Zoola picked up the map with his small hooves. The map was full of black-and-white lines that kept changing shape. Suddenly, the lines began to sparkle like shooting stars. Zoola thought to himself, “This isn’t an ordinary map—this is a magical map that wants to tell me a secret!”

Just then, a bright blue butterfly came out from among the flowers and perched right on the tip of Zoola’s nose. Zoola looked at the butterfly kindly. In a voice like tiny bells, the butterfly said, “Hello, Zoola! I am the guardian of this map. If you are brave, this map will take you to the most beautiful place in the world.”

The butterfly flew up into the air and fluttered its delicate wings. It spun in the air and left a trail of blue light behind it. Zoola happily ran after the butterfly. They passed over soft hills and tall meadows until they reached a place no zebra had ever seen before.

They entered a silver, magical grove. In this strange place, the tree trunks and even their leaves were striped, just like Zoola’s body. The wind twisted through the branches and made a music-like sound. Zoola looked around in wonder and felt as if he was in his second home.

Among the striped trees, Zoola saw a small, kind elephant named “Toto.” Toto was sitting and making big, colorful bubbles with his trunk. The bubbles hung in the air, and the reflection of the trees could be seen in them. When Toto saw Zoola, he smiled and said, “Welcome! Are you looking for the Lake of Wishes too?”

With his big, soft feet, Toto slowly started walking to show Zoola the way. With his trunk, he pushed extra branches aside so Zoola could pass more easily. Toto said, “Your map tells us that magic is in our hearts, and everything we see is part of one great dream.”

At last they reached the edge of a vast lake. Instead of being blue, the lake’s water was red, yellow, and purple. When Zoola stood at the water’s edge, he saw his reflection. But in the water’s reflection, his stripes were no longer black and white; they shone like a rainbow and kept changing colors.

Zoola lifted the map up toward the sky. Suddenly the map flew out of his hands and rose toward the stars. In the middle of the sky, the map turned into a large, shining star that lit up the whole plain. Zoola now knew that this journey had been the most beautiful adventure of his life.

Night came, and the kind moon appeared in the sky. Toto and the butterfly were beside Zoola. Zoola stretched out on the soft grass, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep. In his dream, he saw that the whole world had become striped and colorful like him, and that everyone was friends with one another.