The Zombie's Big Splash

Mia loved summer. She loved it most of all because of the pool in her backyard—the one that sparkled like diamonds when the sun hit the water.

One hot afternoon, Mia was swimming laps when she noticed something strange. A green figure was shuffling near the pool fence. It moved slowly, with arms stretched out, making a soft moaning sound.

Mia froze. She'd seen movies about things like this. Was it... a zombie?

But then the figure spoke. "I... just want... to swim."

It wasn't scary at all. It was just a lonely zombie with kind eyes and patchy green skin.

"I'm Zed," the zombie said sadly. "Everyone runs away from me. But I love water. I just want to learn how to swim."

Mia smiled. "I can teach you!"

Zed was terrible at swimming at first. His heavy zombie limbs didn't float well. He sank like a rock. But Mia was patient.

"You need something to help you float," Mia said. She thought hard. Then she remembered what her grandmother always said about strong muscles.

"Wait here!" Mia ran to the garden and came back with a bundle of fresh green leaves from the vegetable patch. "Try this spinach! It makes you strong, like Popeye says!"

Zed ate the spinach. Something magical happened. His green skin glowed brighter. He felt lighter. When he jumped back into the pool, he floated! He swam beautifully, doing cannonballs and flips.

Soon other kids came over. None of them were scared when they saw Zed doing backflips off the diving board. They wanted to learn too.

That summer, Zed became the best swimming teacher in town. He taught everyone that being different doesn't mean being scary. And every day before lessons, he'd eat his spinach—his secret to being the strongest swimmer.

The pool became known as Zed's Pool, where everyone was welcome, even zombies who wanted to make a splash.