facing fear
— A cyclist pushes through burning thighs and approaching storms, hill by hill, until reaching the lake's perfect relief.
— A boy saves his friend from an oncoming train after the friend becomes disoriented from a fall, but the rescue happens so fast he can barely process it.
— A girl hides in her favorite tree before a dreaded doctor's visit, finding solace in the branches and sharing a poem that no one else appreciated.
— A magnificent buck stands guard at forest's edge, sensing danger, then battles a hungry cougar to protect the sleeping does and fawns.
— A nervous rider and her pony overcome a disastrous warm-up to deliver a near-perfect show jumping round, discovering their hidden connection in the process.
— A peaceful pond scene transforms when a dead swan is discovered, prompting questions about death, grief, and the aggressive mourning behavior of its companions.
— A young cellist faces performance anxiety before a school concert, finding that the music transforms his fear into something better than summer itself.
— A girl flying alone for the first time finds courage through recorded messages from her parents on her iPod, transforming fear into pride as the plane prepares for takeoff.
— A girl gets lost in the forest at dusk and follows a mysterious great horned owl through the darkness back to her parents' campsite.
— Two cousins fight to survive after a storm wrecks their uncle's tourist ship, leaving them adrift in a lifeboat that eventually sinks, forcing them to float until rescue arrives.