Listen to “The Panda Who Was Afraid of Falling” on Spreaker.
High in the misty mountains, where tall bamboo swayed like green waves in the wind, lived a young panda named Bao.
Bao loved to climb.
Every morning, he would wrap his paws around the smooth bamboo stalks and shimmy up, up, up until he could see the entire valley below. From the top, the world felt wide and wonderful.
“Careful up there!” called Mama Panda.
“I’m fine!” Bao would laugh, balancing proudly on a thick branch.
Climbing made him feel brave.
Climbing made him feel big.
Climbing made him feel like nothing could ever go wrong.
Until one day, it did.
The wind came suddenly that afternoon — stronger than usual. Bao had climbed higher than ever before, trying to reach the freshest bamboo leaves at the very top.
The branch beneath him swayed.
Then it bent.
Then—
Snap!
Bao tumbled down through the leaves.
Thump.
He landed in a soft pile of moss. It didn’t hurt very much, but his heart pounded like a drum.
Mama Panda rushed over. “Bao! Are you alright?”
Bao nodded slowly.
He was fine.
But something inside him felt different.
Small.
Shaky.
The next morning, Bao looked at the bamboo forest and felt something new.
Fear.
His paws tingled just thinking about climbing.
“What if I fall again?” he whispered.
His friends, Mei the red panda and Lin the snow leopard cub, scampered up the stalks like always.
“Come on, Bao!” Mei called.
Bao shook his head. “I think I’ll stay down here today.”
He tried to chew bamboo on the ground instead, but it didn’t taste the same.
From below, the world didn’t feel wide.
It felt far away.
Days passed.
Bao stopped climbing completely.
He stayed on the ground, watching the tops of the bamboo sway in the breeze.
Mama Panda noticed.
“You’re quiet these days,” she said gently.
Bao stared at his paws. “I’m scared.”
Mama Panda sat beside him. “Of what?”
“Falling,” Bao admitted. “I don’t want that feeling again.”
Mama Panda nodded. “Falling can be scary.”
Bao looked up, surprised. “You’ve fallen?”
“Oh yes,” she chuckled softly. “Many times.”
Bao blinked. “But you still climb.”
“Yes,” Mama Panda said. “Because falling taught me something.”
“What?” Bao asked.
“That I can get back up.”
That evening, Mama Panda led Bao to a small bamboo stalk — shorter than the others.
“Start small,” she said.
Bao hesitated.
The bamboo looked tall.
Too tall.
But Mama Panda stood close.
“I’m right here,” she promised.
Bao placed one paw on the stalk.
Then another.
His heart beat quickly, but he didn’t look down.
One step.
Two steps.
Three.
He climbed just a little way up — not to the top. Not even halfway.
Then he climbed back down.
He hadn’t fallen.
The next day, he climbed a little higher.
The day after that, a little higher still.
Each time, his paws felt steadier.
Each time, the fear felt smaller.
One bright morning, Bao stood beneath the tallest bamboo in the forest.
The same one he had fallen from.
The leaves at the top shimmered in the sunlight.
Mei and Lin watched quietly.
“You don’t have to,” Mei said.
Bao took a deep breath.
“I know,” he replied.
And that made all the difference.
Slowly, carefully, Bao climbed.
The bamboo swayed gently, but Bao kept going.
Up.
Up.
Up.
His paws remembered what to do.
His body felt strong.
And when he reached the top, the valley opened wide beneath him once again.
The mountains stretched far into the mist.
The wind brushed his fur.
Bao smiled.
He wasn’t brave because he never fell.
He was brave because he climbed again.
From below, Mama Panda called, “What do you see?”
Bao laughed.
“I see everything!”
And this time, the world didn’t feel far away.
It felt right where he belonged.
The End.
🌿 Follow-Up Questions
- Why did Bao stop climbing after he fell?
- What did Mama Panda teach Bao about falling?
- When have you been scared to try something again?
