It was a breezy afternoon at Pets on the Green.

The three friends were together again.

Betty the bearded dragon, Fiona the blue-tongue skink and Leo the leopard gecko did everything together now.

Fiona loved making everyone laugh.

She was funny, and she knew it. Telling jokes was her favourite thing in the world.

That afternoon, a gust of wind ruffled Betty's spiky beard,

puffing it out in all directions.

"Ha! Betty, your beard looks like a scrubbing brush!"

laughed Fiona. "A funny old scrubbing brush!"

Leo chuckled. Betty laughed too — "ha, ha" —

but it came out a little quieter than usual.

Because inside, Betty didn't feel like laughing.

Her beard was part of her, and "scrubbing brush" didn't feel very nice.

But everyone was giggling, so Betty giggled along,

and tucked the little sad feeling away where no one could see it.

"Do the scrubbing-brush face, Betty!"

laughed Fiona. "Go on!"

"Maybe later,"

said Betty, and turned her face away.

A bit later, Betty reached for a juicy beetle, missed,

and tumbled off her rock with a small "oof!"

"Hahaha! Betty, you're SO clumsy!"

laughed Fiona. "You'd trip over your own feet if you had more of them!"

"I'm only joking!"

Fiona added. "Don't be so serious!"

Betty picked herself up.

"Yeah. Just joking. I know,"

she said softly. But she didn't smile this time.

The sad feeling in Betty's tummy was getting bigger and heavier.

Like a stone.

She went quiet. She stopped playing.

She found a spot on her own, and looked at the ground.

Fiona didn't notice.

She was busy thinking up her next funny joke. To her, it was all just a game.

But Leo noticed.

Leo knew exactly what it looked like when someone felt small and sad and alone.

He had felt it himself, not so long ago.

He walked over and sat quietly beside Betty.

"Are you alright?"

he asked in his deep, soft voice.

Betty was quiet. Then she said,

"Fiona keeps making jokes about me. The beard, falling over… everyone laughs."

"But it doesn't feel funny to me,"

said Betty, her voice wobbly. "It makes me feel like something's wrong with me. I don't think she even knows."

"I don't think she means to be unkind,"

said Leo. "But a joke isn't funny if the person it's about feels sad. Your feelings matter, Betty."

So Leo did a brave thing.

He went to find Fiona.

"Fiona, can I tell you something? Your jokes about Betty —

I know you think they're funny. But they're making Betty feel really sad."

"What? But I was only joking!"

said Fiona. "I didn't mean anything by it. It's just a bit of fun."

"I know you didn't mean to hurt her,"

said Leo. "But Betty isn't laughing anymore. When a joke makes someone feel small, it stops being a joke to them."

Fiona looked over at Betty, all alone and quiet.

She had been laughing so hard, she'd never once looked to see if Betty was laughing too.

"Oh no. She wasn't having fun at all, was she?"

said Fiona. "I was so busy being funny that I forgot about her feelings."

Fiona went straight over to Betty.

"Betty, I am really, truly sorry. I made jokes about you and never stopped to see how you felt."

"'Just joking' doesn't make it not hurt, does it?"

said Fiona.

"No,"

said Betty quietly. "It really doesn't."

"I won't do it again. And if I ever upset you, please tell me.

Your feelings are more important than a silly joke."

Betty smiled — a real smile this time.

"Thank you, Fiona. That means a lot."

From then on, the friends still laughed together — lots and lots!

But now Fiona had a rule: a joke is only funny if everyone is laughing.

And if even one friend isn't smiling,

that's the moment to stop — and check that they're okay.