Once upon a time there was a big ole saguaro cactus in the middle of the desert. This saguaro cactus stood above all the other cacti. All the squat barrel, jumping, and prickly pear cacti would look up to him with admiring spines and think, "Wow, that cactus is so cool! I wish I was like him and could see for miles 'round. All I can see now is about 4 feet in one direction." But this towering cactus' life wasn't as great as all the other cacti thought. Day after day this saguaro, whose name was Mr. Green, would long to have a nice, tender, loving hug. Day after day as the sun went up he would think, "Today, I will get a hug from someone I love." And day after day as the sun went down he would think, "Maybe tomorrow." So, day after day this cactus would wait for his first hug. After two hundred years of waiting, something appeared in the cobalt blue sky. A shiny, beautiful red balloon got caught in a dry bush beside the saguaro. "Ugh, Ow, Ugh, Ow!!!" the red balloon squealed at the poky bush. "Stop you're whining! It's no picnic for me either you know!" the bush grumbled back. The saguaro quickly bent down and tried to help the balloon out. Using only the dullest tips of his spines, his arms dislodged the red balloon from the bush. "Thank you," the red balloon sighed, relieved at being rescued from the grumpy bush's stickers. "No problem," Mr. Green replied. "But may I ask, what is your name?" "You may ask, and it's Red." the red balloon answered. "Figures." the bush muttered, still as grumpy as ever.
