A Sticky Situation

"Take a look!" she said. "What's up?"

"I broke the aquarium tube," Leo sighed. "But I've got to say it looks a little strange now."
Harmony smiled.

"Let's fix everything!" She glanced around the room, her eyes were landing on a small golden hook lying on the floor.

"Here is the hook that fell down!" she exclaimed, picking it up carefully. Leo blinked.

"Oh! That's from my trophy shelf. Yesterday when I was reaching for my clay sculpture, my mane got tangled and I accidentally knocked it down. The hook held up my 'Best Explorer' medal from last summer's adventure contest!"

He looked sheepishly at the bare spot on the wall where the hook used to hang. Harmony turned the hook in her hooves.

"Well, while we're fixing the aquarium, we can reattach this too. I got an idea! Modeling clay works wonders for holding things in place!"

Harmony neighed excitedly, her golden mane was bouncing as she trotted to Leo's bookshelf.

She carefully pulled out a thick, flour-dusted book with the title "Paws and Hooves Crafts: 100 Magical Recipes" written in peeling gold letters.

"This was my grandmother's recipe book," Harmony explained, gently turning the worn pages with her muzzle.

"She was the one who taught me that there is just no end to all the fun things you can make out of modeling clay! Look here."

The page was covered in paw prints and showed a cheerful hedgehog holding clay figures. Leo peered at the faded writing.

"Is that... a cookie recipe?" he asked, sniffing the page.

"Oh no!" Harmony laughed. "That's why grandmother always said: 'It looks like dough. But you certainly can sculpt things out of it. It's not for eating.'

This is her famous 'Just write down this recipe' section."

She tapped the page firmly with her hoof.
"You'll need a cup of flour, a half a cup of salt and a half a cup of water," she recited, as Leo grabbed a quill to jot it down. "Grandmother used to say 'People invented modeling clay a hundred years ago, but our family's version sticks better!'"

As they gathered the ingredients, Harmony winked.

"She also added a lot of ingredients to make modeling clay special sometimes—a pinch of cinnamon for scent, or beet juice for color. But today we'll make the classic version." As they searched for tools, Leo remembered something.

"Long ago, back in the Stone Age, people learnt how to use clay to make their dishes and sculptures."

"Now, let’s mix the ingredients properly," Harmony said, pushing the bowl toward Leo.

"First, mix the salt with the flour—that’s the secret to making it strong. Then add the water slowly, just like my grandmother taught me."

Leo nodded, his paws were working the mixture diligently.

"It’s getting thicker… like magic!" he murmured as the sticky dough formed.

"Mix it together very well," Harmony encouraged, peering over his shoulder.

"The smoother it is, the better it’ll hold!"Once the clay was ready, Leo pinched off a piece and carefully pressed it around the cracked tube.

He molded it with surprising skill, smoothing the edges with his claws.

"Look, Harmony—I made it out of modeling clay today!" he said, beaming with pride.

"It’s like we’re Stone Age inventors!"

Just then, Ziggy the zebra burst in, his striped mane was bouncing.

"Whoa! Did you fix the aquarium with that modeling clay?" he asked, leaning in for a closer look.

Leo puffed out his chest. "We already fixed everything! Good as new!"

Ziggy blinked, scanning the room. "Wait, where is that leaky tube? I don’t even see the crack anymore!"

"Go on, turn around!" Leo laughed, spinning Ziggy toward the repaired spot.

"See? Right there. But it was not a good idea to play near it—next time, we might not have modeling clay handy!"

Ziggy smiled and bumped Leo.
"Well, now that everything’s fixed… I wish we could play tag!

Bet you can’t catch me with those clay-covered paws!"
Harmony chuckled and shook her head.

"Oh, Ziggy, give it time! He sculpted it out of modeling clay, and it needs to dry in the sun first. No roughhousing yet!"

As the golden light of sunset spilled into the room, the trio admired their handiwork. The clay had hardened into a sturdy seal, and the aquarium bubbled peacefully again.

"Amazing," Ziggy murmured. "He mixed water, flour, and salt to make modeling clay… and it actually worked!"

Harmony nodded. "Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. And now we know—with a little creativity (and a lot of mess), we can fix anything!"