The Morning Rainbow

Lizzie sat cross-legged on the park bench, her mint-green dress smoothed beneath her as she turned the page of her book. The morning sun painted LazyTown's rainbow in brilliant colors across the sky, but most kids stayed inside playing video games.

"Hey Lizzie!" Stephanie bounced over in her pink outfit, followed by the other kids. Sportacus flipped behind them, landing perfectly.

Stingy shuffled along last, his brown hair falling into his eyes like a curtain. It hung past his shoulders now, wild and tangled.

"Stingy, your hair is getting so long!" Trixie pointed. "You can barely see!"

"I can see fine," Stingy muttered, pushing his hair aside.

Ziggy nodded. "Miss Julie could cut it for you. She's really nice!"

"No!" Stingy's voice cracked. "I'm not going to her salon. My hair is perfect the way it is."

Pixel adjusted his glasses. "But dude, it's covering your whole face."

Lizzie looked up from her book, watching her friend's shoulders tense. She'd never seen Stingy look so worried about something so simple.

The Scissors That Went Snip

Stephanie pulled out her phone and started typing. "Let me check Miss Julie's schedule!"

"No!" Stingy backed away so fast he bumped into the bench where Lizzie sat. "I said I'm not going!"

Lizzie closed her book and watched her friend's face turn red. His brown hair hung like thick curtains, almost hiding his panic.

"But Stingy," Ziggy said, "your hair is covering your whole face. Don't you want to see better?"

"My hair is MINE!" Stingy's voice cracked. "It's my beautiful brown hair and nobody's touching it with those horrible scissors!"

Sportacus did a quick flip and landed beside them. "What's wrong with scissors? They're just tools."

Stingy shook his head violently. "The clippers buzz and the scissors go *snip snip* and the combs pull and tear!" His hands flew to his hair protectively. "It feels like they're ripping my hair right out of my head!"

Lizzie blinked in surprise. She'd never heard Stingy sound so scared about anything.

Just then, a jogger ran past the park, her ponytail bouncing. Stingy watched her go and whispered, "See? Her hair stays put. Mine would be ruined."