Read the story
17 short pages. Use the buttons to move at your own pace.
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Page 1 of 17
Page 1
Maya had been building all afternoon. Cardboard, wooden pieces, coloured paper and tiny silver windows covered the table.
In the middle stood her tower. It was taller than her school bag and almost as tall as Panther when he sat beside it.
Maya grinned. “I think I finally got it.”
Page 2
Maya pointed to a narrow bridge near the top.
“That bit kept falling off,” she said. “I had to make it four times.”
Panther looked closely. “And what made the fourth one work?”
Maya thought. “I made the supports wider.”
Panther nodded. “So you learned something each time it did not work.”
Page 3
Maya reached across the table for a marker.
Her sleeve caught the edge of the tower.
There was a tiny wobble.
Then another.
Maya froze.
The tower tipped sideways and crashed across the floor.
Page 4
For a second, Maya just stared.
Then her face went hot.
“I am so stupid!” she snapped.
She kicked a loose piece away. “I ruin everything. I should not have even tried.”
Panther looked at the broken tower, then at Maya.
He did not tell her she was wrong. Not yet.
Page 5
Panther picked up the piece Maya had kicked away.
“If I had knocked your tower over by accident, what would you say to me?”
Maya frowned. “I would say it was an accident.”
“Would you call me stupid?”
“No!”
Panther placed the piece gently beside her. “Why not?”
Page 6
Maya looked at Panther as if the answer should be obvious.
“Because making a mistake would not make you stupid.”
Panther waited.
Maya’s expression changed.
Panther asked softly, “Then why should your mistake get meaner words than mine?”
Page 7
Panther sat beside the pieces.
“Can we tell the story without attacking you?”
Maya took a breath.
“My sleeve caught the tower.”
“Anything else?”
“The base was a bit narrow.”
Panther nodded. “That sounds different from ‘I ruin everything.’”
Page 8
Panther tapped one of the base pieces.
“A mistake can tell you what happened. It can show you what needs changing.”
Maya looked down.
“But it does not get to decide who you are.”
Maya picked up the base. “So the tower failed. I did not fail?”
“Exactly.”
Page 9
Maya looked at the mess.
Part of her still wanted to throw the whole thing away.
Panther did not tell her to rebuild it.
He asked, “What do you want to do next?”
Maya was quiet for a moment.
“I want to try again. But slower.”
Page 10
This time Maya widened the base.
She moved the markers away from the edge.
She used two supports instead of one.
Panther passed her pieces when she asked, but Maya made every decision herself.
The tower began to rise again.
Page 11
Halfway through, one small section slipped.
Maya caught it before it hit the floor.
She shut her eyes.
The old words almost came back.
Then she stopped.
“Okay,” she whispered. “What happened?”
Page 12
Maya looked at the loose joint.
“Not enough glue. And I rushed it.”
Panther’s eyes softened.
Maya smiled a little. “That sounded a lot nicer than calling myself stupid.”
“Did it still tell you what needed fixing?” Panther asked.
“Actually... it told me more.”
Page 13
When Maya finished, the new tower was not exactly the same.
The bottom was wider.
The bridge sat lower.
And one cracked silver panel was still visible near the front.
Maya reached to replace it, then stopped.
“I think I am keeping that one.”
Page 14
Panther tilted his head. “Why?”
Maya touched the little crack.
“Because it reminds me that falling apart was not the end of it.”
Panther smiled.
Maya added, “And because the second tower is stronger because I learned from the first one.”
Page 15
Maya stepped back and looked at her tower.
She was proud of how it looked.
But that was not the best part anymore.
She was proud that when something went wrong, she had learned how to stay on her own side.
That felt stronger than any tower.
Page 16
Panther turned toward the viewer.
“Everybody makes mistakes. Sometimes things break. Sometimes plans fail. Sometimes we get something wrong.
But a mistake is something that happened. It is not your name.
Talk to yourself like someone worth helping. Find out what the mistake can teach you. Then decide what you want to do next.”
Page 17
Maybe you got an answer wrong.
Maybe you dropped something.
Maybe you forgot.
Maybe you tried and it did not work.
Before you decide what that says about you, pause.
Ask: What happened? What can I learn? What is my next step?
You are allowed to be learning while you grow.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY EFAM
YOU ARE YOUR OWN GREATEST PROJECT.
Mistakes are lessons, not punishments.
Always learning. Ever evolving.
Something to talk about
What kind words could you say to yourself while learning something new?
