A Special Reward
Little turtle Papa slowly crawled along the sunlit path towards school. Today, Teacher Beaver was going to announce last semester’s award winners.
Just then, clumsy otter Shuǐtǎ silently swooped by like the wind. Papa spun around quickly, even faster than a top.
“Oh dear, my head is spinning…” Papa muttered as she finally managed to stop.
After resting for a while, Papa cautiously poked her head out, retrieved her backpack, and continued crawling forward.
She had only crawled a few steps when Fox Jack dashed past her.
“Good morning!” Jack shouted.
“Good morning,” Papa replied, “You dropped your pencil.”
But Jack had already run out of sight. Papa searched for a while before finding the poor pencil in the grass.
One friend after another ran past Papa: Skunk Bobo, the Raccoon brothers, and Fat Bear Hūlū…
“Papa, you walk as slowly as a turtle!” everyone said.
What’s so strange about that? I am a turtle after all! Papa thought, giggling to herself.
Despite her efforts to hurry, Papa was still late. She found her seat in the classroom and sat down quietly.
“Good morning, Papa!” Teacher Beaver greeted warmly, “It’s great to see your smiling face.”
“Good morning, Teacher Beaver!” Papa replied cheerfully with a big smile.
“Alright, students, please take out your writing books,” Teacher Beaver said to the children.
Fat Bear Hūlū searched through his bag over and over, looking like he was about to cry, “I forgot my writing book again…”
“It’s okay,” Papa comforted him softly, “I have a new one here.”
Fox Jack complained as he leaned over, “Do you have an extra pencil? I suspect the Raccoon brothers hid mine!”
“Ha, you finally remembered it,” Papa said, quietly handing over a pencil, “Here, don’t drop it in the grass again!”
Lunchtime arrived, and Papa climbed onto a big rock by the cafeteria to bask in the sun. She was chewing on lettuce and bugs with great relish when her classmates swarmed past her.
“Slow down!” Teacher Beaver shouted.
The reminder came just in time… Papa struggled to swallow the last bite of lettuce; she didn’t want to spin like a top again.
Finally, it was award time! The classroom buzzed like it was filled with a thousand bees.
“Quiet down, students,” Teacher Beaver said, “When I call your name, stand up and come to the podium to receive your award. Now, the Math Award goes to Fox Jack.”
Jack sprang up and bounded to the podium.
“The Reading Award goes to Skunk Bobo.”
“The Calligraphy Award goes to the Raccoon brothers.”
“The Sports Award goes to Fat Bear Hūlū.”
Papa smiled happily, genuinely feeling glad for her friends. As for herself, she didn’t expect to receive any award; after all, she was always so slow.
“Lastly, there is a special honor, the award for the most patient, persistent, and caring student in the class, and that is—” Teacher Beaver announced word by word, “Little Turtle Papa!”
“Me?” Papa couldn’t believe her ears.
“Yes, this is a gift from the whole class for you.” Teacher Beaver smiled, handing Papa a box tied with a bright red bow.
Papa slowly walked to the podium and slowly opened the box. Wow, inside was a beautiful skateboard!
On the way home from school, Papa rode the skateboard, zooming past her friends. “Whoosh—” the wind blew Jack’s baseball cap off.
Her friends didn’t mind at all and cheered, “Papa, watch out for speeding!”
“Thank you, everyone!” Papa sped along the path towards home. Haha, she would never have to worry about being late for school again!
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
