The Little Sea Turtle's Journey to the Sea

On a moonlit night by the shore, a cluster of tiny sea turtle eggs buried beneath the sand began to crack open one by one. A little hatchling wriggled free from its shell alongside dozens of siblings. Together they saw pale moonlight shimmering far away at the edge of the beach.

"Crawl toward the moonlight — that is the sea," the mother turtle had whispered before she left. The little hatchling looked out at the vast stretch of sand ahead and felt impossibly small and afraid.

The hatchling began crawling across the sand. Partway along, a fiddler crab raised its claw, blocking the path. The little turtle froze and trembled — then took a deep breath and crawled carefully around it, refusing to give up.

The first wave crashed over the hatchling and tumbled it upside down, salty spray stinging its eyes. Frightened, it almost gave up — but remembering its mother's words, it pushed itself upright and crawled on toward the moonlight once more.

At last the little turtle reached the water's edge. A wave lifted it gently and carried it out into the wide sea for the very first time. It felt free and proud, having found the courage to crawl all the way to the ocean beneath the shimmering moonlit sky.

Courage means taking the next step forward, even when you don't know what lies ahead.