Finn's Flight School.
Hello young explorer.
Make yourself cozy,
Pull up your blanket all the way to your chin and let your head rest gently on your pillow.
Take a deep breath in,
Now slowly let it out.
Tonight's story is about a very special flying fish named Finn.
Finn lives where the ocean meets the sky and he's learning how to glide,
Not just over the waves,
But over his worries too.
Before we begin,
Let's take three soft,
Deep breaths,
Just like Finn does before every flight.
Breathe in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
And breathe out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Once more,
Breathe in the calm,
Hold it,
And breathe out the day.
Last time,
Let your body melt into your bed,
Inhale,
And exhale.
There you go.
Let's begin our journey under the sea.
Finn was not like the other fish in Coral Bay.
He had shimmering silver fins,
A flicky blue tail,
And wings,
Yes,
Wings,
Tucked neatly at his sides,
Not bird wings,
But translucent,
Fluttery fins that sparkled when sunlight filtered through the water.
Finn loved swimming fast,
But what he loved even more was flying,
At least trying to.
You see,
Flying fish can leap out of the water and glide through the air,
But Finn hadn't quite figured out how to do it yet.
He would zip up from the ocean floor,
Flap his side fins hard,
And splash,
Belly flop right back down.
The sea turtles giggled,
The jellyfish wobbled with amusement,
And even the crab clapped its claws like a tiny drumroll.
But Finn wasn't discouraged.
Well,
He said,
Every great glider flops before they fly.
And so,
The next morning,
He began training.
Before his first practice jump,
Finn floated in a patch of calm seaweed.
He remembered something his grandma used to say,
Breathe like the ocean,
Finn,
Slow and deep in rhythm with the waves.
It helps your heart stay steady,
Even when the current feels strong.
So,
Finn practiced.
Inhale through the gills,
1,
2,
3,
Hold.
Exhale with a bubble trail,
1,
2,
3,
4.
He did this three times,
Feeling his fins relax.
Then he zipped upward and launched out of the water.
Splash.
Still not quite.
But something felt different this time.
He didn't flap as frantically.
He floated just a little longer.
Later that day,
Finn swam to a secret reef called Sky Mirror.
That's where the water was so still,
It looked like the sky was resting on the sea.
There,
He met a pelican named Pico.
You're trying to fly,
Aren't you?
Pico squawked.
Finn nodded.
Trying and flopping.
Pico laughed,
But not unkindly.
Let me show you something.
Flapping,
Pico took off,
Flapped slowly,
Then glided without a sound.
See,
It's not about flapping.
It's about floating.
Finn watched closely,
And the next time he jumped,
He didn't flap hard.
He just opened his fins wide.
For a moment,
He flew.
A heartbeat of wind,
A shimmer of sky,
And then splash,
Back into the sea.
But he had done it.
He had glided.
The next day,
Finn returned to Coral Bay with a big idea.
He would open a school.
Finn's Flight School.
Fish laughed at first,
But then they came.
There was Mimi,
The minnow,
Who wanted to leap high,
And Bloop,
The blowfish,
Who just wanted to bounce.
Even the grumpy crab joined,
Pretending he was just watching.
Finn taught them how to breathe,
How to flap without flailing,
And most of all,
How to try even if they belly flopped.
By the end of the week,
The reef was full of flying fish,
Gliding over waves like silver arrows,
Cheering and whooping with joy.
One sunset evening,
The ocean turned to gold,
And Finn led the final lesson.
Let's all jump together,
He said.
Just once.
All of us.
They lined up near the surface,
Breathed in,
Held it,
And launched.
Dozens of fish soared through the sky at once,
Like a school of stars bursting out of the sea.
Below,
The sea turtles clapped.
The jellyfish danced.
Even the crab shed a happy tear.
Finn hovered,
Midair,
Heartful.
He wasn't just flying.
He was soaring with friends who believed in him.
As the moon rose,
The fish floated back down.
The reef glowed softly under the starlight.
One by one,
The little flyers yawned.
Finn tucked into his coral nook,
And he whispered,
Breathe in the calm,
Hold the wonder,
And breathe out the day.
He dreamed of clouds and stars,
Of pelicans and peaceful glides.
And you,
Little dreamer,
Can dream too.
Breathe in gently,
And out slowly.
You've had your adventure for the night.
Now let your body rest,
And let your dreams take flight.
Good night,
Sky glider.
Good night.
