Koalica Fejsić – Inspirational Kids Story

Although at first glance she looked the same as the other koalas, Koala Fejsić was actually different from the rest. Her face was very often red—so red that it was hard not to notice.

The other koalas found this unusual trait of hers cute, even interesting, because in the world of koalas something exciting rarely happened. But as she grew up, Koala Fejsić became more and more bothered by her uniqueness.

“How am I supposed to hang out with the other koalas? Everyone will think I’m terribly shy and that’s why my face turns red,” the koala complained very often.

She thought maybe she was eating the wrong kind of eucalyptus, so she made the others try it too. But nothing happened to them—only Koala Fejsić still had red cheeks.

She tried every possible way to stop her cheeks from turning red. She climbed trees very often and hugged them much longer and tighter than the other koalas, trying to cool down and get rid of the redness.

But it only helped for a short time, because the redness would soon return. The only thing she truly achieved was becoming the best climber among the koalas.

One day, something strange happened. When Koala Fejsić hugged a tree, she got smeared with something odd. She tried in vain to wipe the oily mixture off her face. It was tamanu oil, which had somehow ended up there. When she finally cleaned it off her cheek, she noticed that the redness on that cheek was gone.

Surprised, she squealed with happiness and drew the attention of the other koalas. She told them what had happened, without even realizing what tamanu oil really was or how it could be found.

The other, more experienced koalas knew exactly what it was, and since they were united and helpful, they quickly organized themselves and got the oil for Koala Fejsić. Not only that—they also made her a special cream, which she applied to her face until the redness completely disappeared.

For days she proudly walked around with her new face, showing everyone that she was just like them. She used her climbing skills to thank the other koalas. She climbed to the highest treetops and brought them the finest eucalyptus leaves they had ever tasted.

She always kept her special cream beside her and happily applied it to her face. She saved it in case another koala ever found herself with a similar problem.

Even though she was no longer special because of the redness on her face, she became unique because of the new skill she had gained—and she realized that being different can be a good thing, too.

Fun facts about koalas:

• Koalas have one similarity with humans: they are among the only animals that have fingerprints like humans. It’s believed this trait developed because they needed to climb trees in search of food.
• Because of their slow metabolism and eucalyptus leaves that are hard to digest, koalas can sleep up to 20 hours a day.