Are Clouds Made of Candyfloss?

The sun was only now beginning to rise above the horizon, but at forest school, things were already busy. Mr Badger was sitting comfortably behind his desk. He had appointed himself as the teacher and no one had protested. After all, Mr Badger had invented everything and knew everything, or at least that’s what he claimed. He liked teaching, but today he was frowning a little at the smallest student in the class – the restless jay.

“Bluefeather, are you telling me that clouds are made of air and water? Why, just look at them! They’re fluffy! It can’t be true. They must be made of candyfloss. Now let’s go over it all again, just to be sure,” said Mr Badger, turning to address the rest of the class. “What else do we know about the sky? Why is it blue, Hoppy?”

A fluffy bunny jumped up and squealed, “Because it’s really a huge patch of blueberries, it’s just far, far away!”

“Excellent!” Mr Badger praised him. “Now, tell me, Hoofer,” he said to a long-legged fawn, “what do we know about the moon?”

The little fawn remembered everything the teacher had told them about it perfectly: “It's made of cheese. Gouda! But it’s a little bit holey because mice live on it…”

Together, the children repeated several other things that Mr Badger had taught them: that frogs spread the morning dew through the forest, that the grass is woven by forest fairies, that the water in the sea is salty because it is a huge pool of tears shed by a sea giant who had toothache, and that birds can fly because they’re carried by invisible bubbles.

The little jay tilted her head to the side and whispered: “Mr Teacher, I don’t think I’m ever…