Zeebaq the monkey was known for his playful pranks, but one day he pushed his friend the squirrel off a low branch as a joke, and the squirrel fell and hurt his hand. Zeebaq laughed, saying, «It was just a joke!», but the squirrel felt hurt and sad, and walked away without a word.

In the days that followed, Zeebaq tried to play with his friends as usual, but the squirrel always avoided him, and the others began keeping their distance too, since they had seen what happened. Zeebaq felt lonely for the first time, and began to understand that laughing it off had not been enough to excuse it.

Zeebaq went to his wise grandmother to complain about his loneliness, and she asked, «Did you apologize to your friend?». He answered shyly, «I said it was just a joke», so she told him, «Excuses aren’t apologies, Zeebaq. A real apology means saying, I’m sorry, and I was wrong, without justifying yourself».

Zeebaq went to the squirrel and said sincerely, «I am truly sorry, I was wrong to hurt you and laugh about it, and I won’t do it again». The squirrel was surprised by his honesty, and finally smiled, saying, «That’s all I was waiting to hear». The two became friends again, and Zeebaq learned that a sincere apology can restore what he had thought was lost forever.