In a sunny forest, Benny the rabbit and Tina the squirrel lived happily. Benny loved hopping around and finding the best carrots, while Tina liked collecting nuts from the tall oak trees. They spent their days playing and exploring the forest together.

One day, while Benny was munching on a carrot, he spotted something unusual in the distance. “Tina, look over there,” Benny said.

Tina climbed higher up a tree to see better. “It looks like a lion, but something seems off.”

As the figure got closer, it did look like a lion, but Benny and Tina were puzzled because lions usually didn’t come to their forest. The lion moved slowly and didn’t look very fierce.

Daisy the deer joined them. “Is that really a lion?” Daisy asked.

The animals gathered around, whispering. “It doesn’t seem like a lion,” Tina said. “It looks kind of clumsy.”

The “lion” walked toward the animals, trying to act scary but not very well. As it moved, the lion’s skin started slipping off, revealing something gray underneath.

Daisy gasped. “That doesn’t look like lion fur!”

Benny decided to be brave and approached the “lion.” “Who are you?” he asked.

The “lion” slipped and the skin fell off completely. It turned out to be a donkey named Don. The animals were surprised and then began laughing.

Don looked at the lion’s skin on the ground and felt embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” Don said. “I just wanted to be someone I’m not. I thought if I wore this lion’s skin, everyone would respect me.”

Benny hopped over to Don and said, “Why did you want to be someone else? We liked you just as you were.”

Tina added, “You don’t need to pretend to be a lion. We liked you for who you are, especially the way you help us.”

Daisy said, “Remember when you helped me find my way back to the meadow? You’re already a great friend.”

Don looked around and realized his friends liked him for who he was. “Really? You like me even though I’m just a donkey?”

“Of course!” Benny said. “Everyone is special in their own way. You don’t need to be someone else to be important.”

Don felt relieved and thankful. “I don’t need this lion’s skin anymore,” he said.

As the sun set, the animals gathered around Don, sharing stories and enjoying each other’s company. Don felt happy being himself and no longer needed to pretend.

The next day, Don visited his friends without any disguise. “Good morning, everyone!” he said in his usual bray.

“Good morning, Don!” the animals replied. They were happy to see their friend who had learned an important lesson.

From then on, Don was happy to be himself. He understood that being true to who he was made him special. He didn’t need to pretend to be a lion to be valued by his friends.

Moral of the story: It’s important to be yourself because the people who truly care about you will appreciate you for who you are. Trying to be someone else might only cause you to lose sight of your own worth.