"Whee!" Scarlett giggled, her tiny toes digging into the warm sand. Grandpa, with his silly pirate hat perched on his head, chased after her. "You can't catch me, Grandpa! I'm a speedy crab!"
Scarlett had never been to the beach before. Grandpa said it was time she saw the ocean, a giant bathtub for mermaids, he'd joked. She wasn't so sure about mermaids, but the beach was amazing!
Grandpa pointed. "Look, Scarlett! A little bird!"
Perched on a bright blue beach umbrella, a tiny bird chirped. It puffed up its chest and sang the prettiest song Scarlett had ever heard. Grandpa whispered, "That little bird sounds full of courage, doesn't it?"
Scarlett tilted her head. "What's courage, Grandpa?"
"Courage is like a warm hug in your heart," he explained, kneeling beside her. "It helps us do things even when we're a little scared."
The little bird suddenly flew down and landed right on Scarlett's head! She froze, giggling. "It tickles!"
"See, you're being brave! You're not scared at all," Grandpa said with a wink.
The little bird hopped off Scarlett's head and pecked at the sand. It seemed to be pointing its beak at something. "What is it, little bird?" Scarlett asked, crawling closer.
The bird chirped and hopped, chirped and hopped. It wanted them to follow! Scarlett, with her heart full of warm courage, crawled after the bird. Grandpa chuckled, trailing behind her.
The little bird led them to a giant sandcastle, the biggest Scarlett had ever seen! It had tall towers, a moat filled with shimmering seawater, and seashells decorating the walls.
But in front of the castle, a little boy sat, wiping his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Scarlett asked, her voice a tiny whisper.
The boy sniffed. "The tide is coming in. My sandcastle will be washed away!"
Scarlett remembered what Grandpa said about courage. She took a deep breath and said, "We can fix it! We can build a wall to keep the water out!"
The boy stopped crying. "Really?"
"Of course!" Scarlett said. She felt as sure as she did when she was dancing like a graceful ballerina in her living room.
And so they got to work. Scarlett and the little boy, with Grandpa's help, built a wall of sandbags around the sandcastle. The little bird chirped encouragement, flying back and forth, dropping seashells onto the sandbags.
When they were done, Scarlett, the little boy, and Grandpa stood back to admire their work. The tide was getting closer, but the wall held strong. The sandcastle was safe!
The little boy threw his arms around Scarlett. "Thank you! You were so brave!"
Scarlett felt a warm glow in her chest. It was the best feeling in the world. She looked up, but the little bird had flown away.
"Grandpa, was that little bird... courage?" she asked.
Grandpa smiled. "Maybe it was showing us how to be courageous," he said. "Just like you did today."
Scarlett, her heart brimming with happiness and the warmth of courage, skipped alongside Grandpa back to their beach blanket. She learned that day that courage wasn't about being big and strong, but about listening to the quiet chirps in your heart and doing the right thing, even when it seemed scary. And sometimes, the bravest thing you could do was help someone else build a sandcastle.
