Climbing High

Each morning, Kinga the koala bear would get up to practice climbing trees. She wanted to compete in the annual tree-climbing contest. Her mother didn’t think she was big enough. Her father didn’t think she was strong enough. Her friends didn’t think she was tough enough. But Kinga had the will to try.

There were other races around the area that Kinga decided to compete in before the big event. At her first race, Kinga came in dead last. Tears dropped from her eyes as she walked home. She knew that she could have done better, but she had forgotten to get her claws deep enough inside the tree because she was so worried about going fast. The onlookers laughed at her as she slipped down the tree.

At the next small race, Kinga dug her claws in so deep that she had a hard time getting them out fast enough. In fact, Kinga was stuck for a few minutes. The crowd laughed as Kinga came in last again.

Finally, the day of the annual tree-climbing event was here. Kinga’s parents were so worried about their daughter. They didn’t want her to be laughed at again! But as the whistle blew, Kinga raced up the tree. She was the first to reach the top. She had won! She couldn’t believe it. The crowd cheered for Kinga. As Kinga walked home at the end of the day, a tear trickled down her face—but this time it was a tear of joy!