On the very last house in a row of houses, right on the tippy-top of the roof, sat a big, messy nest. Inside lived a family of storks: Mama Stork, Papa Stork, and their four fluffy, wobbly storklings.

Down below, in the street, a group of children often played. Most of them were a bit cheeky. When they saw the storks, they would point and sing a silly, teasing song about long legs and big beaks. This made Mama Stork ruffle her feathers in annoyance. "They are not very kind, are they?" she'd clack to Papa Stork.

But one little boy, named Peter, never joined in the teasing. He thought the storks were magnificent, and he would often look up and wave. He even told the other children, "Stop it, they're nice birds!" but they usually didn't listen.

The baby storks grew bigger and stronger. Soon, it would be time for the long flight south for the winter. "Before we go," said Papa Stork one evening, his eyes twinkling, "we have one important job to do. We must visit the baby pond and bring new little brothers and sisters to the good children."

"And what about the naughty children who sang those mean songs?" asked one of the young storks, who remembered the teasing.

Papa Stork nodded wisely. "Ah, yes. For the boy who was the loudest and meanest, we shall bring a tiny baby that dreams all night of drums – thump, thump, thump! His parents won't get much sleep!"
"And for the others who joined in?" chirped another young stork.
"They will get babies who are always a little bit grumpy and cry when they don't get their way," Papa Stork decided.
Mama Stork looked at Peter's house. "And for the kind boy, Peter?"
"For Peter," said Papa Stork with a gentle clack of his beak, "we shall find the sweetest, smiliest baby girl in the whole pond. She will be a lovely little sister for him."

So, the storks flew to the magical pond where all the baby humans slept among the water lilies. They carefully picked out the babies, just as Papa Stork had planned.

The next morning, the meanest boy woke up to a baby brother who seemed to be playing invisible drums all night. The other teasing children found new siblings who were indeed quite grumpy.

But when Peter woke up, he heard a soft gurgle. In a little basket beside his parents' bed was a tiny, beautiful baby girl with a happy smile. Peter was overjoyed! He knew the storks had brought her.

Later that day, the stork family gathered on the roof. Their job was done. They spread their great wings and soared into the sky, heading south. Peter waved until they were tiny specks in the distance, feeling very thankful for his new sister and the kind, clever storks.

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