The playground was full of laughter. In the sandbox, spotted, striped, and fluffy monsters shoveled and pulled long stripes in the wet sand. Bori kicked her red ball. Next to her, Spot, the little monster full of pink and blue spots, clapped his paws. Slippy, the shiny, slime-backed monster, slid slowly; wherever he went, a bright stripe remained behind him. Puff, the fluffy, round monster, sent tiny bubbles flying forward whenever he sneezed.

“Pass!” shouted Bori, and Spot skillfully flicked the ball with his nose. Puff was just about to sneeze when the ground thudded softly. Thump-thump. The chains of the swing set rang, and the leaves rustled on the tree.

At the end of the promenade, someone appeared, taller than the swing set. He was huge, his fur dense and soft, like a giant blanket. His eyes glittered kindly, but his teeth were big and shiny. Around his neck he wore a red polka-dot scarf, and his nails were painted peach. In his arm was a woven basket full of colorful leaves.

The little monsters and the children pulled back. Slippy slid behind a bench, and Spot hid behind Bori. The big monster stopped, and with a deep, growling voice, tried to greet: “Morr…” His voice sounded like a giant drum, but his gaze was uncertain.

Bori took a big breath, stepped forward, and looked up at the hairy giant. “Hi! I am Bori.”

The monster nodded. “I… Morr,” he said softly. He tried to speak softly, yet his voice growled. From his basket, he took out a yellow leaf and clumsily extended it towards Bori.

“Your scarf is beautiful,” said Bori. “Spotted, like Spot!”

Spot stepped forward carefully. “Hi, Morr,” he whispered, and shook his own mini paw as if he were a giant too.

Then a sudden wind rose, and Levi's paper kite sprang high. The string tensed, and the kite got stuck on the branch of the chestnut tree. Levi stretched. “Oh, it’s stuck there!”

Spot jumped, but he was too small. Slippy tried to slide up the trunk, but slid back down. Puff sneezed, but the bubbles only caressed the branch.

Bori looked at Morr. “Would you help?”

Morr glanced at his hand uncertainly. “I’m afraid… that I might break the branch. Or tear the kite.”

“Try it very, very softly,” said Bori. “Like you’re holding a marshmallow.”

Morr squinted, then formed his giant palms into a boat. He blew a tiny, lukewarm breath: “Pfff.” It wasn't a storm, just a gentle puff of air. The kite moved, fluttered, then slowly glided lower. Bori caught the string, and Levi cheered: “Hurray!”

The playground filled with clapping. Spot somersaulted happily, Slippy drew a shiny stripe around Morr's feet, and Puff sneezed a crown of bubbles onto the giant’s head.

Morr smiled. His smile was big, but warm. “I used to be afraid too,” he mumbled. “Of balloons. Pop! I always get scared of that.”

“I hide from the smell of onion,” confessed Bori.

“And I’m afraid of the vacuum cleaner,” Spot poked with his paws.

“I’m afraid of going up the slide,” slipped Slippy, then chuckled.

“Let’s make a monster parade!” shouted Bori. “Everyone shows something special.”

Spot started rolling like a spotted ball and giggled as he went. Slippy drew hearts and waves with shiny stripes onto the sidewalk. Puff sneezed a melody of bubbles: they popped one after another, like small tinkling bells.

Morr put his hand on his chest and drummed softly: bum… bum… bum. It wasn't scary, rather like a big, soft heart starting to tell a story. The ground trembled only a bit, as if laughing.

Bori brought paint from her drawing box. “Let’s make a colorful path!” Everyone dipped a foot or paw into it: blue, green, yellow, pink. Morr carefully put his huge sole onto the sidewalk. His print looked like a flower.

When they finished, in the middle of the playground, winding, colorful tracks led around, as if a fairytale snake rested on the stone.

“This is the Colorful Monster Path,” stated Bori. “Here every footprint is important.”

Morr bent down all the way to Bori and whispered with his deep voice: “Thank you.” The voice still rumbled, but now everyone understood. The big-hearted giant had just come to play.

That afternoon, the playground was not only noisy, but colorful too. And maybe a little bigger, because more laughter now fit into it.