Second Sunday in Advent (C)
December 9, 2012

Children's Message: "Henry Goes the Wrong Way"

(Prop: a world globe)

There once was a duck named Henry. He lived in Australia. That's on the other side of the world from where we live.

Can you see it here on the globe? This is the earth, and we in the United States live in the north -- up here -- and Australia is in the south -- down here. If you live on the other side of the world, some things are backwards. Did you know that?

For example, it is just about winter here in the north, and we have Christmas in the winter. Sometimes it snows and it gets cold. But in the south, their winter is like our summer! They have Christmas at a time when it gets warm and sunny. Then, when we have summer and it gets hot, their summer is when it gets cold. Isn't that crazy!

Well, Henry lived in the south, in Australia. One day he was walking down the street in town and he saw a store that had some TV's in the window. He went in the store and watched the TV's because there was a show about ducks on!

It was a nature show and the person in it was talking about how, when the weather gets cold, ducks fly SOUTH to warm places. 

It was almost summer in Australia, and that's when it gets cold there, so Henry's family and friends were all getting ready to leave for the warm places. But something was funny. They were all talking about flying NORTH to the where it would be warm. Henry couldn't believe his ears. The TV said ducks fly SOUTH in the winter.

So Henry started arguing with his friends, and even with his parents and teachers. "Ducks fly SOUTH to the warm places!" he insisted. 

Henry was so sure they were about to make a big mistake that when the morning came to leave, Henry flew off all by himself in the opposite direction. All day long Henry flew south and the next day as well. But the farther south Henry went, the colder it was getting and all the other ducks that Henry saw all seemed to be heading north. 

Soon Henry was lost and cold and worried. He didn't see any other ducks. They had all flown NORTH!

Finally, Henry realized that he had made a big mistake and so he turned around and started flying north. The problem was, it was going to take Henry two days just to get back to where he’d started from and he knew that the other ducks would be long gone. He wasn’t sure how he was ever going to find his mother and father and all the other ducks he knew. 

But Henry flew and flew and finally found his way to a lake in the north where the other ducks had flown. Henry's friends laughed and said, "We told you so, Henry!" 

Henry’s mother and father were very cross with him for flying off but they gave him a big hug and told him they were glad he was safe and that they’d been very worried for him. 

Henry was sad that he had gone the wrong way, but was glad he had turned around in time before he got too cold and lost.

Then everyone, including Henry, enjoyed a warm summer in the north until they flew south again for the winter.



Based on: Henry Heads the Wrong Way