It was a beautiful spring day and a little yellow chick named Featherkin set out to wander around the yard. The sun was pleasantly warm, birds were chirping merrily, and the first spring flowers were blooming all around. Featherkin was a very curious chick who wanted to understand everything that was happening around him.
During his walk, Featherkin noticed a puddle of water that remained after the morning rain. He stopped beside it and looked into it carefully. The water in the puddle was completely clear and transparent. Featherkin could see his own reflection in it.
"But that's me!" he exclaimed excitedly.
A moment later, his friend, a little pig named Squeaky, came running up. He cheerfully ran straight into the puddle and began happily splashing with his little feet. Featherkin then noticed that something had happened to the puddle. The water, which had been beautifully clear just a moment ago, suddenly became murky.
"Why can't I see my reflection anymore?" asked the chick in surprise.
"Hmm, I don't know," Squeaky shrugged. "Maybe it hid."
But Featherkin knew that a reflection couldn't just hide like that. He decided to ask the wise hen Clucksworth.
"Good day, Aunt Clucksworth," he greeted politely. "I have an important question. Why is water sometimes clear and sometimes murky?"
Clucksworth smiled. "That's an excellent question, Featherkin! Come with me, we'll do a little experiment."
She took Featherkin to two glasses of water. Into one of them she poured some sand.
"Now look at both glasses," she said.
Featherkin could see that one glass was clear and the other was cloudy.
"Clean water is transparent because there are no tiny particles in it," Clucksworth explained. "In the second glass, the water is cloudy because the sand particles prevent light from passing through freely."
"Aha!" exclaimed Featherkin. "So that's why the water in the puddle became murky when Squeaky splashed in it! He stirred up particles of mud and sand from the bottom."
"Exactly," Clucksworth nodded. "But let's see what happens when we let the glass sit for a while."
Featherkin watched the glass carefully and after a moment noticed that the sand began to slowly sink to the bottom.
"Look! The sand is falling down!" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes. When we leave the water alone, the heavier particles slowly settle at the bottom and the water clears up again," Clucksworth explained.
Featherkin nodded enthusiastically. "So our puddle in the yard will be clear again too!"
And indeed, when they returned to the puddle, the water in it was already much clearer.
"And is there a way to clean water faster?" asked Featherkin.
"Of course," Clucksworth smiled. "We can make our own filter."
In the coop, Clucksworth took an empty bottle, cut off its bottom, and turned it upside down. She placed a piece of cotton in the neck, then added a layer of sand and finally a layer of small pebbles.
Both Featherkin and Squeaky watched in amazement as the dirty, murky water slowly flowed through the filter layers and almost clean water dripped from the bottle's neck.
"That's amazing!" exclaimed Featherkin.
"Yes, it's science," Clucksworth smiled. "Each layer catches different sized impurities."
As they sat together watching their experiments, it began to get dark. However, Featherkin was still thinking.
"Aunt Clucksworth, what can we do to keep water in nature clean?" he asked.
Clucksworth smiled. "That's a very important question. First of all, we shouldn't throw garbage into water. And we should protect trees and plants around streams, because their roots hold the soil in place so it doesn't wash into the water."
Squeaky, who had been listening attentively, looked shamefully at his muddy hooves. "So I probably shouldn't roll in mud too close to the stream, right?"
Clucksworth laughed. "Mud is natural for you, Squeaky. But you're right – it's good to be considerate."
The next morning, Featherkin woke up earlier than the other chicks and ran outside. When he came to the puddle, he stopped in surprise. The puddle was no longer there!
"Where did my puddle go?" he wondered.
Fortunately, wise Clucksworth just appeared. "Good morning, curious one. I see you've discovered another mystery of water."
"Aunt Clucksworth, our puddle disappeared! Do you know where it went?"
Clucksworth nodded. "Your puddle evaporated, Featherkin. The sun heated it up and the water turned into invisible vapor that rose up into the air."
"But... that's not possible!" protested Featherkin.
"The water didn't disappear," Clucksworth explained patiently. "It just changed its form. This vapor is now floating in the air and maybe it will become clouds. And from clouds, water falls again in the form of rain."
Featherkin and Squeaky stared at Clucksworth with open mouths.
"So our water is now flying in the air?" asked Squeaky incredulously.
"You could say that," Clucksworth nodded with a smile.
Featherkin thought for a moment and then smiled happily. "That means water never really disappears, it just keeps changing its form and traveling from place to place!"
"Correct," Clucksworth praised him. "Water is simply amazing."
And so Featherkin learned not only why water is sometimes clear and sometimes murky, but also discovered other secrets of water. From that day on, he became a true explorer-chick who wanted to understand all the mysteries of nature around him.