The Girl Who Hoarded All the Markers

The Girl Who Hoarded All the Markers: A Parable about Generosity, Joy, and Shared Creativity

In a bright and busy classroom filled with sunshine, color, and the hum of excited learning, there lived a girl named Ava. Ava loved art class more than anything in the world. She dreamed in color—castles glowing with golden towers, skies painted in endless blues, and gardens bursting with every shade imaginable.

But Ava had a problem she never noticed in herself: she didn’t like to share.

When a brand-new box of vibrant markers arrived in class one morning, Ava’s excitement quickly turned into possessiveness. Ruby reds, ocean blues, sunny yellows, and shimmering silvers were gathered into her arms before anyone else could reach them. She guarded them closely, afraid someone might take even one.

While the other children made do with dull crayons and stubby pencils, Ava kept all the color for herself. Yet instead of enjoying her treasure, she grew distracted—constantly counting, checking, and protecting her markers so none would disappear.

Her masterpiece never truly began.

Across the room, something different unfolded. The other students began to share what little they had. A crayon here, a pencil there, a sticker exchanged for a splash of color. Their drawings grew lively not because they had the best supplies, but because they had each other.

At the end of the lesson, Ava looked down at her nearly blank page. For all her effort to keep everything, she had created almost nothing. Meanwhile, the rest of the class had filled their papers with joy, teamwork, and imagination.

The realization gently settled in her heart: having everything to herself had not made her richer—it had left her empty.

The next day, Ava made a different choice.

She placed the box of markers in the center of the table.

As she shared, something wonderful happened. Colors moved freely from hand to hand. Ideas sparked between friends. Mistakes were fixed together. And Ava’s own drawing—once stalled by fear—became the brightest work she had ever made.

By the end of class, the table was covered in art alive with creativity and connection.

Ava discovered a truth she would never forget:
what she had been protecting was never the treasure.

The real joy had always been sharing it.