In a sunny forest, where trees whispered their ancient stories to the wind and dewdrops sparkled on the moss, lived three inseparable friends. There was Joey the hedgehog, who always kept his spines neatly arranged and had a head full of curious questions. Then there was Vicky the squirrel, quick as lightning, whose fluffy tail was always in motion. And finally little Teddy the bear, who was a bit clumsy but had a heart as big as the largest honeycomb.
One day they were playing by the stream, which wound merrily between stones and tree roots. The water was so clear they could see every little pebble on the bottom. Teddy, chasing after a colorful butterfly, accidentally knocked his paw against a large, smooth stone on the bank. The stone fell into the water with a loud "SPLASH!" and immediately disappeared beneath the surface.
"Oops," mumbled Teddy and looked at the spot where the water was still rippling.
Vicky, who was sitting on a branch of a nearby willow cracking a nut, dropped the empty shell. But unlike the stone, it didn't disappear. It swayed playfully on the waves and floated away with the current.
"Aha!" exclaimed Joey, pointing with his spines. "Look! Teddy's stone sank, but Vicky's shell is floating. Why?"
Vicky jumped down from the branch and curiously examined the surface. "That's strange. The stone was big and the shell was small. Maybe big things fall to the bottom and small things float?"
"We must find out!" decided Joey, his typical curiosity sparkling in his eyes. "We'll do an experiment!"
The word "experiment" sounded very important and all three eagerly set to work. They began collecting things they found on the bank. Teddy brought a small, tiny pebble, almost as small as a claw on his paw. Vicky brought a dry oak leaf and a feather that some bird had lost. Joey found a piece of dry bark and a plump, red berry.
They arranged their treasures on the bank. "Now, let's begin," commanded Joey. "First your little pebble, Teddy."
Teddy carefully dropped it into the water. The pebble touched the bottom with a quiet "tick." It didn't float.
"Strange," mused Vicky. "It's small, but it still sank. So it's not about size."
"Let's try the leaf," suggested Joey. Vicky placed the dry leaf on the surface. It gently swayed and was carried by the current. Clearly, it floated.
Then came the feather's turn. When they released it, it settled on the water as light as paper and didn't even sink.
"Good, and now the berry," said Joey. He dropped the sweet little ball into the stream. The berry hesitated for a moment, then slowly sank to the bottom.
"I don't understand," complained Teddy, scratching behind his ear. "The pebble is heavy, that's clear. But why did the berry sink and the light feather didn't?"
Joey sat down on the moss and thought deeply. He walked back and forth, drawing ripples in the mud with the tip of one spine. Meanwhile, Vicky hopped around and examined the last object – the piece of bark. It was light and when she tapped it with her claw, it sounded hollow.
"You know, Joey," she suddenly spoke up, "this bark is so... airy. And that dry leaf too. And the feather as well. They're light for how big they are."
Joey's eyes lit up. "You're right! And the pebble, even though it was small, was very heavy for its size. And the berry... is full of sweet juice, so it's heavy too!"
"So things that are light and have lots of air in them float?" guessed Teddy.
"Exactly! Let's test it!" exclaimed Joey, pointing to the piece of bark. "This will be our boat! It's big enough and light."
They placed the bark on the water and it swayed proudly like a real ship.
"And now let's give it cargo!" said Vicky cheerfully. She carefully placed the small pebble that had sunk before onto the bark boat. And wonder of wonders! The boat sank a little, but still floated! Even with the pebble on board.
"Hurray!" all three shouted at once.
"Our boat can carry sinking things too!" rejoiced Teddy. He tried adding another, slightly bigger pebble to it. The boat tilted dangerously, water spilled over the edge and... SPLASH! Everything went to the bottom.
There was silence for a moment. Then Vicky laughed. "So our boat has its limits. We can't overload it."
"Exactly," nodded Joey. "Everything has its rules. Even floating. We discovered that things float if they're light for their size. And even a floating boat will sink if it has too heavy a load."
Teddy pulled the bark from the water and blew the water out of it. They placed it on the surface again and this time loaded only the light feather as a flag. The little boat elegantly set off on its journey down the stream. The friends ran along the bank and watched its voyage.
It was a wonderful afternoon. Not only did they play together, but they also discovered a great secret. There was no magic behind it, just a little thinking and lots of curiosity.
When they were returning home in the evening, Joey contentedly murmured: "Tomorrow we could find out why rainbows are colorful."
Vicky and Teddy enthusiastically agreed. After all, the world was full of amazing mysteries just waiting for someone to discover them. And they were the best team of discoverers in the whole forest. And who knows, maybe you too will one day build your own bark boat by a stream and discover what adventures it can carry.