Baby Tenderheart woke up early. He stretched and yawned, looking around at his sleeping family members; Playful Heart's tail was curling up and down restlessly, Swiftheart was thumping her foot in her sleep and Grumpy Bear was snoring.
The little cub quietly got out of bed, making his way to the kitchen. He walked in, his face lighting up at the sight of True Heart sitting at the heart shaped table. She smiled warmly at him. "Good morning little one."
"Morning." Tenderheart rubbed his eyes, yawning. He looked at True Heart, stretching out his arms. "Up?"
True Heart smiled, scooping the cub up into her arms and nuzzling him, causing him to giggle. She walked over to the window, looking out at the Kingdom of Caring; the needle on the caring meter was right where it should be. Nothing out of the ordinary this morning, nice and quiet, all things considered.
"Hungry." Tenderheart rubbed his belly. "Twue Heart…hungry." He paused. "And thiwsty."
"Oh, you're hungry, are you?" True Heart walked away from the window, glancing around the kitchen. She whistled for the star buddies, who zoomed into the kitchen, opening the bottle cupboard. One of the buddies zoomed over to Tenderheart, causing the cub to laugh. True Heart watched as the star buddies got out bottles and pots and pans, opening the cupboards to reveal what appeared to be mountains of food. She smiled. "Thank you star buddies; I can take it from here." She sat Tenderheart down on a chair, strapping him into a booster seat. "Okay Tenderheart, wait right there; I'm going to make you breakfast."
"Thiwsty."
"Oh, alright." True Heart walked over, examining a bottle. "Do you want hot or cold milk?"
"Cold pwease."
True Heart chuckled as she poured a glass of cold milk into a bottle, screwing on the top. Tenderheart was old enough to drink from a sippy cup, yet he still liked his bottle. True Heart smiled to herself; there was no need to rush things. She handed the bottle to Tenderheart, who snatched it, taking a long sip. He smiled.
"Tank you."
"You're welcome. Now, what should we have for breakfast?" She rummaged through the cupboards. "A banana?"
"No. That's for Playful Heart."
"Okay then. How about…a carrot?" She pulled a carrot out of the cupboard.
"Nooo…that's for Swiftheart!"
"Okay." She put the carrot back in the cupboard. She rummaged around, pulling something else out. "I know! How about an apple?"
"Tenderheart doesn't like apples."
"He doesn't?" True Heart put her hands her hips, acting surprised.
"Bright Heart likes apples, not Tenderheart."
True Heart smiled, stopping in front of the cub. "What does Tenderheart like?"
Tenderheart paused, thinking. "Cereal!"
True Heart chuckled. "Then cereal is what you will have." She pulled a box down from the cupboard, grabbing a bowl and spoon, pouring the cereal into the bowl. She set it in front of Tenderheart, pouring milk into it. "Then you go."
"Tank you." Tenderheart grabbed the spoon, digging into the cereal immediately. He munched and crunched, looking around the kitchen.
True Heart sat down across from the cub, watching him. "So Tenderheart, what are you going to do today?"
The cub paused, the spoon halfway to his mouth. "Um…" He looked at the cereal, putting the spoon in his mouth, crunching loudly. He swallowed. "Tag…pway on the swings…seesaw…" He drank from his bottle, looking towards the nursery. "I gotta wake evewyone up."
"I don't think they're awake Tenderheart; they're still sleeping. You should—"
"Good morning everyone," greeted Noble Heart cheerfully as he walked into the kitchen, Lotsa Heart balanced on his hip. He opened the fridge.
"Losa!" Tenderheart climbed off the chair, making his way to where Noble Heart was standing. He looked up, waving. The elephant cub beamed, waving his trunk. "Losa pway?" Tenderheart asked.
Noble Heart chuckled as he set Lotsa down on the floor. "Why not? I can't get him back to sleep anyway."
"YAY!"
Lotsa lifted his trunk in the air, giving a loud, squeaky trumpet. True Heart covered her ears, looking in at the nursery; miraculously, the cubs were still asleep. She breathed a sigh of relief as she turned back to the cubs. "Not so loud you too; you almost woke the others."
"Swry." Lotsa looked down at his feet.
True Heart scooped the elephant cub up, planting a kiss on his forehead. "It's alright, no harm done." She set him down on the floor. "Why don't the two of you go play outside?"
"Okay." Tenderheart grabbed Lotsa's paw, dragging him outside. "Come on Losa, let's pway!"
