Moss-Mouse: A Natural Swimmer

In the years to come, when she was the greatest swimmer in the whole of the Rock, it was said that Red Fraggle had a natural affinity with water.

Unfortunately, no-one had bothered to tell Red that when her mother took her to her first swimming lesson.

Marley had given up dragging her after the first few meters when she dug her heels in, used her free hand to grab hold of the nearest rock and screamed at the top of her lungs. She was now sulking at the end of her mum’s arms, held out in front of her to stop her daughter from biting and kicking.

For some reason, unbeknownst to her parents or even herself, Red didn’t like water. In fact, she hated it. From the first moment Marley had even mentioned swimming lessons, Red had been adamant that she would not go. Then imagine her surprise when she realised this morning had been scheduled for a trip to the Lesson Lagoon, the small waterhole in which all Fraggles learn to swim.

Ever since then, Red had been an utter menace. She refused to have her hair brushed, she wasn’t going to put on her tutu; if she had to suffer a swimming lesson, she was making sure everyone around her suffered too.

When she saw their journey was almost at an end, Marley breathed a sigh of relief. Red began to protest once again, louder. Marley strode over to the edge of the water and unceremoniously threw her daughter in.

Now, to you or I, this looks like a very cruel thing to do to a child who had never swum before. To do so with a human child would be unthinkable but, of course, Fraggles are not humans.

Marley knew, as all Fraggles know, that her child was a natural swimmer. Fragglets were even born with a defence mechanism against drowning. The longer fur around their torsos (or ‘Tummy Fur’) was filled with pockets of air that would, upon being dropped into water, lift the Fragglet to the surface. Just like the otters in our world, this natural life jacket would disappear as the Fraggle matured and could swim without aid, but Red was neither mature nor could she swim.

Sure enough, within a few seconds Red bobbed to the surface. She spluttered and gasped for air, hands slapping the water in an attempt to stabilise herself. Her un-brushed hair fell over her eyes as she swished around in the water to try and find her mother to glare angrily at.

When her plan failed, she just kept splashing. She was enjoying the watery sensation, Marley knew. Marley also knew that when she pursed her lips, she was trying to hide her enjoyment from her obviously smug mother’s face.

***

Afterward, as Marley brushed her daughter’s dripping hair and tamed it into pigtails, she wondered whether Red would ever admit her hydrophobia in years to come.

She cast her eyes down to the bouncing little moss-mouse on her lap and tuned into the exciting tales of watery wonder. Probably not, she thought, Red inherited her stubbornness from her mother.