chopping wood near a sparkling river with frogs jumping around.

Tim was sad. The river bubbled and gurgled, 'Glub, glub, no axe, glub, glub, oh no!' Just then, a shimmering fairy popped out of the water, radiating light like a tiny sun.

A shimmering fairy emerging from the bubbly river, with beams of light surrounding her.

'Hello, Tim!' said the fairy with a twinkle in her eye. 'Did you lose your axe?' She held out a gleaming golden axe. 'Is this your axe?'

The fairy holding a golden axe, with A cheerful woodcutter with a plain, wooden axe, dressed in simple, colorful clothes, with a broad, honest smile looking at it with surprised eyes.

But Tim shook his head, 'No, that’s not my axe. Mine is just plain and wooden.' The fairy smiled and vanished with a poof, only to reappear with a silver axe. 'Is this it?'

A cheerful woodcutter with a plain, wooden axe, dressed in simple, colorful clothes, with a broad, honest smile shaking his head as the fairy holds out a shimmering silver axe.

Again, Tim shook his head, 'No, that’s not mine either. My axe is simple and wooden.' The fairy's wings fluttered with glee, and she dived back into the river.

A cheerful woodcutter with a plain, wooden axe, dressed in simple, colorful clothes, with a broad, honest smile politely shaking his head while the fairy looks even happier, ready to dive back into the river.

Finally, she re-emerged holding Tim’s plain wooden axe. 'Yes! That’s my trusty axe!' Tim exclaimed, hopping with joy. 'Thank you so much!'

A cheerful woodcutter with a plain, wooden axe, dressed in simple, colorful clothes, with a broad, honest smile jumping with joy as the fairy presents his plain wooden axe.

The fairy clapped her hands and said, 'Tim, because you are so honest, I will gift you all three axes! Use them wisely.' Tim couldn't believe his eyes!

The fairy presenting all three axes—golden, silver, and wooden—to a delighted A cheerful woodcutter with a plain, wooden axe, dressed in simple, colorful clothes, with a broad, honest smile.

'Hooray!' cheered Tim. From that day on, Tim continued chopping wood and singing his favorite song, 'Chop, chop, choppity chop, now I have axes that never stop!'

A cheerful woodcutter with a plain, wooden axe, dressed in simple, colorful clothes, with a broad, honest smile happily chopping wood with all three axes, singing joyfully.

And so, the forest continued to thrive, always knowing that Tim’s honesty kept their hearts alive. The end.

A thriving forest with happy trees and A cheerful woodcutter with a plain, wooden axe, dressed in simple, colorful clothes, with a broad, honest smile chopping wood, surrounded by colorful foliage.

Reflection Questions

  • Why do you think Tim chose to be honest about his plain wooden axe?
  • How did the fairy reward Tim for his honesty?
  • What do you think the forest creatures learned from Tim's honesty?

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