Etta and the Little Strawberry

Etta the little penguin stood on a flat patch of sand beside Mum. Her friend Pip waited nearby. Between Mum's flippers was a soft beanbag shaped like a strawberry. Etta liked its green cloth leaves. She had helped tuck it into their bag that morning.

Mum tossed the strawberry to Pip. He caught it against his tummy and passed it back. Then Mum turned to Etta. Etta held out her flippers. The strawberry came towards her. She snapped them shut too soon. It hit the sand.

Etta stared at it. Her cheeks grew hot. Pip had caught it so easily. She pushed her flippers behind her back.

"I can't catch," she said. "Does that mean I can never learn?"

Mum sat down on the sand. "Missing that catch doesn't tell us what you can do another day."

"But I wanted to catch it now." Etta pressed one foot into the sand. "I'm cross."