Din Din was busy digging away in his garden. He loved gardening but the summer heat was unbearable. As he wiped a film of sweat off his forehead he saw a slight mound of mud in one of his flower beds a little distance away.

"This wasn't there yesterday," Din Din mused to himself as he went near the lump to investigate. As he traipsed around, he saw a few more lumps in other flower beds.

"What in the world...?" Din Din muttered. "My seeds have been upturned. Who is doing this?" But he could not find anyone nearby.

That evening Din Din discussed the mysterious mounds of mud with his friends Delma and Dazel. "I know what it might be," said Delma with a smile. "It's probably moles."

"Moles?" exclaimed Din Din in wonder. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"There are a lot of moles living here near the lake," said Delma. And they are such cute creatures."

"Yes, but these 'cute' creatures are creating chaos in my flower beds!" objected Din Din.

"One of the elderly moles lives in one of the burrows nearby. Why don't you go and talk to him?" suggested Delma.

So without further ado, Din Din trudged off to the mole burrows near the lake bed. The image of his damaged flower beds was seared in his mind.

The mole burrows weren't far and Delma and Dazel could see him approaching them. "Excuse me!" declared Din Din loudly. "Mr. Mole?"

A few moments later a velvety-furred, beady-eyed creature peaked out from one of the burrows. "Yes?"

"I wanted to discuss the fact that some of your moles have been damaging my flower beds," said Din Din forcefully. "Do you have any idea how many hours I spend under the sun tending to my garden? And your moles come along and nicely make molehills, upsetting everything!"

"Oh, young dinosaur! Calm down," said the elderly mole kindly.

This seemed to make Din Din even angrier. "Please, don't ask me to calm down. How would you feel if someone carelessly came along and ruined days of your sweat and toil?"

Just then a few more moles jumped out from neighbouring burrows, "Hey! What's the meaning of this? Why are you talking to Grampa Mole in this tone?" said one of the younger moles.

Din Din seemed surprised to see so many moles surrounding him. But he was too livid about the havoc in his beloved garden. Before he could say anything, one of the young moles said, "C'mon Gramps. Let's go! You don't need to put up with this rudeness!"

After the moles had scampered back into their underground homes, Din Din stomped back to the lake edge to his friends.

"Can you believe that?" he fumed to his friends. "Instead of apologizing to me, the moles started to accuse me of being rude! What nerve!"

Delma and Dazel looked at each other. They both knew that Din Din had not handled the matter tactfully. They also realized that he was too angry at the moment to understand that.

But they also understood that they were his true friends and they must make him realize his mistake and help him solve the problem.

It was the soft-spoken Delma who finally spoke, "Din Din dear, you should have spoken to Grampa Mole in a gentler tone."

Dazel joined in, "When you started raising your voice and talking, you were not ready to listen to what the old mole was trying to say."

Din Din seemed stunned by what his friends were saying. "But...but ... I am the victim. You both know that! Don't I have the right to demand an apology.

"Of course, we know you are upset, Din Din. But talking aggressively has never solved any problem," explained Delma. "When you talk rudely — no matter how right you are — the other creature is sure to become defensive."

Din Din's wide, green shoulders slumped. "Now I feel terrible!" he whispered.

"It’s okay," said Dazel as she flew up to sit on his back and stroked his neck with her bright wings. "We all make mistakes. And anger is a terrible thing. It robs us of the power to think clearly and makes us say things we are sure to regret later."

"Then what is one to do when one is angry?" asked Din Din in a subdued tone.

"Its natural to feel angry if something goes wrong," said Delma. "But one has to control one's temper. Don't react at once. Think about the situation and then prepare a few tactful words to say.”

"But how else could I have talked to Grampa Mole?" quizzed Din Din, confused.

"Well, you could have explained nicely that this morning you found a few molehills in your flower garden. You could have then asked if he knew who could have done it, instead of accusing his moles directly," suggested Delma.

"If you had handled it like that — assertively, not aggressively — you would have been able to say what you wanted tactfully and you would have got a few answers from him," added Dazel.

The sun had set and it was time for Din Din to set off home towards the Fruit Park. But he could not sleep soundly that night. Early the next morning when he went to his garden he was surprised to find Grampa Mole waiting for him near his freshly planted flower bed.

"Hello, young dinosaur," greeted Grampa Mole with a smile.

"H...Hello," stammered Din Din, embarrassed by the memory of the way he had behaved with the old mole the previous day. He was just forming words of apology and remorse in his head when the mole spoke.

"I came this morning to see the damage. I apologize. These 'are' molehills. But I also want to explain that we moles have very poor eyesight, so the moles who did this did not intend to spoil your garden. They just didn't realize they were in the middle of planted flower beds," said Grampa Mole.

"Please, don't apologize. It is I who am feeling sorry for the way I spoke to you yesterday. Please accept my apology," said Din Din lowering his head.

"You know, young dino. My moles are great diggers because they are able to reuse the oxygen inhaled when above ground and as a result are able to survive in low-oxygen environments such as underground burrows and can dig for longer," said Grampa Mole with a grin. "So, as a penalty for the mistake they made, my moles are going to dig the ground for you. And they'll do it so quickly, you'll be stunned."

And sure enough, by the end of the day all of Din Din's flower beds were freshly dug up and ready to be sowed. Din Din thanked the moles with a special fruit feast fresh from the Fruit Park.

"We usually just eat earthworms," informed one of the moles as they took a break from digging, "But these fruits are delicious!" And this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship with the moles.

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