There was once a baby penguin called Pingoo who lived in the Antarctic with his parents. Pingoo was not like other penguins. He loved his parents and his home but he wanted to see more of the world. Pingoo’s parents could not understand why he wanted to leave home and go away. No penguin had done that every before!
But Pingoo was determined to do so! One day he suddenly got his chance. Pingoo got up in the morning and when he came out of the ocean, he saw that a band of human explorers had set up camp nearby. Pingoo saw them and decided that he would go with them when they left to go back from wherever they had come.
After that, each day, he would hide and watch them from a distance. One day he quietly stole up and picked up a small box one of them had thrown away. He took it and put it in a hole he made in the ice for safety. Another day he took an empty bottle. Then each day Pingoo would put a fish in the box and a little water in the bottle, to take with him. Pingoo’s parents and other penguins were a little surprise to see Pingoo always near the human’s camp. But they thought this was a new way of playing for him and his father just told him, not to let the humans catch him. Pingoo had no intention of being caught and said nothing.
After five days of watching and waiting, he got his chance when he saw that they were packing up to leave. Pingoo wrote a note to his mother that said “I am sorry, Mom. But I must see more of the world!” and went down to the camp to wait. He felt both excited and afraid, now that the big moment had come.
As soon as he saw the campers busy with taking the tents down, he went and tried the lids of all the boxes where they were putting their stuff. He found one that was open and quietly hid in it with his box of fish and water bottle. The men came back and never noticed that a penguin was hiding in their belongings. Pingoo felt the jolt when they picked up the box he was in and felt excited. He was also sad at leaving home and knew he would miss his mother very much. But his big adventure was finally beginning….
The journey was not quite a pleasant one for Pingoo. He was shaken from side to side and jolted and bruised inside the box. Then came a phase, when he sensed that he was on a ship, because of the rolling motion. It was ten days before the ship docked and once again he was jolted badly, as the box he was in, was unloaded. By then, Pingoo’s fish and water was almost over and he had been scared that he would starve to death inside the box.
After what seemed like forever, the box he was in was opened and a man exclaimed in surprise “Oi! What is this? Why is there a penguin in the box?”
Another man came running and said, “Oh my! I don’t know! What do we do with him?”
Pingoo watched quietly as the men they discussed what they could do with him. The two men decided that it was too much trouble to take Pingoo to the zoo or try to send him back, and instead, they took him, box and all, and drove to the edge of the city. A huge forest loomed up and the two men stopped the car and got out. They took Pingoo out from the box, set him down, and said “Good bye! Stupid Penguin! You will starve here away from your home…” Then they got back in the car and drove off.
Pingoo was amazed. He had not known humans could be so selfish. He stood there for some time, wondering where to go and what to do. He was hungry and tired, and longed for home. He knew he had to find something to eat soon or he would collapse. He also felt a little too warm for his liking.
Turning around to look at the forest, despite his problems, he felt excited. This was the first time he was seeing a place without snow and ice. The green trees and plants and grass felt new and strange to him. Pingoo’s heart lifted and he was once again glad he had started on this adventure.
He calmly walked into the forest and followed a beaten path. After walking about a mile, in which he saw many birds, a deer, and a swarm of bees, all of which amazed him no end. Then he came upon something that made him stop in wonder. In the middle of the forest was a small house. Pingoo wondered if he should see if there was someone inside who could give him some food. He was also a little afraid that whoever lived in the house might capture him or try to harm him in some way. His experience with humans had taught him to be careful.
But Pingoo wanted some food, and after thinking for a little while, he decided to risk it, and go inside the house. When he went inside, he saw that it was a neat little house with a garden and a pond at the back. No one seemed to live in it, because there was dust everywhere and no sign of life. Seeing the pond, Pingoo felt very excited and rushed to it. Oh yes! It was full of fish swimming in it! Without hesitation, Pingoo dived right in and grabbed a fish to eat. Three fishes and some gulps of water later, Pingoo felt much more like himself. He looked at the house and garden and decided to start living there. He would have fish from the pond and a safe place to live in and water to swim in.
Pingoo would be able to explore the forest to his heart’s content and continue his adventures. The little penguin had finally found what he wanted in life! Determination and patience go a long way in getting you what you want!
Note: Image has been sourced from Google (123RF.com)