crocodile children’s story: There’s Only One Willing Crocodile
To the south of the green forest, there was a swamp. Beyond the swamp, there was a big river, and between the swamp and the river lived a group of crocodiles.
Some of these crocodiles were young, some were old, some were fat, and some were thin. Some were serious—oh, no, all of them were serious except for the smallest crocodile, Ma Dian, who loved to laugh!
Every day at noon, Ma Dian would take a bath in the river and then lie on the beach to sunbathe.
Ma Dian loved the river, loved the beach, and loved the sunshine. But what he loved most was his velvet pillow. With the velvet pillow, lying on the beach was even more comfortable!
In fact, every crocodile here had a velvet pillow, and they all cherished their pillows like treasures.
One day, while Ma Dian was sunbathing on the beach, he heard the sound of crying.
“Who could it be, crying so loudly?” Ma Dian turned over and crawled toward the forest behind him.
It turned out to be the most beautiful crocodile, Miss Ma Niu, who was crying and said, “I lost my velvet pillow.”
“Oh, I see. Let me help you find it!” Ma Dian thought for a moment and said, “In the meantime, would you like to use my velvet pillow for a nap?”
“Would you really?”
“Of course! As long as you stop crying,” Ma Dian said with a smile.
Later, Ma Dian and Ma Niu found the velvet pillow together, and they became the best of friends.
During the rainy season, the crocodiles would hold a grand gathering, with performances. It was a tradition, and all the crocodiles had to participate, no matter if they were young or old, fat or thin, or how serious they usually were.
This year’s rainy season was approaching, but there was still one troublesome matter left unresolved. The script for the performance called for an important role—a clown—but no crocodile was willing to play that part.
“You have to wear a coat made of rags. So ugly!”
“You have to wear a pointy hat. So ridiculous!”
“They’ll paint your face with big spots. Everyone will laugh at you!”
The crocodiles chattered and discussed it among themselves.
“Will the clown really make everyone laugh?” Ma Dian asked, tilting his little head. “Will it make you all happy?”
“Of course! I think so,” nodded old crocodile Ma Jiang.
“Then I’ll do it!” Ma Dian said with a smile.
So, Ma Dian put on the coat made of rags, wore the pointy hat, and had his face painted with big spots. As a clown, Ma Dian really did make the serious crocodiles laugh out loud.
Throughout the rainy season, wherever Ma Dian went, there was laughter. Ma Dian felt that being a clown was quite meaningful!
Toward the end of the rainy season, a middle-aged man arrived in the crocodile village. This was a big deal, as no human had ever visited the crocodile village before! Young crocodiles, old crocodiles, fat crocodiles, and thin crocodiles all gathered around, surrounding the man.
They saw that the middle-aged man had fainted on the grass. Old crocodile Ma Jiang took a look and said, “He’s injured. The only cure for this kind of injury is the yellow herb from the northern side of the green forest. Who’s willing to go get it?”
The trip to the northern side of the green forest wasn’t far, but just thinking about passing through the dirty swamp made all the crocodiles shake their heads. After all, they were very fond of keeping themselves clean!
“If he’s not treated in time, this man probably won’t make it,” old crocodile Ma Jiang sighed.
“I’m willing!” Suddenly, a voice came from behind. It was Ma Dian, who had just arrived.
Soon, Ma Dian returned with the yellow herb, and the middle-aged man quickly regained consciousness.
“Why did you come here?” old crocodile Ma Jiang asked. This was also a question all the crocodiles wanted to know.
The middle-aged man, still a bit weak, answered softly, “I’m a director. I came here to choose a crocodile for my movie.”
“Wow, making a movie, that’s amazing!” The crocodiles exclaimed in awe.
“I remember I was injured. Who saved me?” the man asked.
“It was Ma Dian!” Ma Niu pointed to Ma Dian and shouted.
The middle-aged man looked at Ma Dian, and the sight of the little crocodile covered in mud amused him. “You’re quite a special crocodile. Would you like to leave here with me to be in my movie?”
“Leave here? Will I ever come back?” Ma Dian asked.
The man smiled and said, “Probably not. My movies are very popular, so you’ll become famous. You’ll have many performances, a wonderful place to live, and delicious food to eat…”
“In that case, I’m not willing!” Ma Dian interrupted. “I’m not leaving here. I want to stay with my friends.”
This was the first time everyone had heard Ma Dian say he wasn’t willing. Hearing Ma Dian say this, all the crocodiles were moved.
“Ma Dian, I love you!” One crocodile started, and soon all the crocodiles gathered around, stood up, and tossed Ma Dian into the air.
At that moment, every crocodile was smiling, every crocodile was lively, and none of the crocodiles were serious anymore.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
