Thunder the Tiger Cub and the Storm Inside

Chapter 1: Control Anger

In a warm, golden jungle called Emerald Glen, there lived a young tiger cub named Thunder. Thunder had bold orange stripes, big strong paws, and a roar that could rattle the leaves right off the trees.

He also had a temper.

When his block tower fell over, he roared and kicked the blocks across the den. When his sister borrowed his ball without asking, he snarled and stomped. When he lost at tag, he threw himself on the ground and shouted, "It's not fair!"

Afterward, the jungle always felt quiet and strange. His friends looked at him with wide, worried eyes, and some of them stayed a little farther away than before.

"I don't mean to," Thunder would mutter. "It just comes out. It's like a storm inside me."

One afternoon, Thunder was painting a picture of the jungle waterfall for the Emerald Glen Art Fair. He had worked on it all morning. The blues were just right, and the white foam looked like real spray.

Then his little cousin Pip the monkey swung by and bumped the paint bucket.

SPLASH!

Blue paint spilled across the whole picture.

Thunder felt it rise from his toes to his ears: hot, fast, and fierce. His fur bristled. His claws came out. His mouth opened wide for a mighty roar.