Once upon a time, in a far-off kingdom, there lived a kite named Kiki. Kiki loved to fly high in the sky and show off her bright, colorful tail to all the birds below.

One day, Kiki decided she wanted to reach even greater heights. So she asked her friends for advice. The birds told her about a magic leg that could stretch to incredible lengths, and with it, she could reach the tallest trees and touch the clouds.

Kiki was determined to find this leg, so she set out on a journey. She flew for days and nights until she finally came across a hexagon-shaped castle. In the castle, she found a wise old owl who was said to know everything about the magic leg.

The owl told Kiki that the leg was located at the bottom of a deep well. He warned her that it was guarded by a powerful dragon who would only let those who could solve a riddle pass. The riddle was: "What is the shortest distance between two points on a curved line?"

Kiki was no ordinary kite, and she knew the answer right away. It was the hypotenuse! With that, she flew down the well and encountered the dragon.

The dragon was impressed by Kiki's knowledge and granted her access to the leg. Kiki was so excited, she grabbed the leg and started to fly back up to the surface. But as she flew, she realized that something was wrong. The leg was acting funny, and every time she tried to use it, it would involute, or turn inward, instead of stretching out.

Kiki was disappointed, but she refused to give up. She remembered that she had heard about something called an inversion, where everything is turned upside down. So she tried to fly upside down, and to her surprise, the leg worked perfectly!

Kiki finally reached the tallest trees and touched the clouds, but she still wasn't satisfied. She wanted to see the magic leg in action on the ground. So she landed and tried to use it again. But once again, it involuted.

Just then, a friendly ant appeared and told Kiki that the leg only worked when it was inside the incircle of a locus, which is a curved line that defines a particular pattern.

Kiki was so grateful to the ant, she decided to give him a ride on her back as she flew. Together, they had a wonderful time, flying high and seeing the kingdom from a whole new perspective.

And so, Kiki learned that sometimes, the answer to a problem is not always obvious, and that sometimes you have to think outside the box and try something new. The end.

Reflections

1. What was Kiki trying to find in the story?
2. Why did Kiki fly to the hexagon-shaped castle?
3. What was the riddle that Kiki had to solve to get the magic leg?
4. What did Kiki learn about the magic leg when she tried to use it?
5. How did Kiki finally get the magic leg to work?
6. What did Kiki learn from her adventure?
7. Why was Kiki grateful to the ant at the end of the story?
8. What do you think was the most exciting part of Kiki's adventure?
9. Can you think of a time when you had to think outside the box to solve a problem?
10. If you were Kiki, what would you have done differently on your journey?