Far away, in a land of cold, white snow and slippery, blue ice, lived a little penguin named Pip. Pip was a happy penguin. He loved his mom and dad. He loved to slide on his tummy down the snowy hills. 'Whee!' he would shout. But Pip had a secret wish. He would look up at the big, blue sky. He would watch the white seagulls as they soared and looped and flew in the air. 'Oh,' Pip would sigh. 'I wish I could fly.'
He would flap his little, black flippers. 'Flap, flap, flap!' He would hop up and down on the ice. 'Flap, flap, HOP!' But he did not fly. He just went 'thud' on the snow. 'Penguins cannot fly, Pip,' his father said kindly, patting his head. 'We are not made for the air. We are made for the water.' 'But I want to be in the sky!' Pip said sadly. He felt like his flippers were silly. They were not big and strong like a bird's wings. They were just little, floppy flippers.
One day, Pip was standing at the very edge of the big, blue, icy water. He was sadly flapping his flippers, pretending to be a seagull. He was so busy pretending that he did not see a big, dark shadow under the water. It was a leopard seal, and it was very hungry! The seal looked up at Pip's friend, who was swimming nearby. The seal got ready to pounce! 'Oh no! Help!' shouted Pip's friend. Pip's heart beat fast. He was scared, but he had to help his friend.
Pip did not think. He did not flap. He just jumped! He jumped high off the ice and... SPLASH! He dove deep into the cold, cold water. The water was not like the air. In the water, his little, floppy flippers were not silly at all. They were strong! They were powerful! 'WHOOSH!' Pip did not fly. He *swam*! He was faster than any bird. He zoomed through the water like a rocket. He grabbed his friend and zoomed away so fast, the grumpy seal was left behind, confused. Pip was a hero! He learned that his flippers were not for the sky. They were for the sea. And in the water, he was the fastest, bravest penguin of all.