Lulu the Duckling's First Swim

In a beautiful garden full of colorful flowers, there was a pond of clear blue water. At the edge of the pond lived a little duckling named Lulu, with her mother and her brothers. Lulu was as yellow as the sun, with a small orange beak, and she loved to walk among the flowers saying, "Quack, quack!"

Lulu loved many things. She loved eating little seeds from the kind gardener's hand, chasing colorful butterflies, and sleeping under Mama's warm wing. She had three brothers: big Batbout, cheerful Zuzu, and little Filfil. They all played together on the green grass, laughing and saying, "Quack, quack!" in different voices.

Every day, Lulu stood by the pond and looked at the water. It sparkled in the sun, with little silver fish swimming quickly and big green lily pads floating like plates. Lulu would think, "The water is so beautiful… but it's big and deep. What if I sink?" Then she would hurry back to the grass.

One sunny morning, Mama Duck said, "My little ones, today is swimming day!" The brothers were delighted and jumped into the water one after another: plop, plop, plop! They swam and laughed. But Lulu stood on the grass and didn't move.

"Come on, Lulu! The water's great!" called Batbout from the middle of the pond. "Look, I swim like a fish!" said Zuzu, splashing with his wings. Little Filfil laughed. "Even I can swim, and I'm smaller than you!" Lulu felt a little sad. She looked at her small orange feet and said, "Why are they brave and I'm scared?"

"Mama," Lulu said in a tiny voice, "the water is so big, and I'm so small. I'm scared." Mama came close and stroked her head with her warm wing. "That's all right, Lulu. Being afraid is a normal feeling. We won't rush. We'll try together, just one small step."

"Do you know, Lulu?" Mama went on. "When I was little like you, I was afraid of the water too. Your grandmother used to tell me: water is a friend, but it likes those who get to know it slowly." Lulu looked at Mama in surprise. "You were scared, Mama? But you're the best swimmer in the pond!" Mama laughed. "Yes, because I tried step by step."

At that moment, Farfour the green frog jumped onto a nearby rock. "Good morning, Lulu! I was afraid of the water too when I was very little. Do you know what I did? I put in one foot first!" Lulu looked at him. "Just one foot?" "Yes," said Farfour, "just one foot."

Farfour loved to laugh and jump. He hopped from the rock to a lily pad and from the lily pad into the water: plop! Then he popped up his green head. "Look, Lulu, the water doesn't hurt. It's cool and gentle, and it tickles your feet!" Lulu gave a little laugh and felt her fear grow a bit smaller, like a grain of sand.

Lulu slowly stretched out her little foot and touched the water. "Oh! The water's a little cold… but it's nice!" Mama laughed. "Well done, Lulu! That's a brave step." Then Lulu put in her second foot, and she was standing in the shallow water near the shore, where it was very shallow indeed.

"Mama, can I stay here a little before I move?" asked Lulu. "Of course, sweetheart. Take all the time you need," said Mama. So Lulu stood in the shallow water and looked at her feet under the water, which seemed to shine. A little fish came and tickled her foot, and Lulu laughed. "Hello, little fish!"

"Now move your feet like this," said Mama. "One, two, one, two." Lulu moved her feet exactly like Mama. Suddenly she felt her body floating on the water like a light leaf! "Mama! Look!" shouted Lulu. "I'm not sinking, I'm floating!"

Her brothers clapped their wings, and Batbout shouted, "Lulu's floating! Lulu's floating!" Little Filfil hopped around her happily. "I told you, Lulu, you can do it!" said Farfour. Lulu felt great joy fill her heart, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds.

But when Lulu came closer to the middle of the pond, she saw a silver fish leap out of the water, and she backed away a little. "What if the water is very deep there?" Mama swam beside her. "I'm right here with you, Lulu. I'll never go far from you." "And the fish is friendly; it's just saying hello!" said Farfour. The fish jumped again as if waving its tail, and Lulu laughed, took a deep breath, and swam on calmly.

After Lulu had swum away from the rocks, she felt a little tired. "Come, Lulu, rest on my back," said Mama. Lulu climbed onto Mama's soft back, and Mama swam slowly around the pond with her. Lulu saw the pink flowers on the shore, the birds in the trees, and the blue sky in the water. "Mama, the pond is so much prettier when we're in the middle of it!"

Lulu swam a little near Mama, then a little more, until she reached a big green lily pad. Farfour clapped. "Wonderful, Lulu!" Her brothers swam around her singing, "Quack, quack, Lulu swims with us!" The sun smiled over the pond, and the flowers swayed as if dancing with joy.

Then the friends played a lovely game in the water. Farfour jumped from pad to pad, and the ducklings swam after him trying to catch up. Lulu swam and laughed, dipped her head in the water, then lifted it and shook her feathers: brrrr! Drops of water flew everywhere, sparkling like pearls in the sun.

At noon, the kind gardener came and scattered some seeds on the shore. The ducklings climbed out of the water to eat, and Lulu got there first! "How amazing!" said the gardener. "The little duckling who was afraid of water is swimming now!" Lulu lifted her beak proudly and said, "Quack, quack!" as if to say, "Yes, I learned!"

In the evening, Lulu sat beside Mama on the grass. "Mama, this morning I was so scared, and now I love swimming!" "That's because you didn't give up, my little one," said Mama. "You tried one small step, then another, and that's how hard things become easy." Then Lulu told Farfour, "Thank you, my friend. You helped me so much." "Friends always help each other," said Farfour.

The next day, Lulu saw a new little duckling named Nona standing on the shore, trembling, not wanting to go into the water. Lulu went to her and said kindly, "Don't be afraid, Nona. Put in just one foot, and I'll be right beside you." Nona put one foot in the water, then the other, then swam with Lulu for a little while. "Thank you, Lulu!" she said.

From that day on, Lulu swam every morning and helped frightened little ducklings, just as Farfour had helped her. Lulu learned a lovely lesson: when we're afraid of something new, it's fine to begin with a small step, and with patience and encouragement we grow braver and stronger and discover we can do more than we think. This is a lovely piece of wisdom we can always remember in our lives and teach to our friends and little brothers and sisters.