The Muddy Morning

Early one morning, the sun peeped over the roof of the barn at Mr Zoom's farmyard. The rooster crowed. The cows yawned. And the whole farmyard woke up to a very muddy day.

It had rained all night long. The path to the pond was soft and brown and squelchy, and Mr Zoom had laid out a row of clean, golden straw so that everyone could walk across it neatly.

"Please keep to the straw, my friends," Mr Zoom called, tipping his hat. "I have just spread it, and it will keep the farmyard tidy."

Most of the animals did as they were asked. But a few of the naughty ones looked at the straw and giggled.

"Why walk in a straight line when we can splash?" said one.

"Mud is much more fun than straw!" said another.

And off they ran. Splish! Splosh! They stamped and skipped and jumped through the puddles, and the mud flew everywhere. It flew onto the barn door. It flew onto the washing line. It even flew onto the little ones who had been walking so carefully along the straw.

"Stop it!" cried the little ones. "You are making us dirty!"

But the naughty animals only laughed louder. "It is only a bit of mud," they said. "Who cares?"

Just then, the air began to sparkle. A soft, silvery glow drifted over the fence, and there stood Fairy Maime, with her gentle smile and her shimmering wings.

"Good morning, everyone," she said kindly. "What a lot of splashing I can hear."

The muddy animals stopped. They looked at their feet. They looked at the barn door. They looked at the little ones, who were wiping mud from their eyes.

"We were only having fun," one of them mumbled.

"Fun is a lovely thing," said Fairy Maime. "But fun that makes someone else sad is not quite so lovely, is it? Every little thing we do leaves a little mark behind, just like footprints in the mud."

The animals looked back along the path. There were muddy footprints everywhere. They led all the way across the yard, up to the barn, and onto the clean washing.

"Oh dear," whispered the naughty animals. "We have made such a mess."

"Yes, you have," said Fairy Maime. "And that is what we call a consequence. When we choose to do something, something else follows. You chose to splash, and now the barn door is muddy, the washing is spoiled, and your friends are upset."

The animals felt a small, uncomfortable feeling in their tummies. It was the feeling of knowing they had been unkind.

"Can we put it right?" asked the smallest of them.

Fairy Maime smiled. "That is the very best question you could ask."

So the naughty animals said sorry to the little ones, and they meant it. Then they fetched buckets and rubbed the barn door until it shone. They helped Mr Zoom wash the clothes again, and they hung them on the line. It took the whole morning, and it was hard work.

When the last peg was clipped in place, the farmyard was clean and quiet. The sun was warm. The animals were tired, but they felt light and proud inside.

"Now," said Fairy Maime, with a twinkle, "the straw path is still waiting, and so is the pond. Shall we all walk there together?"

And they did. One by one, in a neat and happy line, the animals walked along the golden straw.

Fairy Maime waved her wand, and the last of the puddles sparkled like silver coins. "Remember, my friends," she said softly. "Before you do something, stop and think about what will happen next. A kind choice brings a kind result."

From that day on, whenever the rain came and the mud was deep, the animals of Mr Zoom's farmyard remembered the muddy morning. And they always, always kept to the straw.

The End