In a clear glass that stood on a sunny windowsill, Wally zipped about cheerfully. He was a droplet of water, clear and full of energy. He loved to do somersaults and race from one glass wall to the other.
Suddenly, there was a quiet "splash!" and a golden, shimmering droplet landed next to him. It was Olly, a droplet of oil. She shone like a little sun and looked around curiously. "Hello!" Wally greeted her cheerfully. "Are you new here? Come play tag! Catch me!" And off he darted towards the bottom of the glass. "Of course! I'm coming!" Olly laughed and tried to dive after him. She wiggled her round sides, pushed off, but something was strange. Instead of sinking, she stubbornly returned to the surface. "Wait for me!" she called out. She tried again. This time she took a running start and did a proper dive. She submerged for a moment, but was instantly carried back up, just like a bubble. Wally was waiting for her halfway down the glass, shaking his head in confusion. "What's happening? Why can't you follow me?" he asked. "I don't know," Olly admitted, feeling a bit strange. "I'm trying, really! But my feet won't obey me. Something keeps pulling me up."
Wally was resourceful. "You know what? I'll help you! I'll try to push you down!" He approached the surface and gave Olly a gentle push. Olly wobbled, but she still floated on the surface. "We have to push harder!" they decided. Wally picked up speed and bumped into Olly with all his might. There was a splash, and one tiny water droplet even flew out of the glass. Olly did sink for a moment, but she was right back up again, as if she were wearing an invisible life-ring. "It didn't work," Wally sighed. "Great!" exclaimed Olly. "Now we know that pushing doesn't help! We have to think of something else."
They sat down, each on their own floor, and thought. Olly bobbed on the surface and Wally floated beneath her. "What if I climbed up and jumped on you from above?" Wally suggested. "That's a good idea!" Olly agreed. So Wally climbed up the wall of the glass as best he could, and then rolled right onto Olly. But something unexpected happened. Wally just slid off Olly's smooth body and went back into the water beneath her. "You're all slippery!" Wally laughed. "It's like a waterslide!"
Just then, there was a slow, deep sound. "Glug!" A thick, amber droplet slowly descended into the glass. It smelled of meadow flowers and sunshine. She wasn't fast like Wally, nor shimmering like Olly. She was calm and deliberate. She sank slowly, passed by Olly, waved to Wally, and settled right at the very bottom of the glass. "Good day," came her honeyed voice. "My name is Melly. I see you're having some trouble." "Hello, Melly!" said Olly and Wally at the same time. "I'm trying to play with Wally at the bottom, but I keep floating up," Olly explained. Melly smiled. "And you, Wally, have settled in the middle. And I am all the way at the bottom. Have you noticed that?" Both droplets nodded. "But why is that?" Olly asked curiously. "Are you stronger than us?" "Or older?" Wally added. Melly laughed. "It's not about strength or age. It's about how... heavy we are for our size. Imagine you have a feather in your hand, and a stone of the same size. Which is heavier?" "The stone!" Wally blurted out. "Exactly," Melly nodded. "And it's similar with us. I, the honey, am like that stone. I am the most dense, and therefore the heaviest. That's why I sank to the bottom. You, Wally, the water, are lighter than me, but heavier than Olly. That's why you are in the middle. And you, Olly, the oil, are the lightest of us three, like that feather. That's why you will always float at the very top." Olly and Wally listened with open mouths. Suddenly, everything made sense. "So it's not my fault?" asked Olly. "Not at all," Melly reassured her. "Each of us has our own place in this glass. It's a law of nature. The scientific term for it is density. Every liquid has a different density."
Olly's and Wally's eyes lit up. They weren't sad anymore. They were thrilled! "So we live in a three-story house!" Wally exclaimed. "You, Melly, live on the ground floor. I'm on the first floor. And you, Olly, have the attic with the best view!" "Exactly!" Olly laughed. "And we can play this way, too! I'll run across the surface from one side to the other, and you can chase me from below! And Melly can be our referee!" "An excellent idea!" Melly agreed from her cozy little spot at the bottom.
And so a new, even more fun game began. Olly whizzed across the surface, Wally darted about beneath her, and they both waved to Melly, who watched them contentedly. They understood that even though they were different and couldn't be in the same place, they could still be the best of friends and have lots of fun together. Each on their own, unique floor.
What do you think, children? Will you try to build a cheerful, layered house in a glass like this one with the help of your parents? All you need is water, oil, and a little bit of honey. You will see how each liquid finds its very own place.