Once upon a time, a little Wolf Cub got his furry paws all dirty.
Mother Wolf saw this and said to him:
Little one, wash your paws.
I don't want to, they're fine as they are.
The Wolf Cub replied.
The Wolf Cub went off to play in the forest. He saw Little Fox sitting in a clearing, playing with a ball and reciting a rhyme:
"My cheerful bouncing ball so bright,
Where are you bouncing out of sight?
Yellow, red and blue you go,
I can't catch you, you're too slow!"
Little Fox, let's play together!
Said the Wolf Cub.
Of course, it's more fun with two.
Little Fox was delighted.
But what's this? As soon as the Wolf Cub touched the ball, it was covered with marks from his dirty paws.
No, I won't play with you. Your paws are so dirty that you've made my favourite ball all mucky.
Said Little Fox.
The Wolf Cub walked on until he reached the river, where Tortoise was launching a white boat on the water and reciting a poem:
"A sailor's cap, a rope in hand,
I pull my boat along the sand.
The frogs all hop behind me too,
They ask me, "Captain, can we sail with you?"
Seeing the Wolf Cub by the river, Tortoise called out to him:
Hey, Wolf Cub, come and play with me!
But as soon as the little Wolf Cub picked up the white boat, he made it dirty, because his paws were filthy. He had to give the boat back to Tortoise. The Wolf Cub felt upset and trudged home with his head down.
Mummy, nobody wants to play with me. Why not?
The Wolf Cub said, barely holding back tears.
Come here, little one, I'll tell you all about water and soap, and then you'll understand.
And Mother Wolf began her explanation.
Why does water wash away dirt? Perhaps it just carries it away, like a river carries a twig? Let's check. Hold your dirty paws under the tap. Did they become clean?
I'm afraid not. That's because nobody washes like that. When we wash, we always rub one paw against the other. But why? To scrub and scrape off the dirt. And once the dirt is scraped off, it's easy for the water to carry it away. But we've forgotten one thing without which it's hard to wash off dirt. What is it?
Soap!
The Wolf Cub answered.
If we washed without soap, we'd always have dirty paws. Soap is dirt's greatest enemy. How does it work? Let's think about it. Which soap washes better — the kind that makes lots of bubbles, or the kind that hardly foams at all?
Mother Wolf continued.
Probably the one that makes more bubbles.
The Wolf Cub replied.
That's right, dear. So it's all about the foam! And what is foam? Look at it carefully. It's made up of tiny soap bubbles that shimmer in the sunlight, little air balloons with shells made of water. And these bubbles grab and carry away the dirt — the particles stick to the foam bubbles, and then the foam is easy to rinse away.
So soap bubbles aren't just for fun. They really help paws and faces become clean again.
Now, sweetheart, wash your paws, and then nobody will call you a mucky pup and everyone will be happy to play with you.
Mother Wolf said to her little one.
The Wolf Cub was delighted:
I understand now! Nobody wants to be friends with someone who's dirty.
And he ran off to wash his furry paws.
Read stories and you'll always know how to be not only clean, but tidy too.
