Prince Bertie the Frog’s friend, Tim the Tadpole, is extremely upset because a certain person on the pond has called him “stupid” for not doing well at school. No prizes for guessing that the name of that person is Colin the Carp.
Read by Natasha. Story by Bertie. Duration 15.02
… And this picture of Bertie and this Pondlife friends is by Phoebe Katsaiti, aged 6.
It was end of term at the Tadpole School, and all the tadpoles had to do exams. When Tim came home for the holidays, he was terribly excited about his results. He was turning in cartwheels and calling out
“Mummy Mummy, Can you guess where I came in class?”
Tim’s mum – who is of course a frog – saw that her youngest tadpole seemed ecstatically pleased and proud with himself, and she thought he must have done very well indeed.
“Er, did you come first?” she ventured.
“No -oh ! – you’ll never guess” said Tim as he stopped to catch his breath.
“Er did you come first equal”
“No-ooooo”
“Well then did you come second?”
And Tim gave his mother a little tadpole kiss. “Oh Mummy. You’re taking simply ages to guess the right answer, and I can’t wait to tell you. I won a really really big number. The teacher told me that I cam 2974th in my class. Isn’t that fantastic?”
But Tim’s mother found it hard to smile sweetly, and her expression looked just a bit, well, weak. She didn’t want her little Tadpole to feel bad about himself, but at the same time she really would have preferred him to come first or first equal, or even second – or even third come to that. She tried to think of something nice to say – which normally she was very good at – but this time it was quite hard. Eventually she said softly to Tim.
“Oh well darling. I suppose somebody’s got to come 2974th.”
Tim was very pleased, and he swam off to tell Colin the Carp – which wasn’t a good idea, because Colin isn’t quite as nice as Tim’s mummy. Colin would say that he’s a harbinger of the truth. But most people would say he’s just plain old rude, which only goes to show that everything depends on your point of view. Tim found him lurking around the east end of the pond looking sinister, which is what carps are good at. When Tim told him about his exam result, Colin replied.
“I suppose you could say that’s a unique achievement.”
“Oh thank you Colin, you always say the nicest things,” said Tim with a happy smile on his face.
And then Colin couldn’t quite help himself. He just had add what is called the “sting in the tale” because that’s what Colin does. And so me muttered: “Uniquely stupid”.
And although Colin said this quietly, Tim heard it. And when he thought about what Colin had said, all his excitement suddenly turned to sadness. He was so sad that he swam away crying.
“Oh No. Am I really really truly stupid? Oh it’s not good to be stupid, is it? Oh dear. Colin thinks I’m stupid… I feel really bad about myself now now.”
And to tell you the truth, Colin felt rather guilty. It was an unusual feeling for Colin, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do about it. Eventually, he decided to go and tell Bertie the frog that Tim was a bit upset. When Bertie what had happened, he searched and searched the pond for his little friend. Finally he found him in the water under the overhang of the weeping willow tree. He seemed to be concentrating very hard on something.
“What are you doing here, all on your own little Tim?” asked Bertie.
“Counting green Algae”
Green Algae are tiny little plants – so tiny that they are even smaller than tadpoles – and very hard to see. But lots of water creatures eat them because they are extremely nutritious.
“And how many algae have you counted?” asked Bertie.
“Well I started at a million and I’m counting backwards. But now I’ve forgotten where I got to. Oh dear. Am I really really stupid Bertie?”
But Bertie assured him that he wasn’t at all stupid. He was just original.
“Is that just a big word for stupid?” asked Tim. And he started to cry. Nothing Bertie could say would cheer him up. All Bertie could do was to lead him home, and when they got there Tim had cried so much that he was really quite exhausted. His mother tucked him up under a leaf, kissed him, and soon he was asleep. She whispered to Bertie.
“Oh dear. I know he’s never going to be the brightest tadpole in the pond, but I just want him to be happy.”
“Well I don’t accept that Tim’s stupid,” said Bertie. “He’s just silly, which is another way of saying he gets over excited sometimes. Don’t worry. We’ll teach him to pass his exams. There’s just a knack to them, that’s all. If you have the knack, and you work hard, you can’t fail. But if you start to think that you can’t do them, then you’ll get into a state and do worse and worse. We’ll work up a plan for him. A plan for success !”
And Tim’s mother thought that Bertie was being really nice – but she wasn’t quite sure that he or anybody else could help Tim do better at school.
The next day Bertie took Tim for a swim around the pond, and while they swam he asked him all about his exams. First, he asked him how the geography exam was. And Tim said he didn’t know, because he got the time wrong, and he turned up just as it was finishing.
“I see,” said Bertie. “Rule number one. Ninety percent of success is just turning up. Always arrive at an exam half an hour early – and check and double check the time table beforehand.”
And Tim thought that Bertie’s advice was jolly interesting, because he hadn’t thought of that before.
And then Bertie asked him how the story-composition went.
“Oh I did really well in Storytelling. ” Bertie was pleased, because he kind of hoped that a little of his own story-telling skill would have rubbed off on Tim. But then Tim went on:
“I finished first by a mile. I just wrote, ‘Once upon a time. The end.’ Everyone else took ages to catch up. ”
“Right,” said Bertie. “Rule number two. Slow and steady wins the race. Use all the time available.”.
And then he asked him how he did in mathematics.
“On not not too bad,” said Tim. “The questions were really hard but guessed all the answers.”
“Ah-ha. Rule number three,” said Bertie. “No guessing. And never panic, no matter how hard the questions seem at first. Keep a cool head head and work your way steadily through them.”
And they swim on, while thought about that one.
“Now finally, how was history?” asked Bertie.
“Well I thought I did really well,” said Tim. “Because I wrote done some really funny answers.”
“Okay,” said Bertie. “Rule number four. Exams are no joking matter”.
And then Bertie gave Tim some more rules for exams.
Before you do anything else, read through all the questions.
Make a plan for how much time you need on each answer.
Leave some time at the end to read through for mistakes.
And they swam round the pond three more times and made sure that Tim knew and understood all Bertie’s tips.
“So you see,” said Bertie. “Exams aren’t really about being clever. They are about having the right knack. Oh, and there’s hard work too. That’s the downside. But we can make learning fun. ”
And Bertie and the pondlife helped Tim with his lessons. Bertie taught Tim story composition – because making up stories is what Bertie does best – Harry the centipede helped Tim with mathematics, because he can count to a hundred on his feet, Colin helped Tim with History, because Colin is old and remembers a lot of it himself, and the the swallows helped Tim with Geography because they fly long distance every year and the see how all the land lies, as well as the seas. By the end of the holidays, Tim had learned more things than you would have ever thought possible for one Tadpole to hold in his tiny pin head at one time. And then Tim went back to school and learned even more interesting things. When the exams came, he followed Bertie’s rules – and do you know what ? He scored better marks than anyone else in his whole class. And it was a very big class indeed, because there are thousands of tadpoles in the pond.
But even though he scored top marks, he only came 2869th in class.
When Bertie understood that Tim had scored top marks, but was still 2869th in his class, he went to see the teacher to ask how this could be. The teacher told him that the school had a rule that you could only improve by five places in each exam, because to improve by more than that was impossible. Bertie said that was jolly unfair and the school should do more to encourage improvement. Tim swam around hanging his head low and saying that there was no point in working hard and doing well, because your efforts weren’t recognised.
But the next week Tim started at the Big School. And everything was new. There was no unfair rule about how much anyone could improve and Tim already knew lots of interesting things, and he also had the knack of doing exams. From then on, Tim did rather well at school. And although some people still call him silly every now and then, because he gets really excited and asks lots and lots of questions – nobody calls him stupid any more. Well Colin does sometimes. But that’s just Colin – and you shouldn’t take too much notice of what he says because he’s a grumpy old carp.
70 Comments
Oh yeah! Im first again
Oh yeah1 Im second
Oh boy oh boy oh boy
what thing is making the question mark?
It’s a good story!
When do we get a chiX story?!
how can i do this ? hello bye
that was very inspireing.
hi Ashley, We are sorry about the wait for the chiX. We are recording a song to go with the next episode, and it’s taking a little time. But we hope you are going to like it when it’s ready.
Thanks Lindsey…. We want to encourage everyone to do their best !
I,liked that bertie storie it was so much fun
thank you natasha!.
i lOOOooOoooooooooooVVVVVVVeeeeee it.
I like the story!!! Bertie stories are gr + 8! Natasha, your voice is so exiting! Bertie, pls reply!
Dear Ashley, I’m really glad you like the Bertie stories. We’re fans of them too !
Why is Colin so grumpy? I hope someday he will not be. But most of all I want that Bertie would be a prince. I read another story called Tim’s swimming lessons. You said there that the more the readers would read Bertie stories, he will become a prince faster. So I’m reading Bertie stories!
love,
Red aju
Many thanks Red Aju, We have an answer to your question about Why Colin is So Grumpy
http://storynory.com/2006/10/08/how-colin-the-carp-became-grumpy/
i like it. .
You said we’ll find out what happened to the cat in Astro Pup.
It was MONTHS ago!!!!!!!!!
Bertie,
When do we get another Gladdy story?
Please reply,
Michelle^^
Hi Michelle, We are planning to record a special song for the next Gladys story. If all goes well we will publish it on on October 11 or 12.
My kids really enjoyed the story. I plan on letting them listen to allot more of them.
Bertie,
You mean NEXT, NEXT SUNDAY?? Ya kiddin’????
And what do you mean, we are planning to record a special song for the next Gladys story? does that mean we’re not havin’ a story?? We’re just gonna listen to music??????
REPLY OR YOU’LL BE SORRY!!!!
Michelle>0<
Bertie, sorry about Phoebe^^. She’s in a ‘jokin’ mood’ these days. Don’t Worry about her.
Michelle, there will be music and a song
you people! stop acting crazy! this place is 4 comments! In my comment, bertie gave pretty neat advice to Tim. I will remember them. And all of you people out there! STOP ACTING CRAZY!!!!!!!!
Yes, I did like it,advices&funs. However, I did not get the point ‘ why the writer did not give a fair to Tim to get the first of his whole class’. I think Tim had work hard,but he did not get what he deserved. Please don’t mind my writing because my English is poor. Sorry if I made any mistakes.
that was a relly short story you
Bertie,
YOu mean NO STORY?????
REPLY!
Michelle, there will be a story, AND a song
when is bertie going to turn back into a prince. i will never listen to another story on storynory
Phoebe Katsaiti is a very good artist for a six year old. By the way It was an Interesting story. You helped me with my exams. I was the fth best in clas now I got 2nd place.
:):)
why can u talk to natasha and not beatrice
we really like this story.
it was realllllllllllly cooooooooooool
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
you did not tell me when Astro Pup cat version is COMING!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
nice story
I thought that was absolutely charming
absolutely charming
i always get A+. Pretty cool story.
Dear Cattien, I haven’t thought about Astro Pup for a very long time.
I loved the part when Bertie told the rules to Tim.
Love guess who?
P.S.: I liked Tim’s story too.
what???
I Love The Way you read the story. I think it has some great values.
i like the story its very good to the children
its very good nice………………..
I really liked that story.
ok
Thanks for the story I liked the story, it realy help me work out my english except the fact that there are some mistakes in the text.
I rather liked the story because it was funny and interesting.
I rather liked the story because it was funny and interesting.
i liked it because i was like tim in kindergarten plus i studied amphibians from 1st grade to 3rd grade.
You are very nice!!
BRTI!! I just got 2nod!!
Natasha, I am first time visitor at Storynory and your stories are excellent.
This story reminds me of my exam, New York State Regents Competency Test.
It was very hard with Science, Global History, Math, English, but I passed it.
i want eeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiddddddddddd blyton stoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
i want mooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeee bertie stories !!!!!! give me latest bertie stoooooooooooooooooorieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello
lovely story .
ccccccccoooooollllllllllllll
it’s funny.
how bout a bertie new years story
Rosa, We are working on some more Bertie stories.
I thought it was really cool and I also loved the characters that were in it
give me money, like $999,999,999,999,999 bertie
i like the part the tadpole’s mum tried to be happy that tim got a high score.
I like it.
When will a new Bertie story come up?
Hi JJ, I wrote a new Bertie story just before Natasha went away. Will have to decide whether to wait for her return to do all the fabulous voices or to do it sooner.
i found this story funny because he came 2974th lol i thought it was a great story
I am glad that tim pased his exam!
What do tadpols acshaly learn at school eny way? ( :
Dear Rosie, tadpoles have loads to learn, but unfortunately they have trouble remembering it all.
I DONT GET WHY HE THINKS HE IS STUPIED JUST BECUASE A FREIND CAME HIS FREIND SAID WHAT ARE YOU DOING HE SAID I AM COUTING THE ALLGEI HE SAID IM COUNTING BACKWORDS HE SAID KNOW HE FORGOT WHAT NUMBER HE WAS ON SO KNOW HE HAD TO START AGIN IS WHAT I THINK♥♥♥♥♥♥♥☻☻☺♠♦○◘•……..