Panda's Perfect Paddle

# Panda's Perfect Paddle

In the bamboo forest, Po the panda had a wonderful idea. He wanted to build a boat to sail down the gentle stream that flowed past his home.

"I shall make the finest boat ever!" Po declared, his black and white face beaming with excitement.

First, Po gathered some bamboo sticks. He laid them side by side on the ground.

"Hmm," he wondered, scratching his fuzzy head. "How do I stick these together?"

Po tried using honey, but it was too sticky and attracted buzzing bees.

"Oh dear!" he giggled, waving the bees away.

Next, he tried using mud, but when it dried, the bamboo pieces fell apart.

"This is trickier than I thought," Po sighed.

Just then, his friend Mei the monkey swung down from a tree.

"What are you making, Po?" she asked, bouncing around the bamboo.

"I'm trying to build a boat, but I can't make the pieces stay together," Po explained.

"I can help!" Mei said. "We can use these strong vines to tie the bamboo."

Together, they wrapped the vines around the bamboo sticks, pulling them tight with little knots.

Soon, a flat raft began to take shape.

"It needs something more," said Po, tapping his paw on his chin.

They added a tall stick in the middle and hung a large leaf as a sail.

When the boat was finished, Po and Mei carefully pushed it into the stream. It floated!

"Hooray!" cheered Po, climbing aboard with a bamboo paddle in his paws.

"Room for one more?" asked Mei.

"Always room for a friend," smiled Po, helping her climb aboard.

The leaf sail caught the breeze, and their little boat glided smoothly down the stream. Po and Mei laughed as they paddled together under the warm sunshine.

It was the perfect panda-made boat after all.