Penny the Platypus and the Pond’s Peculiar Mystery
Large text for little eyes.
Penny the platypus loved her pond. She spent her mornings paddling with her webbed feet, her afternoons nibbling tasty bugs, and her evenings floating on her back watching the stars.
But one night, Penny heard something unusual—SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!
She peeked out of her cozy burrow. “That’s strange,” she whispered. “No one usually splashes at night!”
Her curiosity bubbled like ripples in the water. The next morning, she waddled to her friends. “Someone’s making big splashes in the pond after dark. I think we have a mystery to solve!”
Suspicions and Silly Clues
Penny asked Wally the wombat first. He scratched his head. “Not me. I was busy digging tunnels. Maybe it’s the frogs practicing their cannonballs?”
Next, she asked Kelly the kookaburra. Kelly cackled with laughter. “Not me! I was singing in the gum trees. Maybe it’s a fish having a midnight dance party?”
Finally, she asked Ollie the old turtle. He yawned and said, “I’ve lived here a hundred years. Nothing surprises me anymore. But if I had to guess… maybe a ghost?”
“G-G-GHOST?!” Penny squeaked, her bill wobbling. The idea made her shiver, but also made her more determined. “I’ll find out tonight!”
The Midnight Stakeout
That night, Penny put on her detective hat, a floppy leaf she stuck on her head, and waited by the reeds. The moon glowed silver over the water. Crickets chirped. Everything was quiet… until—SPLASH!
Penny’s eyes went wide. “Aha! The mystery splasher!”
She paddled closer, careful not to scare it away. Suddenly, a shadow leapt into the water, sending ripples everywhere. Penny dove under, her eyes open wide, searching in the moonlit pond.
Then she saw it—not a ghost, not a frog, not even a fish with fancy dance moves. It was… a family of playful otters!
The Silliest Solution
Penny popped her head up, laughing so hard her leaf-hat floated away. “You’re the mystery splashers!”
The otters grinned. “Guilty! We come here every night for our splashy games. We didn’t mean to scare anyone!”
Penny giggled. “Well, you nearly scared me into hiccups! But if you’re playing, why not invite the rest of us?”
The next evening, the pond was filled with laughter. Wally did belly flops, Kelly the kookaburra cackled so hard she nearly fell off a branch, Ollie floated peacefully (though he didn’t splash), and Penny joined the otters in their joyful dives.
The “mystery splashes” were no longer scary; they were the start of the pond’s new tradition: the Nightly Splash Parade.
And from then on, Penny the Platypus wasn’t just curious, she was the pond’s greatest detective, always ready to solve a mystery with a giggle.
The End !
