In the kingdom of Cirillo, by the sea, the people were not like normal people. They were dwarves: short and wide. All of the dwarves loved to play in the water and, most importantly, they loved to build sandcastles.

Of all of the dwarves, Niglatara was the best sandcastle builder. Every time there was a contest, he won. And boy did he know he was the best!

However, none of the other dwarves liked Niglatara. Because he knew that he was the best, he would brag to everyone about his most recent masterpiece.

One day, Niglatara was telling Thyra about his latest creation while she was building her own. "It was taller than three of me," he bragged, "and I put red flags on the top. It looked so cool!"

Thyra didn't like Niglatara, but she was too nice to say so. "That's really cool, Niglatara," she told him as she put the finishing touches on her sandcastle.

Niglatara studied Thyra's castle, and then informed her, "Your castle is much too short. Look, it only comes up to my chin. And it's too boring. You need something pretty to add."

"I like my sandcastle just fine," Thyra protested, upset that Niglatara had insulted her sandcastle.

"Well I don't. I'm the best sandcastle builder in all of Cirillo, so I know what a good castle looks like."

And then, he kicked in one of the sides, making it collapse.

Thyra was not the only one Niglatara had done this to. Every dwarf he saw who had a sandcastle that was not as good as his would have his or her castle crushed by Niglatara's foot. Thyra knew this, but she was still upset.

"Why did you do that, Niglatara?!" she asked, starting to cry. "That was my best castle!"

"But not as good as mine!" Niglatara said, and walked off to build his next work of art.

"Are you okay, Thyra?" one of the dwarves asked, having seen what had happened.

"I'm fine," Thyra sighed sadly. "I just really liked my sandcastle this time, and I didn't get a chance to show my parents yet."

"He's so rude to everyone," another of the dwarves piped up from behind, coming to stand beside her. "I wouldn't be surprised if everyone decided to quit talking to him."

And so, the dwarves discussed it. Together, they decided to teach Niglatara lesson by not talking to him.

One day passed…

Two days passed…

Three days passed…

"Filip?" Niglatara asked his best friend as he passed by. "Why is nobody talking to me?"

"Because," Filip said, not looking at Niglatara, "nobody likes how you were treating Thyra the other day. So they all decided to quit talking to you."

"What?!" Niglatara cried. "That's so unfair!"

"No it isn't," Filip said. "Maybe if you would quit destroying dwarves' castles, dwarves other than me might actually like you."

Niglatara stopped and watched as Filip walked away. That was fine with him. He didn't need to talk to people! He could just build sandcastles!

But, Niglatara got lonely after a couple days. "I miss having friends," he said to no one in particular as he finished his seventh sandcastle. "I miss talking to Filip."

Niglatara stepped back, and sat in the sand. Off in the distance, he could see the other dwarves happily building their sandcastles. They were not as good as his, and Niglatara felt like telling them so. But, he was too sad.

I got myself in trouble by criticizing their sandcastles, he thought to himself. There's nothing I can do to fix it. They can't blame me, though. I don't like boring sandcastles…

And then, Niglatara came up with an idea!

The next day, Thyra decided to try building another beautiful sandcastle. Much to her surprise, the other dwarves were crowded around Niglatara, all talking to him. I thought they weren't speaking to him, Thyra thought, and walked over to see what was happening.

As she approached, she could hear Niglatara talking. "You have to get the proper amount of sand and water if you're going to get your sandcastle to stick. Slowly lift the bucket, and… you have your first pillar!"

"What is going on?" Thyra asked Filip, who was standing with the others. "Why are they all talking to him?"

"He's teaching us how to build sandcastles like his!" Filip said excitedly. "Just watch!"

After Niglatara finished teaching them how to build their castles, he got Thyra's attention. "Listen, Thyra. I'm really sorry that I destroyed that castle. It was one of the best I've seen. I just thought I could build one better than everyone else, and didn't consider others' feelings. Will you accept my apology?"

"Yes," said Thyra, smiling. "Now, can you tell me what I missed? I arrived when you built the first pillar."

And so, all of the dwarves forgave Niglatara. Rather than criticizing their castles and destroying them, Niglatara taught each and every one of them how to build magnificent sandcastles. And, when they were done, they would all kick it in.

Never again would Niglatara smash any castle but his own.