BABY COON

A little coon lived with his mother in a small house in the forest. One summer afternoon on his
birthday the mother made his baby boy a big cake. She put it on the table and the baby coon began to dance
around it.
“Today is my birthday! It means that now I am very big!” the baby coon was shouting.
“And this we will test now”, said his mother. “Can you go alone to the pond and pick some sweet
sedge for the dinner?”
“Yes, I can!” exclaimed her son.
“Well, then go. This path will lead you straight to the pond”, said mother coon showing the way.
”Go and don’t turn anywhere!”
So the baby coon ran into the forest leaping and singing on his way. But as he was going further and
further in the wood, it was becoming darker and more frightening. Suddenly he saw a shadow near the bush
and cried. A little monkey came out and when the baby coon saw her he said angrily:
“What are you doing? You almost scared me! But I am not afraid of you, because I am big and
brave. I’m going to the pond alone!”
“Alone? Aren’t you afraid of Him?” asked the monkey with fear.
“Who should I be afraid of?” the baby coon wanted to know.
“The one who is sitting in the pond”, answered the monkey mysteriously.
“No, I am afraid of nobody!” the baby coon said calmly and continued his way. When he got to the
pond, he shouted:
“Hey you, who is sitting in the pond! Get out!”
There was no answer, everything was quiet and the pond was calm. So the baby coon came closer to
the water and started to make scary faces looking deep inside. And he saw another baby coon doing the
same! Only this was bigger and more frightening. The baby coon was scared and ran away. Not far from the
pond the little monkey stopped him.
“Have you been afraid?” she asked.
“I have never seen such a nasty coon that is sitting in the pond!” the baby coon replied trembling.
“What coon? An evil monkey is sitting in the pond!” the monkey exclaimed.
“Oh, I see. They are sitting in the pond together! There is much space there”, said the baby coon and
added sadly, ”What shall I do?”
“Wait here!” was the reply and the little monkey climbed up the tree. In a minute she appeared with
a long stick which gave to her friend. ”You should go and show him you are stronger!” she said.
The baby coon took the stick and went back to the pond. He got very close to the water and showed
his stick saying: “Get out of here!” But the coon in the water had a stick too and it was longer! When the
baby coon saw it, he ran away as fast as he could. He was so scared that he even didn’t stop where the little
monkey was waiting for him. As soon as the baby coon reached home, he cried in a loud voice:
“I will never go back to the pond!”
“Why not?” his mother wanted to know.
“I am afraid of the one who is sitting in the pond”, the baby coon explained. ”He’s got a stick which
is bigger than mine! And he is making really scary faces!”
The mother coon smiled as she understood that the one who was sitting in the pond was his own
reflection. So she said to her baby boy:
“Oh, baby coon. Go to the pond but don’t take a stick with you and don’t make faces at him. Just
smile!”
“And that’s it? Are you sure?” asked the baby coon doubtfully.
“Yes, I am. Go and smile at him”, his mother repeated.
And the baby coon came back to the pond. When he looked in the water with a smile on his face, he
saw another baby coon smiling back at him! The baby coon was happy he made friends with the one who is
sitting in the pond and he understood that you should never be cruel and unkind to the others.