JIMMY'S MELTING IGLOO

Jeevan Singh Sheri, 8

Preston

Jimmy, an 80-year-old penguin, lived in a tidy little igloo he built all by himself using snow from the mountains of Antarctica. Inside his igloo, Jimmy had a cosy kitchen where he cooked his favourite fish and chips, a bathroom where he showered with his rubber dinosaur, and a living room where he read books. Every day, Jimmy would sit outside his igloo with a book, sipping on a cold glass of apple juice, enjoying the peaceful beauty of his frozen home.

One Monday morning, while reading his favourite book, Jimmy noticed something strange, a cold drip landed on his furry forehead. Plop! A drop of ice landed on his glasses. Plop! Another drop fell on his flippers. Plop! A third drop fell right on his nose. Jimmy looked up and saw that his ceiling was dripping. Buckets filled up with water, and gradually, a hole started to form in the centre of the ceiling.

One day, as he cried over his melting home, Jimmy heard a sizzle coming from next door. It was his neighbour, Raj the tiger, heating his home with a coal-powered fireplace and cooking sausages over the open fire. The chimney began to cough out thick, black smoke. Jimmy wiped his eyes and continued crying, but Raj just laughed at him.

The next day, Jimmy tried to rebuild his home by gathering more snow and ice, but when he was finished, the ice melted again. This time, he saw Raj throwing plastic shopping bags into the ocean nearby.

The following day, Jimmy tried to rebuild his igloo once more, only for the ceiling to melt again. This time, Raj was blasting music from his electric-powered speakers, making it even harder for Jimmy to concentrate.

Jimmy and Raj never got along. Every day was filled with fights, sneaky looks, and sniggering laughs. And every day, puddles filled up his delicate home sometimes in the kitchen, while other times in the bathroom.

One day, while on his way to find more ice, Jimmy noticed there was no longer any ice left, instead just a pool of water. Jimmy decided he had enough. He packed his bags and decided to move away. Raj noticed and ran after him.

“Wait, wait!” Raj called. “I’m sorry, Jimmy. You can stay with me in my house!”

But Jimmy missed his igloo. He didn’t want to move into Raj’s house, he wanted his own home back. Raj could see how sad Jimmy was, and for the first time, he didn’t want to see his neighbour leave. “Okay, okay,” Raj said. “I’ll change my ways. I’ll build solar panels for my house. I’ll stop using coal and switch to eco-friendly logs for my fireplace. I’ll also start using reusable shopping bags instead of plastic ones. How about that?”

Jimmy’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Raj nodded. “Really! I don’t want to lose you as a neighbour. I’ll do better.”

From that day on, Jimmy’s igloo stayed safe, and Raj kept his promises.