Once upon a time, there were 2 brothers named Josh and David, who loved to explore the woods behind their house. 

Josh was the oldest and he was a brave and curious little boy. Josh loved going on adventures and exploring new things. 

David was the younger brother and while he was also a curious little boy, he was more cautious. He always asked a lot of questions before making any decisions. 

But no matter what, he always followed his big brothers lead. 

One sunny afternoon, the boys decided to pack some snacks and head into the woods to do some exploring. Birds were singing, squirrels were playing, and the wind blew through the trees whispering secrets. 

“Let’s see how far we can go today!” Josh shouted.

They followed a narrow trail until they reached an area of the woods they had never seen before. Suddenly, David stopped.  “Josh, look!”

Hidden between two enormous sycamore trees there stood a mysterious wooden door. It was covered in twisting vines, sparkling silver letters, and tiny glowing stars. 

“That’s weird,” Josh whispered. “I’ve never seen a door out in the woods before.” 

He slowly stepped towards the door and reached for the silver handle. 

“Wait! We don’t know where that leads!” David says. 

“It will be fine David. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Josh slowly turned the handle and the door swung open. It revealed a beautiful forest unlike anything they could ever have imagined. The trees shimmered in rainbow colors, flowers danced in the breeze, and rivers sparkled like diamonds. 

The boys stepped through the doorway together and as soon as they entered the door disappeared behind them. 

“Where are we?” David asked. 

A tiny blue butterfly fluttered toward them. “Welcome to the Forest of Figurative Language!” it announced. “Here, words come to life!”

The boys looked at each other in wonderment. 

Suddenly, a giant tree bent down toward them.

“I have been waiting FOREVER for someone to visit!” it groaned. 

Josh laughed. “That tree is exaggerating!” 

“Actually,” said the butterfly, “that’s called hyperbole!”

Just then, a fluffy white cloud floated down from the sky.

 It looked like a giant ball of cotton candy. 

“Wow!” David exclaimed. “That cloud is as soft as a pillow!”

The cloud giggled and puffed itself up.

“That’s a simile!” the butterfly explained. 

The brothers continued down the winding path until they heard a loud roar. 

They looked to the side and saw a golden lion standing beside a bubbling stream. 

“I am the king of this forest,” he announced. “My heart is made of stone!”

David stumbled backward in fear. 

“Don’t worry,” the butterfly assured. “The lion doesn’t really have a stone heart. That’s a metaphor! He means that he is very brave.”

The lion smiled proudly and pointed his paw toward a dark tunnel. 

“To find your way home, you must travel through the Valley of Personification and collect the three magical word crystals.”

The boys thanked the lion and the butterfly and hurried toward the valley. 

When they arrived, they saw flowers waving their colorful petals at them. 

“Good morning, young travelers!” the flowers called. 

Nearby, the trees stretched their long branches and yawned sleepily. 

“The flowers are talking, and the trees are yawning!” David proclaimed in excitement. 

“That’s personification!” Josh exclaimed.