Chapter 5: Sammy the Seagull and the Power of Persistence
High above the sparkling sea, Sammy the Seagull dreamed of doing something no seagull had ever done before: flying across the Great Windy Ocean. It was a daring idea! The other seagulls said it couldn’t be done.
“Why bother, Sammy?” squawked Pete, the biggest seagull in the flock. “The wind is too wild, and the waves are too high. It’s impossible!”
But Sammy didn’t believe in “impossible.” She believed in persistence—keeping at something, even when it got hard. “If I keep trying and make little changes along the way, I can figure it out,” Sammy chirped confidently.
The next morning, Sammy stretched her wings and leapt into the sky. The breeze carried her gently at first, but soon, the fierce ocean winds began to push her back.
“WHOOSH!” A big gust spun Sammy in a circle. She flapped hard, but it felt like she wasn’t going anywhere. Exhausted, she returned to shore.
As Sammy rested, she thought about what went wrong. “Flapping harder didn’t work,” she murmured. “What if I try something different?”
The next day, Sammy tried again, but this time she watched the waves. She noticed how they rose and fell in a steady rhythm.
“Maybe if I fly with the wind instead of against it, I’ll go farther,” she said. So Sammy adjusted her wings and glided with the gusts. It worked—she flew farther than before!
But soon, the wind changed again, and Sammy found herself struggling. Back to shore she went.
“I’ll break this into smaller steps,” Sammy decided. “I’ll focus on reaching one floating log at a time.” Each day, Sammy set a tiny goal—a rock, a buoy, a log—and celebrated when she reached it. Every try taught her something new, and she made little changes along the way.
Flap, glide, rest, repeat. Sammy stuck with her plan, learning more each time she soared into the sky.
One bright morning, Sammy noticed something amazing: the waves were behind her, pushing her forward. “The wind is helping me!” she cheered. Sammy flapped her wings one last time and crossed the Great Windy Ocean, landing on a sandy beach on the other side.
“I did it!” she squawked, her chest puffed with pride. “I didn’t give up, and I learned how to work with the wind instead of against it!”
Back home, the other seagulls were amazed. “How did you do it?” asked Pete.
“I didn’t try to do it all at once,” Sammy explained. “I took small steps, learned from my mistakes, and kept going, even when it was hard. That’s the power of persistence!”
From that day on, Sammy’s story inspired every seagull in the flock. Whenever the winds blew strong, they would shout, “Be like Sammy—small steps, smart changes, and keep going!”
Looking back at this adventure, Sammy learned that persistence is about learning, adapting, and never giving up. Small changes and steady effort can help you reach even the biggest goals!