Zebbi’s Stripes

7-9 min read
15 pages
3+

Every morning, a little zebra named Zebbi rolls out his black-and-white stripes so children can cross the road by the school. Timo thinks he’s as fast as a rocket and doesn’t wait, until a taxi stops just in time. With Zebbi’s help, Timo learns to stop, look both ways, and wait for the green light, and soon he’s helping other kids do the same.

In a busy, noisy little town lived a small zebra named Zebbi. A real zebra! But Zebbi didn’t live out on the grassy plains. He lived right by the school, and he had a very unusual job.

Every morning, Zebbi unrolled his black-and-white stripes across the road like a long, cozy rug. Ta-da! A crosswalk for the children! Then he smiled and spoke in his kindest, friendliest voice.

“Cross on my stripes, kiddos! Nice and slow. No hopping, and walk your scooters. Wait for green and for the cars to stop!” All the children listened to Zebbi. Well… all but one.

That one was Timo—a giggly little rascal with bouncy curls and a funny dinosaur backpack.

Timo was sure he was super fast, like a rocket. So one day, he didn’t wait for the green light. He set off across the road all by himself.

“Timo, stop!” Zebbi shouted, waving his stripes. “Cars are still coming!” “Oh, come on, Zebbi! I’m fast as lightning. Zoom! I’ll be across in a flash!” Timo called, and off he ran.

SCREEEECH! A taxi stopped hard, right in front of Timo. Dust flew up. Timo froze. The driver, Mr. Stefan, jumped out of his taxi. “You could have been hurt! I barely stopped in time! Never, ever do that!”

Timo was okay—not even a scratch. But he was so scared, even his backpack dinosaur looked pale. “I thought I was fast enough to make it,” he mumbled to Mr. Stefan.

Zebbi trotted over and shook the dust off his stripes. “Listen closely, Timo. Even the fastest rocket waits for the countdown before it zooms.”

“Here’s how we do it,” said Zebbi. “One: stop. Two: look both ways. Three: make sure the cars have stopped. Then walk across, nice and calm. No running. And if you have a scooter, walk it beside you.” Timo nodded. “Stop, look, cars stopped, walk,” he whispered.

“What about the traffic light?” Timo asked quietly. “It tells you when you can cross,” said Zebbi. “Red means stop. Green means go.” Timo stared up at it and nodded.

After that, Timo was different. He wasn’t as slow as a snail, but he didn’t zoom like a rocket anymore, either. He always stopped, looked both ways, and waited for green.

Now Timo helped other kids, too. “Hey, friend!” he called to a child rushing up to the road. “Red means stop—even if you’re in a hurry!”

Zebbi watched Timo walk across, calm and careful. He beamed so proudly his stripes almost glowed. Nothing made a zebra happier!

Every morning, Zebbi rolled out his stripes and smiled at the children. “Hold a grown-up’s hand, cross on my stripes, and wait for green,” he said. “But first, always stop and look. Then—off you go!”

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