The Otter's Pebble Election

On a bright election morning, Ollie the otter drifts down the river with colored pebbles balanced on his belly, ready to help the river animals choose a new leader. At the big flat rock, Bramble the beaver oversees the vote, handing red and blue pebbles from a reed satchel to the turtles, frogs, ducks and catfish waiting in line. Ollie senses that something is wrong before he can name it, and then he sees what it is: Pip the minnow and the whole school of small fish have been turned away, told they are too small to vote.

When Ollie speaks up for the minnows, the talk on the rock begins to shift. Lark the heron, who hopes to lead, admits she had forgotten the tiny fish, and Bramble slowly opens his satchel to look for extra pebbles. Ollie offers his own handful, and others follow, until every minnow holds a pebble and a place in the election. Pip asks for more than a vote, though: the fish want to be heard and to have their need for shallow, safe water remembered. Written by Ebru Mina TOMURCUK, this gentle tale can be read on Onlinemasal Com.Tr.