Clyde the crocodile wasn't like the other crocodiles. While they practiced snapping their jaws and looking fierce, Clyde… giggled. He giggled when he tried to roar, he giggled when he tried to swim seriously, and he *especially* giggled when he tripped over his own feet. The other young crocodiles often left him out of their games.
Tonight was the annual Crocodile Sleepover in Old Man Tiber’s cozy mud hut. Clyde was invited, but he worried. What if his giggling annoyed everyone? What if they didn’t want a silly crocodile at their sleepover?
He packed his favorite blanket (covered in sparkly pebbles) and a tiny rubber ducky named Penelope. When he arrived, the other crocodiles were already trying to tell scary stories. Barnaby was attempting a fearsome tale about a grumpy heron, but kept forgetting the details and bursting into laughter himself.
“And then… and then… the heron… uh… sneezed!” Barnaby sputtered, and everyone chuckled. Clyde couldn’t help but giggle, a bright, bubbly sound.
“Oh, Clyde,” grumbled Reginald, the most serious crocodile of the bunch. “Must you giggle at *everything*?”
Clyde’s heart sank. He mumbled, “Sorry,” and tried to be quiet. But then, Barnaby tried to demonstrate a scary crocodile walk and wobbled, nearly falling into a pile of reeds. Clyde burst out laughing again, and this time, something amazing happened.
The other crocodiles started laughing too! Barnaby’s wobbly walk was truly funny, and Clyde’s joyful giggle was contagious. Soon, the mud hut was filled with crocodile laughter.
“You know,” said Penelope, the rubber ducky (Clyde sometimes pretended she could talk), “being silly is fun!”
Reginald, even Reginald, cracked a smile. “It is rather… amusing,” he admitted. He then tried to do a silly dance, which involved flapping his tail and wiggling his nose. It was wonderfully clumsy.
They spent the rest of the night telling silly stories, making funny faces, and having a giggle-filled competition to see who could make the silliest bubble in the mud. Clyde realized that his giggling wasn’t something to be ashamed of; it was what made him, *him*.
Old Man Tiber peeked his head in. “Sounds like you’re all having a grand time!” he chuckled. “Remember, little ones, it’s good to be yourself, even if ‘yourself’ is a bit silly.”
As the crocodiles drifted off to sleep, Clyde snuggled with Penelope and his sparkly blanket. He was happy to be a silly crocodile, and even happier to have friends who loved him just the way he was. And as he closed his eyes, he let out one last, quiet giggle.