Once upon a time, in a warm, whispery swamp full of reeds and lily pads, there lived a crocodile named Crispy Croc. Crispy was green, grumpy-looking, and had the biggest smile in the whole marsh—but he had one very strange habit.
He wore shoes.
Big shoes. Shiny shoes. Sometimes even sparkly shoes.
The other animals stared.
“Why is he wearing shoes?” whispered the frogs.
“Crocodiles don’t wear shoes,” snorted the hippo.
“Maybe his feet are cold,” guessed a confused turtle.
But Crispy didn’t care. He loved shoes.
One morning, Crispy splashed through the swamp wearing bright red boots that went squish-squash with every step. A family of ducks burst out laughing.
“Crispy!” quacked one duckling. “You look silly!”
Crispy stopped, looked at his boots, and smiled.
“Maybe,” he said kindly, “but I feel happy.”
That afternoon, Crispy sat on a muddy log polishing his shoes when he heard a loud OW!
It was Benny the Bear, hopping on one foot.
“I stepped on a thorn,” Benny groaned. “Now I can’t dance at the swamp party tonight!”
Crispy thought for a moment. Then he slowly took off one shoe.
“Try this,” he said.
Benny slipped his paw inside. His eyes grew wide.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore!”
Soon, more animals came running.
A hedgehog with sore toes.
A flamingo with a scratchy foot.
A raccoon who just wanted to look cool.
Crispy shared his shoes with everyone.
By evening, the swamp looked very different.
Frogs wore tiny sandals.
Hippos wore huge slippers.
Even the turtle wore sneakers (very slowly).
The animals laughed, danced, and cheered.
“Crispy,” said the old owl from her tree, “you’ve started something new.”
“A fashion?” asked Crispy.
“A lesson,” said the owl. “Being different can help others.”
From that day on, wearing shoes in the swamp was no longer strange. But more importantly, no one laughed at differences anymore.
And Crispy?
He still wore shoes.
Not because he wanted to be fashionable…
…but because he liked walking his own way.
The End.