Pebble Loves to Swap

Pebble is a little hermit crab who lives in a warm, sunny tide-pool. And Pebble LOVES to swap!

Here is what a swap is, and it is a happy thing. You have a shell. Your friend wants that shell. Your friend has a shell YOU want. So — you give them yours, and they give you theirs. Swap!

And now? Both of you are happy. You got the shell you wanted. Your friend got the shell THEY wanted. Two happy friends!

One sunny morning, Pebble had a shiny pink shell. But Pebble did not want the pink one. Pebble wanted a blue one. And there was Sandy the seal, holding a blue shell - but Sandy wanted a pink one!

“Ooh!” said Pebble. “You want pink. I want blue. Let’s swap!”

So Pebble gave Sandy the pink shell, and Sandy gave Pebble the blue shell. Swap! And they both did a happy little wiggle, because now they each had the shell they wanted.

“That is the best feeling,” said Pebble, holding the blue shell up to the sun. “I give you a shell you want. You give me one I want. A swap makes TWO friends happy - not just me!”

A grown-up can play too! Find two little toys, or two blocks. You hold one, they hold one. Now swap! You give them yours, they give you theirs. Say it together: “I give you one - you give me one - swap!” Feel how a swap makes you BOTH smile.

Pebble swapped shells all day long, and every swap made two friends glad. Because that is what Pebble knows, better than any crab in the tide-pool: a swap is not taking. A swap is giving AND getting. And it makes everybody happy.

I give you a shell, you give me one back - a swap makes two friends happy! That’s Pebble.