Gentle Paws

Momo the Panda was the biggest cub in Bamboo Hollow — bigger than Dot the Duckling, bigger than Pip the field mouse, bigger even than Ru the young rabbit. Momo loved playing with his friends more than almost anything.

But sometimes, in all his excitement, Momo forgot just how big his paws really were.

One sunny afternoon, playing tag among the bamboo stalks, Momo scampered after Dot, laughing, and gave her a happy tap on the wing to say "you're it!" Except Momo's idea of a tap was more like a gentle nudge from a very large friend, and Dot tumbled straight over into the grass.

Dot didn't cry, but she went very quiet, brushing leaves off her feathers and not quite looking at Momo.

Momo froze. "Dot? Are you okay?"

"I think so," Dot said softly. "It just surprised me. You're a lot bigger than me, Momo."

Momo sat down with a heavy plop, his big black-and-white face crumpling with worry. "I didn't mean to. I just get excited and forget."

"I know," said Dot kindly. "Maybe you could remember, when we play — that your paws are like thunder, and mine are like feathers."

Momo thought about that all through dinner. That evening, when Ru asked him to play again, Momo moved differently — slower, softer, checking in with a little "is this too much?" before every game.

It turned out gentle Momo was just as fun to play with — maybe even more fun, because now nobody worried about getting knocked over, and everybody laughed a little easier.

Curling up in his bamboo nest that night, Momo understood something new: being the biggest wasn't something to be careful *about* — it was something to be careful *with*. Big paws made room for gentle hearts, if you remembered to use them.