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Why does the Adelie penguin give his beloved a stone?

Imagine: on the icy shore of Antarctica stands a small penguin, 70 centimeters tall — it’s like a three-year-old child. Black back, white belly, white circles around its eyes, like glasses. It’s an Adélie penguin. It lives only in Antarctica and nowhere else on the planet.

Every spring, the most important event begins in Adele - creating a family. The male wants to invite the female to become his wife. But how? There are no flowers, no sweets either. And then the male goes to the beach to look for... a stone. Not just any stone, but the best, smoothest and most beautiful. He spends a long time sorting through the stones with his beak, putting one down, taking another.

When the perfect stone is found, the penguin carries it to his chosen one and places it in front of her. If the female accepts the gift, it's a done deal! Now they are a couple. And the stone becomes the first brick of their future nest. After all, in the icy Antarctica there are no twigs or blades of grass - only stones. The whole family builds a nest from stones, each spouse bringing new ones.

But there are tricksters! Some penguins steal pebbles from their neighbors' nests while they are away. The neighbor's nest then becomes smaller, and the thief's nest becomes larger. Sometimes real fights break out over a stone.

Adélie penguins live in pairs for their entire lives, up to 20 years. They return to the same nest every year and recognize each other among thousands of penguins by their voices.

The next time you give someone something small, remember Adele. Sometimes the best gift is not expensive at all. The main thing is that it contains all your love.