Hello, Sparkle Friends. It's Elizabeth of Sparkle Stories. Welcome to the Sparkle Stories podcast. It's May, and in May we like to talk about growing things. We like to talk about growing gardens, and we like to talk about growing ourselves,

whether we're growing skills, or we're growing new capacities, new ways of being in the world.

We're going to talk about growth. So today's story is called Fleming the Otter from the Sparkle Sleepy Time Collection.

It is about growing into a new way of being. So Fleming is a little sea otter and he wants to be

in charge and he thinks that being in charge means being strong and bossy. But what he's coming to

realize with the help of his little otter uncle, that leadership isn't always about being bossy.

There are other beautiful things you can bring to make yourself a wonderful leader. so you can listen in to Little Sweet Fleming

the Otter as he figures out how to grow into the leader that he wants to be.

Before I share the story, I want to encourage you to consider subscribing.

It's really easy to join the Sparkle Stories community and enjoy our entire library

of 1500 original stories. You just go to Sparklestories.com and click the button at the top that says

start free trial. Everyone starts for free. And you get immediate access to our entire library, just

popping with adorable stories, charming stories, just like the one you're about to hear.

Okay, now, onto the story, Fleming the Otter, which is from the Sparkle, Sleepy Time Collection,

which means it's going to be a relaxing, soothing story.

So perhaps best for rest time or bedtime.

Okay, enjoy.

Enjoy. Fleming the Sea Otter

Once upon a time there was a sea otter pup named Fleming that lived with his father and uncles and cousins and the waters off the coast.

Fleming, like all sea otter pups, learned how to swim and how to find food from all the older otters.

Every day he watched and learned something new,

and every night he gathered with the other otters to make a special otter raft,

...