My Wonder Studio

…there lived a mermaid named Camille. She had long, flowing hair, as black as night, and a sparkly tail of purple scales. In one way Camille was different from other mermaids: She was very small—smaller than every other mermaid.

Camille’s mother and father loved her dearly. Together they lived in the underwater Kingdom of Shadda with all the other mermaids and mermen. The Kingdom of Shadda was beautiful; it was ruled by King Orthan and Queen Xaria, who were both kind and wise.

The tower was Camille’s favorite place in the castle. Up there, Camille would sit and watch everything that happened down below in the kingdom.

Her best friends were Shallo, a seahorse, and Clip, a crab. They had a special hideout in a nearby reef that no one, except for the three of them, knew of. Their times together were filled with laughter and fun.

One day Camille was feeling lonely, as Clip and Shallo hadn’t been able to visit her. She swam up to the tower and began to sing a little song to cheer herself up. Usually this worked, but today it didn’t.

Down below her in the great castle, she could see people preparing for a celebration, stringing decorations and preparing food. Everyone was busy.

I don’t like being so small, Camille thought. I wish I were bigger like all the other mermaids, that way I could help with the party.

She began to cry. Nobody likes me except for Shallo and Clip, and because I’m so small I’ll never be able to do anything for the king and queen.

In the distance was a large coral reef, speckled with bright and diverse colors. A variety of fish and sea creatures lived in it, but one fish in particular seemed lost and lonely—a little goby fish named … Goby!

Goby would often hide in the coral, and you could hardly see him. He hid because he was very shy.

“I wish I had a friend,” sighed Goby. “But I don’t. I wonder if anyone would want me for a friend. Probably not. Why would anyone want to be friends with a little fish like me?”

Suddenly Goby heard a commotion off in the distance. It was coming from the undersea castle.

I wonder what’s going on at the castle? he thought.

Goby quickly emerged from the coral reef, only to bump into Old Budder Blowfish.

“I’m sorry, Old Budder,” he stuttered.

“You seem rather impatient to get somewhere. Where are you headed?” asked Old Budder.

“I heard some noise coming from the castle. Do you know what’s happening?”

“From what I hear, young Prince Cadis is celebrating his fifth birthday. The whole kingdom is busying itself with the preparations. Are you going to join in the entertainment over at the castle?” Old Budder asked.

“I don’t know that I can.”

“Of course you can! Didn’t you hear? All the fish and sea creatures of the area are invited. That would include you, little Goby.”

“I’ll just look around then. I don’t think I’ll stay.”

“And why not?”

“I wouldn’t know what to do, and I’d probably feel out of place.”

There was a moment’s silence, then Old Budder with a chuckle and a wag of his fin said, “Ah, little Goby, if you want friends, they are not going to magically appear! You have to go out of your way to find them!”

“But I don’t know how to make friends,” Goby said.

Old Budder laughed. “Don’t worry about that. Just be kind and friendly, and that kindness and friendliness will rub off on others, and they’ll want to be friends with you!”

“Thanks, Old Budder,” Goby said, as he swam off toward the castle.

On his way to the castle, Goby heard laughter and merriment. He felt very shy and quickly swam up the tower to get away from the crowd. At the top he noticed a little mermaid by herself, crying.

Quickly, Goby decided to leave the tower. I’m sure she doesn’t want to be disturbed right now! he thought. But in his haste to leave, his tail knocked a shelf. It fell to the ground with a bang.

BANG! CLANG! CLUNK!

Camille turned to see a colorful fish quickly swim past. Curiously, Camille followed him.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Uh, me?” Goby answered with a shy squeak.

Camille giggled. “Who’s ‘me’?”

“Goby,” he answered.

“Nice to meet you, Goby.”

“You too.” Goby said. “I’m sorry about the mess.”

“Don’t worry,” Camille said. “I bang into that shelf quite often. We can pick things up together.”

Goby felt shy, but he remembered what Old Budder had told him, so he decided to give it a try.

“Do you come up here often?” Goby asked.

“It’s my favorite place,” she answered. “But this is the first time I’ve seen you here.”

“I haven’t been up here in a while.”

“It has the best view,” Camille said as she looked over the tower railing. “You can see everything that’s happening in the castle from up here.”

The two watched the commotion below.

“Why aren’t you down there with everyone else?” asked Goby.

Camille looked down. “Look at me! I am so much smaller than everyone else. I’m kind of clumsy too, and I often seem to get in the way. Sometimes others laugh at me because I’m so small.”

“Well, you’re not that little,” Goby said. “Besides, I’m small, too.”

“Camille … Camille!” two voices echoed in the tower.

“Who’s that?” Goby asked.

“Oh, that’s Shallo and Clip,” Camille said. “Come, Goby, I want you to meet my friends.”

“New company, I see,” Clip said.

“This is my new friend, Goby,” Camille said with a smile. “Let’s go play together around the reef.”

“Sure,” Shallo said enthusiastically. “We love making new friends.”

Old Budder had been right! Goby didn’t feel as sad and lonely as he had before when he took the time to make new friends.

“I like making friends,” Tristan said, as Grandpa Jake closed the book.

Moral:
Friendship is a gift from God. When we reach out to others, we make friends and find happiness ourselves.

"Troy keeps taking all my favorite toys and playing with them," Tristan said.

"But he wasn’t playing with them," Troy said tearfully. "He just doesn't want me to play with them."

"Is that so, Tristan?" Grandpa Jake asked. 'Why wouldn't you want Troy to play with your toys?"

"Because...," Tristan answered, pausing momentarily, "I might want to play with them, and if he's playing with them, then I can't."

"This reminds me of a story," Grandpa Jake said thoughtfully.

"What's the story about?" Troy asked.

"Well, if I remember correctly, Bits was also having a hard time sharing with others," Grandpa Jake said. "Let me get my storybook. Maybe we can learn something that will help solve this problem."

It was not a good day for Bits. She wore a constant frown as she busied herself around the hive. All morning Bits had felt sad and angry. As she flew out of the hive to collect some more nectar, she heard someone calling her.

"Bits! Wait up!" It was Pepper, one of her friends from a nearby hive.

Bits slowed down momentarily. She felt grumpy and wasn't sure that she wanted Pepper's company right now.

Panting a little as he caught up to her, Pepper smiled. "Phew, you're sure flying around fast today, Bits. Helps an old bee like me keep in shape," Pepper said with a chuckle.

Bits gave a slight smile. "I really must hurry along," she said. "I have to collect more nectar."

She was anxious to be on her way again and didn't feel like talking with anyone.

"Mind if I buzz along with you?" Pepper asked.

"I guess so, if you'd like," Bits answered, as she hurried on.

They flew to the next patch of flowers, full of juicy nectar that Bits would take back to the hive.

Pepper chattered constantly, but Bits didn't offer much to the conversation. "It's such a beautiful day!" Pepper exclaimed. Bits only shrugged.

"I enjoy the summer so much!" Pepper went on. Once again, Bits didn't say anything.

Finally, Pepper sat up and looked at Bits, who was furiously collecting nectar. "What's bothering you, Bits?"

"Nothing," she replied.

"Well, you haven't said more than a few words to me today. You seem angry." Pepper paused. "You're not angry at me, are you?"

Bits finally stopped. "Oh no, not at all," she said, suddenly feeling very bad for the way she'd been ignoring Pepper. "I'm sorry, Pepper. You haven't done anything to make me angry with you. I've just been having a bit of a gloomy day."

"I can understand that. Gloomy days are never fun," Pepper sympathized. "Did something happen?"

"You could say that," Bits said. "A few days ago, after we had just finished making a new batch of delicious honey, then the farmer came by and took well over half of the honey we had made. We had all spent days and days going out and collecting nectar to make the honey, and then he just came and took it! That wasn't the first time that has happened either—he comes and takes our honey quite often.

"I didn't mind so much before," she continued. "It's not that he takes all of it, and there's always enough left for us, but it just makes me angry at times because I have to work so hard for it."

"Hmmm, I can understand how that could be frustrating," Pepper said softly. "I once felt the same way back at my hive."

"You did?" Bits asked in surprise. "Does it still bother you?"

"No, because I found out something very interesting," he answered. "Do you know why the farmer takes the honey, Bits?"

"Uh-uh!" she said, shaking her head.

"Well, the farmer uses the honey too, just like we do. The farmer finds honey so delicious that he takes some so that he can eat it with his pancakes or on bread or to make sweets."

"Really?" Bits asked.

"Yes, he really thinks it's yummy. So does his little girl," Pepper added with a smile.

Bits thought for a moment. "I guess it's not so bad that he takes our honey. I never knew that it was because he liked it so much."

"Giving to others, even of something that we like or have worked hard to make, makes God happy," Pepper explained. "Because no matter what we give, we always get more in return. God likes us to share with others, just like He shares the wonderful world He created with us."

"Thank you for explaining that to me, Pepper," Bits said, as she hugged him. “I'm sorry that I was so grumpy this morning. What you told me has helped me to not get bitter about the farmer taking the honey. I feel much better now."

"I'm glad I could help cheer you up!" Pepper said, returning her hug.

Later that day as Bits was collecting more nectar, she saw the farmer's little girl playing in the garden. The little girl heard Bits buzzing by, and she smiled. "Oh, thank You, God, for bees!" she exclaimed. "Honey is so yummy. Thank You for teaching them how to make it. And thank You that they share it with us."

Bits grinned from ear to ear. It made her glad inside to hear how happy the honey had made the little girl. "You're welcome," she whispered, as she flew back to her hive.

"I want to share my toys with you, Troy!" Tristan said. "Just like Bits was happy to give the honey she had worked hard to make to the farmer and his family."

"Thank you," Troy said. "I'll be sure to take good care of them."

Grandpa Jake smiled as he left the room while the two boys went on happily playing together.

Moral:
Giving to others makes you happy, because as you give to others, God is able to give to you.

It was a sunny winter day. Snow had fallen the night before, covering the ground in a soft, white blanket. Several insects hurriedly made their way to a gathering that had been called, leaving their little prints zigzagging in the snow. Soon the insect friends had arrived at the meeting spot, a homey underground burrow. They snuggled close together to keep warm.

“I was thinking,” began Wallace, “how nice it would be if we could do something for our neighbors this Christmas.”

“That sounds like fun!” Drudy exclaimed.

“What were you thinking of?” asked Lincoln.

“I’m not really sure,” Wallace answered. “That’s why I asked all of you to come, so that we could talk about it. Any ideas?”

“Hmmm, Christmas is supposed to be a time of giving,” Bits said thoughtfully.

“And singing,” chorused Specks and Jibber.

“I knew we’d come up with some good ideas,” Wallace said with a smile.

“So what do we do next?” asked Jibber. There was a moment of silence.

Finally, Lincoln said thoughtfully: “I was just thinking, Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, and I wonder what Jesus would want us to do for His birthday?”

“Maybe we should ask Him,” Wallace suggested. The others nodded.

The eight insects bowed their heads and prayed. Once they had finished, they went back to planning their Christmas neighborhood event.

“Silent night, holy night,” Lincoln sang in a shaky voice, and then let out a sigh. “I can’t do it! My voice isn’t strong enough.”

“Don’t give up now,” Jibber said, “you just have to keep practicing. Specks, come join us.”

The three insects began the song again, this time together. After a few tries their voices blended beautifully as they sang:

“Silent night, holy night,

All is calm, all is bright.

Round yon virgin mother and child;

Holy infant, so tender and mild.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Sleep in heavenly peace.”

“That was wonderful!” exclaimed Drudy.

“Oh, wow!” said Specks, looking over to where Drudy stood. “Those Christmas baskets are beautiful!”

Lined on the ground were several baskets filled with presents and delicious snacks, and decorated with holly leaves and berries.

“Everyone has been working hard on them, and they really are excellent,” Wallace said, as he peeked up from the leaf he was writing on.

“What are you doing, Wallace?” Bits asked.

“I’ve been putting together a list of all the insect families in our neighborhood that we could distribute the baskets to,” he explained.

“How many do you have?” Drudy asked.

“About twelve.”

“That means we’re nearly done,” Jibber said, after counting the baskets. “Only two more to go.”

“I’m so happy we could finish them up in time,” said Bits. “It’s Christmas Eve, and tonight we can distribute them.”

“I’m excited! I can’t wait to get started!” Lincoln added.

“Let’s finish up with the last two baskets,” Wallace said, “then we can all get ready.”

“Good idea!” the insects chorused, and then got right to work.

Little snowflakes tumbled gently from the sky. As the insects walked, the snow crunched under their feet. The eight softly sang a carol as they made their way through the village.

They arrived at Mr. and Mrs. Beetle’s place.

“Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Beetle,” Wallace greeted them.

“Good evening to you too, Wallace,” Mr. Beetle replied. “And a merry Christmas to all of you!”

“Merry Christmas,” said Mrs. Beetle. “What brings you here?”

“We brought you a Christmas basket,” Drudy explained. “And we’d like to sing a Christmas carol or two for you.”

“How delightful!” Mrs. Beetle exclaimed. “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

Lincoln began singing: “Silent night, holy night.” The others joined in, including Mr. and Mrs. Beetle and their children.

When the song had ended, Mrs. Beetle gave each of the insects a hug. “Thank you so much for visiting us,” she said. “You have helped to make this a wonderful Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas!” the eight insects called out as they went on their way to their next stop.

And on they went through the evening, bringing joy and happiness wherever they visited, and a smile to the face of each one they met. At the end of the evening, the eight said goodbye to each other before heading off to their own homes.

“That was the best Christmas ever,” Bits said.

“It sure was,” the others agreed.

“I’d like to do something like that for Christmas,” Tristan said when the story had ended. “But what could I do?”

“Good question,” Grandpa Jake said. “Maybe you can do something for Derek next door, or you could make a Christmas card for your parents. There are so many things you can do for others. You can also ask God to show you what to do for people. I’m sure He’ll have some good ideas.”

“I’ll do that,” Tristan said, bowing his head to pray.

It was going to be the best Christmas for Tristan because he was doing what Jesus likes best for His birthday: Tristan was thinking about others and how to make them happy.

Moral:
The best Christmas present you can give to others is love-filled actions of kindness. When you make others happy, you also make God happy.