It was a crisp fall day in the Enchanted Forest. The apples had just become perfectly ripe, meaning it was time for a frenzy of animals attempting to grab apples off the trees. Trees towered above all of the animals, casting a cool shade. The sun was shining high above the treetops, a sure sign of midday.

Artie the horse galloped out of the cave he called home, taking in the sights and smells of the Enchanted Forest. Grass crunched underneath his feet. As he looked around, Artie could see everyone sinking their teeth into large, fresh apples. It smelled wonderful.

Galloping over to a tree, Artie jumped as high as his horse legs allowed him to. He wasn’t even close to getting an apple. Everyone else was enjoying their fresh, red apples. Artie was filled with sadness and his tummy grumbled out of hunger.

All of a sudden, Artie felt very excluded. He wanted apples like everyone else, but he couldn’t reach one. He felt very left out.

For the next few minutes, Artie looked around, trying to rack his brain for a way to get one of those delicious apples. He couldn’t think of anything.

Finally, he noticed something. The people getting the apples were not alone. They were all using their friends to help them pick the apples out of the tree!

The solution was simple! Artie would call on his friends to help him.

“Raymond!” he called. “Raaaaymonnnndd!”

Raymond!

From behind a tree, a chestnut-brown pony with shiny, smooth fur galloped out.

“Whaaaat do you need, Artie? Neeeeeeiiiiggghh!” whinnied Raymond.

“I want an apple!” Artie explained. “But I can’t reach it on my own.”

“Let’s call some others,” Raymond suggested.

Together, Artie and Raymond called out some other friends: Catherine, Peter, and Lydia.

Lydia was a slow, shy turtle with a hard brown shell covering her back. She lumbered out of her little home and joined them.

Peter and Catherine, two hares, came hopping out of their shared hole in the ground. Their silver fur glistened in the sunlight streaming through the trees.

“What’s upp?” drawled Lydia.

“Y-yeah! Wh-what’s the problem,” Peter stuttered quickly.

Peter and Catherine both spoke so fast sometimes that they stumbled over their words. Their phrases raced out of their mouths like cars zooming down a race track.

Artie began, “Well- neeeeiiighhh- I want one of those apples.”

“But,” continued Raymond, “neither of us can reach them. We need your help.”

“U-u-u-okay!” Catherine agreed.

“I’ll helppp,” approved Lydia.

Neiiiigh!

“So, Artie can be the base, I’ll get on his back, Lydia will get on my back, Peter will get on Lydia’s back, and Catherine will be on top,” Raymond proposed.

All of the animals agreed, and before you could say "apple," the animals had stacked themselves on each other’s backs.