Once upon a time, there lived four little friends named Hear, Hurry, Smart, and Same.

Every morning they put on their running shoes and got ready to look for what made them smile- magical mushrooms!

Magical mushrooms were special because when you found some, you felt good about yourself!

They were hidden somewhere in a big maze where there were several different places to explore.

Hear and Hurry were very intelligent and remembered where they had been before. They always looked for mushrooms in new places. Hear had great ears. He always listened for the beautiful sound of humming mushrooms. Hurry was very fast. Hear would tell Hurry where the humming was coming from and Hurry would run ahead and get to the mushrooms quickly.

Smart and Same were also very intelligent. They read books and studied maps to help each other find mushrooms. “Let’s go this way,” Smart would say. “I’m not so sure,” Same would answer. Smart and Same didn’t want to get lost in dark corners, so they went through the maze slowly, one small step at a time.

Day after day, the four friends searched through the big maze to find mushrooms. They went into dark areas and ran into dead ends.

But instead of giving up, they turned around and headed off into a new direction.

Then, all of a sudden, on one lucky day, it happened.

All of a sudden, the friends found something wonderful.

They found magical mushrooms! They were inside a large room called Mush Station J.

All of those mushrooms had been there all along, waiting for someone to find them.

“Whoopee!” yelled Smart. “Hooray!” screamed Hear and Hurry.

Same shouted, “There’s enough to last us forever!”

Hear liked the plump, short mushrooms. Hurry munched on the lean, tall ones. Smart liked rainbow mushrooms. And Same nibbled on fried ones.

Each friend relaxed in Mush Station J and imagined what the tasty treats could bring them.

When night fell,

they all headed toward their little houses.

The next morning, Hear and Hurry woke up early and laced up their shoes.

They raced each other through the maze, right to Mush Station J.

When they arrived, Hear carefully listened to make sure the mushrooms were still humming and fresh. Hurry measured the mushrooms to see how much was left.

Hurry announced proudly, “There are enough mushrooms to last us another two days.” The two friends sat and enjoyed the mushrooms, bite by bite.

Meanwhile, Smart and Same slept in and woke up very late. “We already know where Mush Station J is,” Smart thought. “I don’t need to hurry.”

Same stretched and yawned “Smart, let’s stay home for just another hour.”

When Smart and Same finally entered Mush Station J, they made themselves right at home. Same built himself a mushroom couch to sit in. Smart wrote on the wall with his handy dandy marker:

Day after day, Hear and Hurry paid close attention to the mushrooms to see what was happening.

But Smart and Same slept later and later and didn’t pay attention to the mushrooms. They just expected them to always be there.

Then one morning, Hear and Hurry arrived early at Mush Station J to find that the mushrooms were gone!

They weren’t completely surprised since they had noticed the mushroom supply was getting smaller and smaller.

They knew that they would have to go back into the maze and look for new mushrooms.

Much later, Smart and Same arrived at empty Mush Station J. They couldn’t believe their eyes! Same yelled, “What! No mushrooms? No mushrooms? Who moved my mushrooms?”

Same got very angry. He thought the mushrooms would always be there. He jumped up and down yelling, “It’s not fair!”

Smart was just as disappointed as Same, but he didn’t yell or stomp his feet. He stood perfectly still because he didn’t know what to do.

Then, Smart noticed something. “Same,” he said. “Where are Hear and Hurry?”

Same looked around. “I don’t know,” he answered.

“I bet they’re looking for new mushrooms.” said Smart. “Shouldn’t we be doing that too?”

“No!” yelled Same. “Remember how hard it was to find these mushrooms? It’s safer to wait until they put the old mushrooms back.”

Smart listened to his friend. “I guess you’re right, Same.”

So Smart and Same waited at Mush Station J, day after day after day, hoping for everything to be just like it was before.

Meanwhile, Hear and Hurry were listening and running through the maze, looking for new mushrooms.

Sometimes, they found little bits of mushrooms and stopped for a quick snack. They always left some behind for Smart and Same.

Then, they found a new area of the maze! It was called Mush Station R.

The mushroom supply was twenty times bigger than Mush Station J!

But Smart and Same were still waiting back at empty Mush Station J.

Finally, Smart looked at his friend and realized, “Same, look at us. We’re being ridiculous! Things have changed, but we haven’t changed.”

Same was too mad to listen. But when Smart laughed at himself, he felt better. He wrote on the wall:

Smart knew the answer to that question. “We need to go back in the maze, Same.” Same didn’t budge.

For a change, Smart didn’t mimic Same. He walked out of Mush Station J to find some new mushrooms.

Smart shouted, “It’s maze time!” He confidently searched through the maze. He wondered, “Why do I feel so good?”

Smart realized it was because he wasn’t afraid. He wrote on the wall: Smart hoped that Same might decide to accept the change and read the writing on the wall.

Smart drew arrows on the wall that pointed in the direction he was going.

Smart searched day and night for the rainbow mushrooms he liked. Sometimes, he ate bits of mushroom he found along the way.

“Hear and Hurry must’ve left these for me. What nice friends I have!” he thought.

As he munched on some new mushrooms, he noticed that they didn’t taste anything like the old mushrooms.

“They taste better!” he exclaimed.

Smart felt so good about himself, that he entered the darkest part of the big maze. To help him stay confident, he imagined a big rainbow mushroom in front of him.

He felt better and better!

The more he thought of good things, the easier it was to find his way around. Smart wrote on the wall:

As Smart moved on, he found himself in a part of the maze with new smells and colors. It was bright and welcoming.

Then he went towards a corner and was absolutely amazed at what he saw.

Right in front of Smart was Mush Station R! Hear and Hurry were there to greet him.

“Isn’t all of this better than the old mushrooms?” they shouted.

Smart helped Hear and hurry measure the Mushrooms to see what was happening.

Smart’s dream had come true- except for one thing.

Same was probably still back at Mush Station J. “Hear, Hurry, I think I’ll go back and find Same. I don’t feel as good without him.”

Smart left Mush Station R and headed toward his friend. But…

“Smart? Is that you?” Same was looking right at Smart “I’m sorry I was so stubborn. I should have listened to you!” Same said.

Smart greeted his friend and brought him right to Mush Station R. “I’m so glad you decided to accept the change!” Smart replied.

Then, Same took Smart’s handy dandy marker and wrote everything he had seen on the wall.

The four friends happily munched on their mushrooms, all the way untill nightfall,

when they returned to their little houses in the center of the maze.