Poppy the pig lived in near a nice little village filled with bright flowers, a clear lake and

lots of
people. He was a lively little pig and made friends with many very easily. One day when Poppy the
pig was rolling in slush, his mother called out to him. “Poppy, I need you to go to the other side of
the lake and tell Uncle Penny to come by to talk to me”. Poppy was delighted with the idea of
swimming through the lake. “Today is my lucky day”,he thought…”one nice mud bath so far and
now, I have to swim across the lake. Wish every day is this good!”.

He marched on to the lake with a smile across his face, a swing in his feet and a song to sway to...

“Poppy is my name,

Mom says that as a gift I came

I love to play, I love to sing

I love to talk to friends; autumn or spring…

La la laaa laaaaa…”

Just when he was about to reach the lake, he heard big footsteps. He realised it is Emma the
elephant, his favourite friend among all. As she walked towards him, he noticed how lovely Emma’s
ears were. Her walk looked majestic. “Why, you seem to be enjoying a good day” said Emma. “Of
course, today has been a lot of mudbath and now off for a swim”. “Oh! I do see you’ve enjoyed a
mudbath..swim along. Have fun. I’ll meet you once you are back”. She waved to Poppy and walked
away. Poppy felt a tinge of sadness. He was not sure why Emma’s lovely ears made him happy one
second and sad the next! He walked on and he noticed Shera the tiger preparing for a hunt. He
silently watched Shera from a distance and admired the lovely mane and the strength. It was strange
how every animal turned alert and scared when he is around. Shera had past by but Poppy remained
lost in his thoughts. He grew more silent and sadder…and when he finally reached the lake, he chose
to sit silently and weep rather than swim through it. Poppy tears fell into the lake…”plop..plop…”
and formed small ripples.. and before he knew, he was sobbing much harder with heavy tears from
his eyes falling into the lake making tiny bubbles on the surface. One bubble asked Poppy, “What’s
keeping you sad Poppy? Why are you crying…”. Poppy thought for a moment and spoke. “Emma has
such lovely ears and she is so tall…Shera has lovely mane and he is very strong. They all look
wonderful, but look at me! I don’t look good. I’m so tiny, I don’t look great…I feel so sad about it”.
The bubble smiled and said “It is never about how pretty you look...it is always about how pretty and
joyful you make your surroundings with your presence. Look at me...I’m here only for a few minutes.
I will plop any moment, I’ll be gone. But I don’t let that worry me…for the few seconds I live, I make
this lake look beautiful, I make a difference for as long as I live. I enjoy those few moments and
then….fade…away…”Even as the bubble spoke, she vanished. Poppy felt much lighter now. He
realized that his presence did matter afterall! His mother never stopped telling how lovely she felt in
Poppy presence. Emma didn’t skip catching up with Poppy even a single day. Whether happy or sad,
she always wanted to talk to Poppy…and think of all the lovely friends he had near the village. He
saw his smile return as he counted all his blessings. He realized that his biggest strength was that he
was always cheerful and made everyone around him happy. With a smile of his face, off he went on
a swim…and a silent promise to count his blessings every single day from now on”