Matterhorn

High, high up, I poke the fluffy white clouds with my pointy top. I look like a giant tooth made of rock and snow, reaching for the sun. I live in a big family of mountains called the Alps. I stand right where two countries, Switzerland and Italy, meet and say hello. Sometimes, the clouds wrap around me like a big, cozy scarf, and people can only see my peak peeking out. I have a very special shape that everyone loves to draw. I am the Matterhorn.

For many, many years, big rivers of ice moved super slowly all around me. These icy rivers were like giant spoons that scooped and carved my sides. That is how I got my special pyramid shape. For a long time, people would just stand on the ground and look up, up, up at me. They wondered what it would be like at my tippy-top. Then, on July 14th, 1865, a very brave man named Edward Whymper and his friends climbed all the way to my peak. They were the first people ever to stand on my head. A few years later, a strong woman named Lucy Walker climbed all the way up too. I was so happy to have visitors.

Now, so many friends come to visit me every year. Some are brave climbers who want to reach my top, just like Edward and Lucy did. Others like to stay down in the cozy towns below and look at me while they drink warm cocoa. I love to watch children ski on the snow around my feet and see families hike on the green paths in the summer. I am a happy mountain, standing tall and strong. I hope that when you see me, you feel strong and adventurous too, ready to reach for the sky.