Willow’s Silent Ocean
Willow the whale wakes up unable to sing. Her ocean friends lend a hand, or a fin.
Every evening, Willow the whale sang a beautiful song that rolled across the ocean. It was deep and slow and full of colour. All the creatures stopped to listen. It helped them fall asleep.
But one evening, when Willow opened her mouth to sing, there was no sound. Only a croak. She tried again. Nothing! ‘Oh no,’ she whispered. The sea was quiet, and the quiet felt wrong.
‘Perhaps it was a very bad cold,’ said Wren the jellyfish, nudging her gently. Willow didn’t know. She felt very sad. ‘Without my song,’ she said, ‘I’m just a big fish who can’t do anything.’
‘You’re a whale,’ said Tomas the turtle, ‘and you’re our friend. We’ll help you find your voice.’ They all swam together to the deepest part of the ocean, where echoes lived.
There, they each shared a sound. Wren made a quick bubbling noise, Tomas made a low rumbling, and Sam did a squeaky tune. The sounds all mixed together like a soft, wild, wonderful song.
Willow listened, and something stirred inside her. A tiny hum began in her chest. It grew and grew, and then she opened her mouth. Out came one low note, soft as a feather, then another. She was singing!
The whole ocean cheered in bubbles. Willow sang the longest, loveliest song of her life, and her friends sang along, each in their own voice. The song floated up through the waves and into the night sky.
From that night on, whenever Willow felt shy about her song, she remembered the friends who had given her theirs. And she sang, always, for them.
The little lesson
Your voice belongs to you, and with friends’ help it will come back stronger.
Let’s talk about it
- Do you have a favourite song? What does it make you feel?
- How did each friend help?
Finish stories to collect Willow as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
More Under the Sea stories
Otto’s Lighthouse Light
When a big storm puts out the lighthouse lamp, Otto climbs the stairs to save the boats.
Faye and the Great Blue
Faye is a little fish with a big wish: to see what lies beyond the coral reef.
Rosie’s Lighthouse Light
When a big storm puts out the lighthouse lamp, Rosie climbs the stairs to save the boats.
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