A Tale Of Two Ends

A Tale Of Two Ends
By Laura Cadman

In the most remote part of the sea was a beautiful reef with the most sublime colours in both the coral and its inhabitants.  The reef was vast and its beauty was beyond compare, so much so that as you sit here you can hear the gentle waves upon the surface.  

On the edge of the reef was a drop off leading to the depths of the ocean.  All the colourful fish of the reef knew to stay away from the edge and its dangers.  Not too far from the edge lived a family of Powder Blue Tang fish.  The littlest fish, the most playful and open minded, would venture closer and closer to the edge day by day.

On a particularly lovely day while little Tang weaved along near the edge, a large slow shadow approached.  Unbeknown to Tang the shadow belonged to Benny, a young blue whale looking for a new friend.  He spotted Tang and opened his mouth wide to shout” hello” when …. to his surprise Tang let out a little yelp and swam for cover.  Tang, I’m sure you can imagine was in shock after the encounter and told fish from all over the reef about his escape from the whale.  

Despite Tang’s fright the previous day curiosity once again drew in.  Again a shadow drew close but today something was odd.  The whale was covered in seaweed of bright colours and was adorned with a coral crown.  Tang was wise to the beast’s tricks of camouflage and quickly swam home full of the new tales of the day.  Benny, however, was confused, he had even dressed to impress today with the finest gifts of the reef to make himself inviting to his new potential friend.

The following weeks brought similar encounters.  Benny made noises like a friendly dolphin, painted himself in squid ink, perfumed himself with a rouge coconut floating on the surface and even shown his playful side by tossing about a boat paddle he had found.  

Tang however had been further alarmed by the beast with its many disguises and tricks and even arrived one day to see the whale finishing off a boat (which he had surely capsized and eaten its inhabitants!).

Finally Benny came to the conclusion nothing would encourage the little fish to be his friend.  He stopped trying to impress, took a deep sigh and decided to go for an enjoyable long swim.  He smiled a contented smile and off he went feeling confident with himself once again, when…… “Excuse me would you like to play”?