Penny was a very special little penguin because her grandfather was a mighty eagle. Her grandfather only stayed in Breathing Land for one spring and summer before flying away. Penny’s dad was just like the other penguins, but Penny had always been a bit bigger than the other little penguins. This made her a bit clumsy when swimming in the water. Her grandmother used to tell her, “That’s because you’re not meant for the sea—you’re a little eagle meant for the sky.”

Penny loved hearing stories about her grandfather. She would imagine his giant wings spreading wide across the sky, blocking out the sun, as he flew back from faraway places with shiny little fish and colorful wild berries. Slowly, Penny began to believe that she wasn’t just a clumsy swimming penguin—she was an eagle destined to soar in the sky.

So, Penny decided to start practicing how to fly. Her wings were longer than most penguins’, but they were still shorter than her owl friend Ollie’s. Every day after school, she would run off to the woods and practice flapping her wings a thousand times. Before bed, she’d even measure her feathers to see if they’d grown any longer. Her friend Benny, the little ball, tried to tell her that she wouldn’t be able to fly that way, but Penny didn’t listen. She kept practicing for three whole months. Her feathers didn’t grow even an inch, but her wing muscles got much stronger.

Penny thought she was ready. She climbed up a small hill, took a deep breath, and leaped into the air, flapping her wings with all her might. But her wings were still too short, and they couldn’t lift her round, plump body. She tumbled and rolled down the hill in a heap.

Back home, Penny was covered in dirt but refused to give up. She thought about it and decided that the reason she couldn’t fly was because she was too heavy. If she could just lose some weight, she’d be able to fly. So, she started eating only berries and bugs like Ollie, and she stopped eating her favorite fish. Every day, she practiced flapping her wings with an empty tummy, feeling lighter and lighter, thinking she’d be able to fly any day now.

After a few more months, Penny climbed up the hill again. But this time, she was so hungry and weak that she could barely flap her wings. She blacked out after just a couple of flaps and rolled down the hill once more.

Penny lay on the grass, feeling so sad. If she was really an eagle, why couldn’t she fly? Maybe she was just a strange, clumsy penguin after all. Just then, Benny the ball rolled by and saw Penny looking so down. He asked her why she was feeling sad, and Penny told him all about her troubles.Benny smiled and said, “That’s no big deal! On my home planet, everyone can fly!” Then, Benny started up his spaceship and took Penny on a journey to space.

Wearing her astronaut suit, Penny flew with Benny through the endless universe. The blue Earth lay far below her, and Penny spread her short, strong wings and glided through the stars. Suddenly, she realized that flying in space felt just like swimming in the sea!

“Maybe the sky and the sea are just the same thing, flipped upside down,” Penny thought.

Penny wasn’t sad anymore. She and Benny played in space until they were tired, then flew the spaceship back to Earth. After that, Penny didn’t worry about flapping her wings or going on a diet anymore. She had already felt what it was like to fly, and she knew she was born to be a bird—a bird that flies through the sea.

Even though Penny’s swimming still looked a little clumsy because she was bigger than the other penguins, she swam just as fast and just as gracefully. And she never felt bad about herself again.

She finally understood that the joy and happiness of flying had been with her all along, in her everyday life.