Hi Storytime crew and welcome back.
I am so glad you're here.
I'm Steph and today's story is about teamwork,
Flexibility and learning that there might just be more than one way to do something and still get the same outcome.
Now there's a sunny clearing in the middle of the serpentine forest perched perfectly in the middle of a valley.
The view from here is exquisite and the spot,
Well it's perfect for building a brand new forest gymnasium.
There are birds chirping and kangaroos munching on grass and a suspicious looking pile of tools that one of my friends might have borrowed from who knows where.
Guys I would like you to meet my friends Chloe and Dane.
Now Chloe is a cat but she isn't any old cat.
She's a Cornish Rex.
She has the cutest pointiest ears and the most beautiful curly coat.
She spends a lot of time with her mate Dane the Diplodocus.
That's a dinosaur.
For the most part they were great friends but sometimes they acted like siblings.
Should we go and find out what these two rascals are up to?
Are you ready?
Okay what are you waiting for?
Let's go!
You could hear the giggles before you saw them.
In the midst of the forest clearing Chloe the cat was practicing her flips.
Neat,
Graceful,
Flawless.
She twirled and she twirled and she leapt and she landed with a perfect ta-da!
Another 10 out of 10 she said smoothing her fur.
Honestly I think I make it look easy.
Then there was a thud followed by a crash.
Followed by the sound of something very large saying.
Oops!
Was that looking important?
Oh I hope not!
Here comes Dane the Diplodocus.
He's a dinosaur.
The forest's biggest heart,
Biggest smile and biggest cause of accidental property damage.
He peered down at the flattened log.
I was just trying to copy your flip Chloe.
You flattened the floor instead Dane she sighed.
Yeah I did.
I'm improving already he said proudly.
Chloe rolled her eyes.
Maybe you should practice somewhere with a wider landing zone like I don't know how about another postcode?
But before she could go back to flipping Dane gasped.
He had a brilliant idea.
Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait Chloe what what if we build something amazing instead?
What if we build a super fun forest gym for all of us to play on?
Hmm Chloe's whiskers twitched with a little bit of excitement.
A building project with design plans and labels?
Oh now this was her kind of fun.
Well if we're gonna do it we're gonna do it properly Chloe says.
Dane grinned.
Okay I'll get the vines and the gumnuts.
Chloe blinked hard and then rolled her eyes.
Dane what part of properly did you not understand?
By mid-morning Chloe had drawn up her official blueprint of brilliance for the forest gymnasium.
It had all the precise measurements,
Diagrams and an entire section titled safety notes.
Dane absolutely no tail swinging near the nails.
Meanwhile Dane had drawn his plan in the dirt with a stick.
See he said proudly this is a ramp,
This is a snack zone,
A gym always needs a snack zone and that's well that's the mystery pit.
How cool is it Chloe?
Don't you love it?
Chloe squinted.
A what?
Don't worry Chloe I've got it all under control.
It's probably gonna be fine.
Dane shrugged his shoulders and wandered off to get started.
Building began straight away and in earnest.
Chloe lined up all the planks she was going to need in perfect little piles and Dane lined up well a couple of gumnuts.
Chloe hammered the nails into her planks in steady careful taps and Dane used his tail as a crane and occasionally a wrecking ball.
Before long there was sawdust and mud and strangely feathers everywhere.
Our family of possums joined in tossing gum leaves around the clearing like confetti.
Someone started singing,
Someone else started swinging.
It was chaos but it was happy chaos.
Chloe took a deep breath and repeated her mantra to herself.
I am calm,
I am composed,
I am.
.
.
Thud.
Dane grinned.
We're building a gym,
We're building a gym.
If it falls down we'll just build it again.
It was catchy.
Unfortunately,
Finally they stood back to admire their creation.
Well look,
It's not terrible Chloe admitted.
It's a bit crooked.
Maybe with a few adjustments it could be okay.
Then Dane climbed up to test it.
The vines creaked,
The boards groaned and before anyone could say safety regulations,
The whole thing collapsed in a glorious heap.
Crash,
Splat,
Poof.
Chloe's fur puffed up like a dandelion ready to blow in the wind.
Dane!
My bad,
He said,
Picking himself up and brushing the leaves off.
But hey,
It was fun while it lasted Chloe.
Chloe stared at the ruins of her beautiful blueprint that she'd managed to bring to life.
I just wanted it to be perfect,
She said.
Dane shuffled closer,
Tail dragging behind.
I didn't mean to wreck it Chloe,
I just thought that it'd be fun if everyone helped.
You know,
Like a big forest team project.
And also Chloe,
There's no such thing as perfect.
Chloe looked up.
The possums were still playing,
Swinging on the leftover vines and sliding down the logs,
Shrieking with laughter and pure joy without a care in the world.
Even the kookaburras had joined in.
They were having the time of their lives and were using the broken planks as seesaws.
It was at that exact moment that Chloe realized something very important.
The gym wasn't perfect,
But it was oh so joyful.
All of her forest friends were having the times of their lives.
She was too busy wrapped up in making sure that everything was perfect,
That she didn't have time to have fun or live in the moment.
Hmm,
She thought to herself,
This is a very good point.
She smiled and said,
Okay Dane,
Maybe it doesn't have to be perfect to be amazing.
Dane's whole face lit up.
So you're saying we should rebuild it?
But with more,
I don't know,
Bounce?
Chloe laughed.
How about with more teamwork maybe Dane?
And maybe a little less tail swinging?
Well Chloe,
I can't make any promises.
Dane chuckled to himself.
Off they set to rebuild their forest gymnasium and this time they built it together.
Chloe still measured things she couldn't help herself and Dane still made up songs he couldn't help himself either.
They balanced precision with play and logic with lots and lots of laughter.
And by sunset the new forest gym was finished.
They both stepped back to admire their work.
It was glorious.
Lopsided and a spectacular mix of both of them.
And they could not be prouder of what they accomplished together.
There were swings and ramps and tunnels and yeah,
Even a slide full of oozy,
Sticky,
Green slime.
Honestly,
I think it was the best part.
When Chloe tested it out,
She zoomed straight into a puddle and came out looking like a swamp creature.
Dane howled with laughter.
You look perfectly ridiculous,
Chloe.
Chloe snorted with pure joy.
You're one to talk,
Dane.
Your tail still stuck in the snack zone again.
That evening as they sat on the grass munching banana muffins,
A little bit overbaked but still delicious,
Chloe sighed happily.
Oh,
You know,
Dane,
Teamwork is a bit like your tail.
Dane frowned.
Do you mean long and bendy?
No,
She said with a grin.
Sometimes it swings the wrong way,
But it always gets you where you need to go.
Dane smiled.
So what you're saying is I'm awesome?
Chloe smirked.
No,
What I'm saying is we're awesome together.
And somewhere behind them,
A cheeky possum yelled,
The slime slide is open!
Chloe and Dane looked at each other.
You first.
No,
After you.
Race you?
Okay.
They both bolted towards the gym laughing all the way.
And as the sun dipped behind the trees and the rest of the forest rang with a sound of joy,
Teamwork and just the right amount of chaos.
So my little legends,
What did we learn from Chloe and Dane today?
Well,
First up,
There's more than one way to make something amazing.
Chloe liked her plans neat and tidy and Dane,
Well,
Dane loves chaos.
And his plans mostly involve falling over a lot.
But when we put their ideas together,
Boom,
Epic forest gym.
Next,
We learned teamwork doesn't mean being the boss of everybody.
It means mixing your superpowers together like a smoothie.
A slightly weird wobbly smoothie that somehow tastes amazing.
We also learned that mistakes and messes aren't the end of the world.
In fact,
They're actually where the best and funnest stories start.
Every great idea comes with a bit of an oops,
And a splash of an uh-oh,
And a big scoop of,
Hmm,
Well,
That was a bit unexpected.
And being flexible,
Well,
That lets the fun in.
If Chloe hadn't stopped trying to be perfect,
She'd have missed out on the slime slide.
And let's be real,
Everyone needs a slime slide moment in their life.
Am I right?
Oh,
And about being perfect.
Newsflash,
Little legends.
It is a total illusion.
Like a unicorn doing its taxes.
Like trying to lick your elbow.
Go on,
Try it.
I bet you can't do it.
Like finding matching socks in the laundry basket.
Like a dinosaur feeding in a beanbag.
Like mum drinking her coffee while it's still hot.
Like doing one cartwheel and becoming an Olympic gymnast.
Like Dane the dinosaur tiptoeing without making a sound.
Like a glitter craft project that doesn't end in sparkles everywhere.
Like a day without anyone saying,
Oops.
They just don't exist.
And honestly,
Perfection is boring,
Messy,
Funny and full of oops moments.
That's where the magic lives,
My friends.
Now,
Who's ready to build their own forest gym of chaos and dreams?
Thanks for joining me for another Steph and the Storytime Crew Classic,
Guys.
And until next time,
Be brave,
Be kind and let your chaos shine bright.
Bye.
