The Blue Fish

Marcus worked at the community centre, and every first Saturday of the month he ran a craft workshop for children. This time six of them sat around a long table covered with paper, glue and paint, waiting impatiently for him to begin. They had been looking forward to it all week.

“What can you do?” Marcus asked, to get them started. “I can paint,” Lila said proudly. “I can cut paper,” said Tom. “I can draw cats,” Mia added. Marcus wrote their names and talents on a board so that everyone could see them.

“Can you sing?” Marcus asked next. All the children burst out laughing. “Yes, we can!” they shouted, and they sang a short song while they worked with their hands, getting paint on their sleeves.

One small boy, Sam, had been quiet all morning. Marcus knelt beside him. “Can you help me?” he asked. “Can you hold the glue?” “Yes, I can!” said Sam, and his face lit up. He held the glue for everybody, and nobody had to ask twice.

By the end of the morning, the table was full of cats, birds and houses. Marcus took a brush and painted a big blue fish in the middle. “Marcus can paint too!” Lila said, and everybody laughed. Everyone agreed that it was the best workshop so far.