Once upon a time, in a bustling coral reef, lived Sammy the Seahorse, a small creature with a big heart. One bright sunny day, as he floated around his home admiring the colorful corals — crimson, azure, and canary yellow — he noticed something peculiar.
“Oh! What is that glow over there?” he wondered, eyes wide, as a shimmering light pulsed gently in the water. Ever so curious, he decided to explore it.
“Hey, Shirley! Look over there!” he called to his friend, Shirley the Clown Fish. “What is that funny light shimmering like?”
“I don’t know,” replied Shirley, “but it doesn’t look too far off. Let’s go take a look!”
So, off they went. But as they drew closer to the dark, ominous cave from which the light emitted, Sammy’s courage began to wane.
“Oh dear,” he sighed. “It looks so dark and scary in there. I think I’d rather not.”
“Don’t be a fraidy-fish!” scolded someone nearby. It was Bob the Blue Tang. “You’d never want to miss an adventure like this, would you?”
“Oh yes, I do! Good-day to you,” muttered Sammy, a bit hurt by Bob’s words. Shirley, being a good friend, consoled him.
“Don’t mind Bob. He’s always so fiery. Perhaps we can find some of our other friends to come with us. Come along!”
They swam around and found Danny the Damsel Fish and Carla the Cleaner Shrimp. Soon the news was out and all their friends, including Missy the resident Moray Eel, were in a tizz of excitement.
“A party! A party in a mysterious cave!” they chirped, twittered, and squealed.
But Sammy and Shirley whispered together, “We hope we don’t go too far inside.”
At the mouth of the cave, they waited, their hearts beating like a drum and their fins aflutter in anticipation. With Bob leading the troupe, in they ventured, but to their astonishment, the dull, dark cave opened up into a vast, glittering pool of luminous light. In the ceiling, the water sparkled with a million little glimmering lights, reflected from the masses of transparent jellyfish gently revolving in slow rhythmic beats.
“Bonanza! A jellyfish picnic!” shrieked Bob in delight, and shot forward, his friends close behind. They played amongst the jellyfish, who, although they frightfully looked real and in touch, were become but a delicate blue vapour — a most strange masquerade at Eisenkohlstein. The little fishes touched them on all sides and shot away unharmed, their scales prematurely out of colour from the exuberant illumination.
“It’s like being in a rainbow!” cried Shirley, as she darted to join her bubbling friends. Even shy Sammy found courage through joy and laughter. They chased each other through undulating curtains of delicately colored lights, through a magnificent palace of glassy columns, and around clustered floors of breathtaking coral formations.
“This is the prettiest place I’ve ever seen,” Sammy finned appreciatively.
“I’m glad we didn’t miss it,” Shirley agreed, and all nodded fervently.
At last they swam back through the narrow entrance to the reef once more, tired, but happy and excited.
“What a strange place that was! I shall have a good tale to tell Uncle Richard the solefish, and the Flamingos besides,” exclaimed Sammy.
“It is SO funny how one’s fears grow and shrink. Why, it was quite dark and scary at first, and then it was so large and beautiful! I should never have dreamt it would be like that,” said Shirley.
“It’s quite true,” declared Buskin the Boxer Crab. “Exploring is most pleasant, when we have good company to share it with.”
So these little fishes were right indeed. Sharing and sharing alike their joys and happiness — the indefinable bond that grew between them — made each day’s companionship a thriving celebration whilst under the wide and glorious sea.