Oliver Bear had collected fifty-six apologies, all on crumpled notecards. But his jar of the brownest pinecones and fattest ladybugs was gone! He needed it for courage to buy the town’s biggest acorn muffin.

In Pinecone Hill, bumblebees ran the post office and frogs wore tiny capes for reasons nobody quite understood. Oliver's first stop was Ribbit, the caped leader of the frogs. 'Have you seen my jar?' Oliver asked.

'No jars, but I've got capes!' Ribbit chirped, enthusiastically showing fabrics that matched exactly none of the seasons. 'But your jar isn't here.'

Oliver nodded and headed to the Bumblebee Post. 'Ah, your jar? Sounds like something buzzing around here,' said Mrs. Bee, juggling letters.

Mrs. Bee handed him a letter with his name. Inside it read, 'Your jar is in an unexpected place.' Oliver scratched his furry head. 'Of course!' he muttered, thinking of the town’s lost-and-found tree.

At the tree, Oliver found Mr. Finch, napping. 'I’ll trade you an apology note for any found jars,' Mr. Finch suggested with a twinkle.

The realization struck: his apology was missing in the book—spotted next to his jar, pinecones and ladybugs intact. 'I need to say sorry to Ribbit,' Oliver murmured.

Oliver found Ribbit, words tumbling out. 'I blamed you for the missing jar. I was wrong. Sorry, Ribbit.' Ribbit grinned ear-to-ear. 'We all get stuff jumbled sometimes!'

With Ribbit’s nod, Oliver placed the apology note back into his book. Apologies were nice like that, fixing things with words and meaning.

And there it was, back home, surprising himself with courage as he traded pinecones for an acorn muffin, knowing next time he’d bring an extra apology just in case.