Carrotty Kid takes the plunge in a dragon-proof pond

Carrotty Kid learns to swim in a dragon-proof pond after deciding that avoiding deep water alone will not solve his problem. His fear of dragons has always been reasonable, but his growing inability to float has become inconvenient. Now he must master breath control, kicking and a reliable back-float before another heroic misunderstanding sends him splashing towards trouble.

The pond stands inside a reinforced enclosure built by the local council’s imaginary Department of Mythical Hazard Control. Steel mesh covers the surface, dragon-proof paint seals every crack, and a warning sign forbids airborne toast. Even so, Carrotty Kid approaches the water as if it might conceal a fire-breathing resident rather than a school holiday lesson.

His teacher, aquatic instructor Dot Dash, explains that confidence comes from small, repeatable steps. There is no need to conquer the pond in one afternoon. A nervous toe test, a controlled breath and a moment of floating are enough progress for the first session. The dragons, in other words, can wait.

The adventure captures the playful tone of Andy Fanton’s comics, where ordinary anxieties become epic encounters. Carrotty Kid faces the familiar worry of learning something difficult, but the humour keeps the stakes manageable: his enemies are fanciful, his lessons are practical and every splash can become the beginning of a new gag.

A pond with an unexpected security plan

The swimming lesson takes place at an outdoor community pool in Melbourne, surrounded by low brick buildings and the distant rumble of trams. Parents arrive in tracksuits, carry bags of fruit and settle beside the pool with the calm of people accustomed to supervising children near questionable sandwiches.

Before anyone enters, Dot checks the dragon perimeter. She taps the mesh, inspects the warning sign and switches on a device labelled a Dunk Detector. The machine emits a loud beep at every bubble, but the instructor assures Carrotty Kid that most of them belong to fish.

Australia’s familiar summer details surround the lesson. Children wear thongs, sunnies and rash shirts decorated with sharks, while zinc cream is applied with the precision of a postal service. A volunteer keeps a spare hat beside the gate because Australian sun can turn an ordinary game of cricket into an afternoon spent watching shadows.

The first lessons go better

Carrotty Kid begins with his feet on the shallow steps. Dot asks him to blow into the water, lift his knees and feel how his body becomes lighter when he stops fighting it. His first attempt produces more spray than swimming, but the second produces an awkward horizontal shape that everyone agrees is a float.

The dragon-proof barriers make the setting feel safe without making it magical. Dot still follows standard water-safety rules: nobody swims alone, everyone watches the person in front, and anyone who cannot reach the bottom stays within arm’s reach. The dragon-proofing handles imaginary creatures; it does not replace sensible supervision.

After the lesson, Carrotty Kid’s family buys an ice block from the local Woolworths and watches from beneath a borrowed umbrella. He describes the water as warm, fizzy and suspicious, which Dot considers a promising review. Tomorrow, he says, he will attempt a kick.

Dragons, books and bubble trouble

The second session starts peacefully, until a burst of bubbles resembles a miniature dragon breathing underwater. Carrotty Kid panics, grabs the pool edge and imagines the creature from George vs Dragon arriving for an unexpected game of follow-the-flea.

The trouble is easily explained, but the fear persists. Dot lets him identify the sound, place his face in the water and wait for the bubbles to finish before attempting another float. This simple routine helps him separate what he knows from what his imagination adds, an approach that may also help when Boo! turns a harmless household object into a national emergency.

During a quiet moment, Carrotty Kid reads about sporting adventures in a collection of Brazilian football and literature. The stories remind him that books can carry readers into unfamiliar games, crowds and rivalries without requiring a passport or even a pair of swim fins.

What swimming confidence looks like

By the third lesson, Carrotty Kid can float for the length of a bath towel. He still refuses to put his face underwater, but he no longer treats every ripple as evidence of a dragon. Dot praises the practical progress while pretending not to notice that he checks the mesh twice before each exercise.

A later school trip near Sydney Harbour introduces another kind of water. The harbour is salty, deep and affected by tides, so the class compares it with the protected pond without pretending the two environments are the same. Carrotty Kid understands that swimming skills help, while clear boundaries and adult guidance matter even more.

Confidence returns when he recognises himself doing something familiar. He can adjust his position when a wave shifts him, follow Dot’s instructions and turn towards the wall without panicking. The pond has not changed, and neither has he; his understanding of what he can do has grown.

Join Carrotty Kid's next adventure

Back at the pond, Carrotty Kid swims across the designated area while Dot holds a floating noodle within reach. It is hardly a championship performance, but Bad Grandad declares it the fastest crossing since the heroic era of carrot folklore. The judges award him a full-width smile and permission to choose the next comic adventure.

Explore Andy Fanton’s comic portfolio for more drawings, strips, mini-strips and medieval mishaps. Follow the pond’s latest stories, share Carrotty Kid’s swimming progress and keep an eye out for the next creature requiring a safety plan.