Kawaii puffin wearing a shell mask on a rocky seaside cliff with waves and clouds

Kawaii Puffin With a Tiny Shell Mask

A wide-eyed puffin stands on a craggy ocean ledge, wearing a tiny shell mask while waves curl below the cliffs.

🎨 How to color it

Color the puffin’s back deep charcoal, its belly creamy white, the shell mask peach with coral stripes, and the cliff rocks sandy gray. Use sharp colored pencils for the small feather scallops, shell ribs, and cliff cracks, then fill the broad ocean with smooth side-strokes. Try a pale turquoise sea behind warm sunset-orange clouds so the puffin’s funny little mask pops.

The story behind this coloring page

Quibble Waits for the Echo — Each morning, before the gulls began their rusty squawks, Quibble carried his little shell whistle to the highest sea stack. Read the full story →

Each morning, before the gulls began their rusty squawks, Quibble carried his little shell whistle to the highest sea stack. He wanted to hear the cliff answer with one perfect peep, so he stood still while salty wind tickled his beak and waves slapped the rocks: shlap, shlap, boom. Every day, nothing answered but foam.

Until one morning, a hermit crab wearing a teacup marched up and said, “Wrong shell, fancy face.” Because of that, Quibble tried the crab’s spiral shell and made a noise like a hiccupping walrus. Because of that, three seals laughed so hard they sneezed fish-smell spray into the air, and the real echo hid under their racket. Quibble puffed his cheeks, waited, and waited some more.

At last the seals slid away, the crab stopped clacking, and even the wind held its breath. Quibble peeped once through his own shell. Far across the cliffs came a tiny, perfect peep back. If you can spot the shell at his beak, keep quiet a second—maybe you’ll hear the same shlap, shlap, boom.