Once upon a time, in a big, green forest, there lived a little bear who loved, loved, loved sweets. Every day, he would sneak into his mama's candy jar and sneak out a sweet treat.

One day, after eating all the candy, he forgot to wash his paws and went to play in the mud. His paws were covered in sticky, yucky mud. He had so much fun playing, he didn't even notice how dirty they were!

When he was tired of playing, he wanted a juicy apple. He picked a big, red one and took a big bite. But it tasted awful! The mud on his paws had made the apple taste yucky and bitter.

The little bear was so sad. He didn't want to eat apples anymore. His mama asked, "Why aren't you eating your apple, honey?"

The little bear said, "Mama, it tastes weird."

His mama smiled and said, "That's because you forgot to wash your paws. There are tiny germs on your paws. If you don't wash them, the germs can go into your mouth and make your food taste bad. They can even make you sick!"

The little bear felt very sorry. He ran to the sink and washed his paws until they were squeaky clean. Then he took another bite of the apple, and it tasted delicious!

From that day on, the little bear always washed his paws before eating. He knew that washing his paws not only made his food taste better, but it also kept him healthy.