Ripple Rescue: A Pond-Full of Friendship

**The Missing Ripple: Koi Fish and Dot’s Pond Puzzle**

One sunny morning, Koi Fish opened his golden eyes and blinked. Something didn’t feel right. He swam slowly across the pond, looking around. The water wasn’t moving. There were no ripples!

“Koi Fish!” called Dot, his little sibling, zipping over in a burst of bubbles. “Do you feel it too? The pond is so... still!”

Koi Fish nodded. “I love how the ripples tickle my fins. Where did they go?”

Dot spun in a circle. “Let’s find out! This is a puzzle, and we’re the Pond Detectives!”

The two swam to the edge of the pond and peeked toward the stream where water usually flowed in. But the stream was blocked! A big pile of sticks and mud sat in the way.

“That’s strange,” Koi Fish said. “Who put that there?”

Just then, a small figure waddled out from behind the pile. It was Benny the Busy Beaver, holding a stick in his teeth.

“Hi, Benny!” Dot called. “What are you doing?”

Benny dropped his stick and smiled. “Oh, hi, Dot and Koi Fish! I’m building my new lodge. Isn’t it great? Nice and sturdy!”

“It’s very sturdy,” Koi Fish said kindly. “But... um... it’s blocking the stream. The pond doesn’t have any ripples anymore.”

Benny’s eyes went wide. “Oh no! I didn’t mean to do that.”

“We can fix this together!” Dot said, twirling excitedly.

They called for help from Willow the wise old turtle, who loved solving problems, and Luna the glowing firefly, who lit up dark places. Together, they came up with a clever plan to move Benny’s sticks just a little so the stream could flow again while keeping his lodge sturdy.

When they finished, water trickled into the pond, carrying gentle ripples.

“Hooray!” Dot cheered, splashing happily.

“Thank you, everyone!” Benny said.

The friends celebrated with a big, splashy swim, and the pond felt alive again.

The ripples were back, and so was the joy.