«You don’t have to like the water in order to be brave.»
Pablo does not know how to swim. And not only that, he’s afraid to go into the water. That’s a problem when you’re a crocodile.
One summer morning, he was sitting by the lake with his friend Corentin, his feet in the water. He had made up his mind to learn how to swim.
“Jump !” said Corentin.
“I can’t, the water is too cold,” answered the little crocodile in swimming trunks.
“Jump,” the duck repeated gently.
“The water will get into my nose, I can’t” said the crocodile.
“Go on, jump,” insisted the duckling.
“You can go first,” answered Pablo. “Show me how.”
"Well, I don’t know how to swim,” said Corentin, shrugging his shoulders. “I haven’t finished my swimming lessons with the Dunking Ducklings.”
“Well then how am I going to learn to swim?”
“Well then how am I going to learn to swim?” sobbed the crocodile.
Corentin thought for a moment, then opened his backpack and took out a swimming ring.
He jumped into the water and glided across the surface like a sailboat.
“You’re cheating,” shouted Pablo. “You’re swimming with a pool float.”
Corentin returned to the shore, took off the swimming ring and handed it to Pablo.
“But one ring is not enough,” declared Pablo as he slipped the swimming ring around his waist. “Crocodiles are really long.”
Then Corentin had an idea. He ran off and came back to where Pablo was standing, followed by his brothers and sisters.
Each one was holding a swimming ring.
“Now there are enough rings for a very large crocodile,” Corentin declared, very proud of himself.
Each one of the ducklings slipped his swimming ring over Pablo’s head. There he was with a dozen rings, reaching from his large mouth to the tip of his tail.
Pablo ran toward the water and “Plouk” he jumped right in without being afraid. With so many rings he had no trouble swimming.
Every day Pablo took off one swimming ring, until one wonderful morning he was able to jump into the water without feeling afraid and without using a ring.
And that’s how Pablo learned to swim like a real crocodile.
