nature animals · Ages 6-8

The River Bend That Moved While Everyone Slept

A river slowly wears away one bank and drops sand on the other, making its curves shift over time.

The whole story

1. At sunrise, Mina crouched beside the river and drew its great looping bend. She wanted to know every twist and turn.

2. At the outside of the bend, the bank was muddy and steep. Across the water, a bright shelf of sand rested in the shallows.

3. “Can a river change its mind?” Mina wondered. She placed three smooth stones beside the bank, then drew one careful line on her map.

4. That night, Mina slept, and the village slept too. The river whispered around its bend.

5. In the morning, one stone sat farther away. A tiny piece of muddy bank was gone, and a little more sand had gathered across the water.

6. Mina checked again each morning. The changes were too small to see while they happened, but her maps began to tell the story.

7. After many mornings, Mina saw it clearly. The outside bank had moved back, while the inside bank had reached farther into the water.

8. While everyone slept, the river had kept its patient work: wearing away one bank and dropping sand on the other, so its curves shifted over time.

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