The Wishing Well

There was once a kitten who was always envious of other animals. Whenever she saw the skills of other animals, she would admire their abilities. Soon, she started to doubt her capabilities. “I don’t seem to be good at anything. Others are always better than me in everything! I don’t want to be a cat anymore!” She thought to herself dejectedly.

One day, the kitten came across an ancient well. She suddenly remembered someone once told her that if she throws a coin into a well and makes a wish, her wishes will come true.  Intrigued by the possibility of something magical, she took out a coin.

Without hesitation, she mumbled her wish and threw the coin into the well. As the coin landed into the water, she looked down into the well to see the coin sink deeper and disappeared.

Kitten waited. There was no sign of anything happening. There was neither a sound nor any ripples in the well. Feeling disappointed, she sighed and thought, “This was a myth after all.”

When she turned her back to leave, a voice came from behind her,

“You threw your coin into my well. Now tell me, what is your wish? I shall grant your wish.” Kitten turned back and was shocked. The voice came from a tiny and beautiful fairy. Kitten rubbed her eyes and pinched herself in disbelief.

Finally, she said, “You will grant me any wish that I want?”

“Yes, indeed.” the fairy replied.

After thinking, the kitten responded. “I want to be able to change my skin colour however I like based on my mood. Just like a Chameleon.”

“As you wish.” The fairy took out her tiny wand, waved at the kitten and disappeared. Kitten felt a slight twitch to her body, and immediately, she transformed into a chameleon. The kitten stared at her hands, as it was no longer a furry pair of paws but sharp scaly claws. She then started feeling her face and realised that her whiskers were gone.

Excited, she ran to the well to look at her own reflection. No kitten was looking at her but a chameleon! She felt ecstatic about how lovely she looked.

Straightaway, she began testing out her new ability. She tried to change from red to yellow and all the rainbow colours. Once she was satisfied with displaying all the variety of colours, she decided to laze on the forest floor to rest.

However, the kitten did not realise that she had chosen a bright colour to display on her skin. The brilliant colours caught the attention of a snake loitering nearby and began chasing after the brightly coloured chameleon.

Luckily, the kitten was nimble. She jumped and crawled away at lightning speed while changing her skin colour to blend with the tree branches. The snake lost sight of her, and the kitten managed to escape.

“That was close!” Kitten uttered while trying to calm herself down. After this incident, she was terrified. It dawned onto her that being small, she would have to constantly hide as many creatures would come after her. She would have to be extra vigilant of the surroundings. If not, she would be a meal to a predator. Soon, she began to lose interest in being a chameleon.

She thought to herself. “What animal would give me strong defence, so I do not need to worry about being hunted?” Kitten thought long and hard. While thinking, she felt thirsty and went to a river to quench her thirst.

However, as she came near to the banks of the river, she accidentally slipped and tripped. Luckily, she held on to the nearby rock for support. “Phew, I cannot swim. Thank goodness I held on for support.”

Her eyes beamed as this gave her an idea. “Wouldn’t it be great if I can be a tortoise? Tortoise can swim and still walk on the ground. Plus, it has a strong defence with its shell.”

The kitten rushed to the ancient well and threw in a coin again. The fairy appeared. “You threw your coin into my well. Now tell me, what is your wish? I shall grant your wish.”

Kitten told the fairy eagerly, ” I want to be a tortoise.”

“As you wish.” The fairy took out her tiny wand, waved at the kitten and disappeared. This time the kitten felt her body stiffen. She felt a heavy instantly, and she knew she had already transformed. However, her movement was too slow.  She had to take a long time to reach the river no matter how fast she tried to push herself. “Oh no, this is not what I want.” She cried.

Instead of going to the river, she decided to return to the well. Finally, after taking a long time, she reached the well and threw a coin as soon as possible. The fairy appeared and said, “It’s you again. Why did you keep changing your wishes?”

The kitten was lost for words. The fairy was getting upset. She said to the kitten, “I will grant you one last wish. Consider carefully, as once the wish is made, there will be no turning back. Find me again once you are sure.”

With that, the little fairy disappeared into the ancient well. Kitten took the opportunity to think. She decided to go back to her family and seek some opinion. However, no one could recognise her anymore.

She is now a tortoise who is slow and clumsy. She missed the days when she was agile and fast and could be around her family. Now she could not do the things she used to do. Not only that, she was alone.

Slowly, the kitten went back to the ancient well. She threw a coin, and the fairy appeared.

“I have been waiting for you. So tell me, what is your final wish?” the fairy asked.

“I would like to be me again.” The kitten replied.

“Please change me back to a cat.” She continued.

The fairy grinned and waved her wand at the kitten.  The kitten felt her body began pulsating. Fur started breaking out from her stiff tortoise hands, and before she knew it, she had turned back into a cat again.

Kitten touched her face with her furry paws and felt the whiskers back onto her face. She advanced towards the well and could feel the lightness in every step. When she saw the reflections in the well, she was overjoyed for the first time.

Kitten finally understood. The grass is always greener on the other side.  Being herself is not bad after all.