This is another tale during the High and Far-Off Times. In those times lived Guin the bird and her friend Sparkle the rainbow trout. These great friends resided on the vast ice of Antarctica, living in danger of being eaten by the deadly Sea Lion King.

But also during those times lived Big-Bully-Buffalo, a friend of Sea Lion King who helped him catch food. Big-Bully-Buffalo was a very wise creature, and he always had a plan when it came to catching food for Sea Lion King.

One night, Sea Lion King ate a small dinner, so he was grumpy and hungry. He spotted Guin sitting on the ground, and decided that he would eat her as a midnight snack. He slowly crept toward her, not making a sound. But apparently silence was not enough for Guin. She managed to hear Sea Lion King’s light steps and she flew off, leaving Sea Lion King angrier than ever.

Sea Lion King informed Big-Bully-Buffalo of this escape, but surprisingly Big-Bully-Buffalo smiled. “I have a plan. You will dive to the bottom of the ocean and find the longest, strongest plant. Once that is done, I will attend to Guin.”

“What will you do?” asked Sea Lion King.

“You will see,” replied Big-Bully-Buffalo. “Trust me with this.”



So, two hours later, Sea Lion King returned to land with the strongest, longest plant. With great difficulty, Big-Bully-Buffalo snapped the plant in half.

“What was that for?!” exclaimed Sea Lion King. “After all I went through to find a strong plant!”

“It is all part of the plan, my good friend,” said Big-Bully-Buffalo. “I will use one half of the plant to tie down Guin’s wings so that she can’t fly away, but first you will help me use the other half to trip her and make it easier to tie her down.”

So, the two friends walked along the vast ice of Antarctica (Sea Lion King slid) toward Guin. As planned, they hid behind two different trees. When Guin walked between the trees, they held up the vine and she tripped. Big-Bully-Buffalo scrambled to tie Guin’s wings to her body. “Yes!” He called triumphantly. “We have succeeded!”

“True, but I am not hungry anymore,” said Sea Lion King. “I shall consume Guin another time.”




So they departed, leaving Guin miserable. “I can’t break out; this vine is too strong,” she muttered to herself. She stood up with difficulty and went to consult her friend Sparkle.

“Hello, Guin. Why are you wearing a vine?” asked Sparkle.

“Big-Bully-Buffalo tied down my wings so I can’t escape the clutches of Sea Lion King,” replied Guin.

“Then I must teach you how to swim away,” said Sparkle.

So Sparkle taught Guin how to swim. Guin became so good that she could soon out swim Sea Lion King. “Great job, Guin. Now you just need to live near the water,” said Sparkle. So Guin set her nest near the water and fell asleep.

The next day, an hour after Guin woke up, Sea Lion King saw her.

“Aha! The perfect breakfast on a perfect morning!” taunted Sea Lion King. He lunged toward Guin, but Guin dived into the water just in time and out swam Sea Lion King.
“I will leave here and go to an island where birds are easier to catch!” said Sea Lion King, and he swam away. A few days after this encounter, Guin managed to break free from the vine. Unfortunately, her wings were too weak for her to fly. This made her very sad. She dived into the water to swim with Sparkle.

“Sparkle, I can’t fly anymore,” said Guin.

“Don’t feel bad,” said Sparkle. “You are the best bird at swimming. Now practice your dives.”

So Guin dived and dived and eventually became perfect.

“You look just like a pen when you dive!” exclaimed Guin. “You shall be called Penguin.”

And to this day, people still call that type of bird a penguin. And penguins still don’t fly and they still swim. So that is how the penguin was created.