Hello! My name is Timmy and I’m a turtle. I live in a world filled with many wonderful sea creatures, and I get to see and hear all sorts of amazing things every day! I’m going to tell you about one day in particular — an adventure that started out so normal and ended with me finding treasure!
It was an early morning, the sun was shining, and the ocean felt nice and warm. I decided it was a good day to go exploring. So off I went. There were so many places to visit, and my friends told me about a dark cavern nearby that I didn’t know about.
“Let’s go see it!” said Daisy the dolphin, jumping in the air with excitement.
“Are you sure?” I felt a bit scared thinking about how dark it would be inside.
“Of course! I hear there’s an old remora fish who lives inside it, and he might tell us a story if we’re lucky,” Daisy replied. I was curious about this remora fish who was rumored to love chatting. I’d definitely never met a chatty fish before!
So off we swam toward the cavern, my heart beating faster with every stroke. When we got there, Daisy nuzzled me. “We can do this together, Timmy!” she chirped, always cheerful.
Just then we noticed a little octopus come out of the hole. He walked over to us. “Hi! I’m Ollie! You’re not going in there, are you? That cavern is full of rocks and bumpy bits, plus — it’s totally black inside!”
As scared as I felt, I was really curious too. But how could it be so dark someone couldn’t see bumps and rocks?
“The remora fish can see, even in the very blackest dark,” Ollie told us. I felt a bit shy and embarrassed because I couldn’t see at all! Daisy smiled. “I’m sure he could help Timmy — tell him where the bumps are so he wouldn’t bump into them and hurt his shell! Then he could find out about the treasure!”
“Treasure?” Ollie exclaimed, completely excited.
“Yes, treasure! I hear an old human dropped his sunglasses and a key so many years ago, and I think they’re lying in there somewhere to this day,” Daisy said proudly.
“Wow! I’d love to see treasure! Do you mind if I come too?” Ollie asked.
“Of course!” Daisy replied. But I was feeling afraid again.
What would happen if we got in there and I got so scared I couldn’t swim anymore?
“Do you want to come or not?” Ollie asked impatiently. “I can’t wait here all day; I want to go find the treasure!” So off he walked to the mouth of the cavern and disappeared inside. Daisy looked at me and smiled.
“Okay! I’ll hold your flipper, and we’ll wait a few moments to see if Ollie runs back out. And if he doesn’t, we’ll swim in.”
Daisy held my flipper tight, counting to ten. But Ollie didn’t come out. “Okay. Together, then,” she said cautiously as we started to swim into the dark. Soon I felt Daisy’s fins close against my back as we entered the deepest, darkest part of the cave.
Suddenly, a light appeared before us, and the old remora fish appeared, his body gleaming. “Welcome to my cave! I discovered some glowing algae many years ago, and I’ve been using their light ever since. How can I help you, my little turtle friend?”
I smiled sheepishly. “Um… Daisy told me about the treasure in here, and I wanted to be brave and come find it.” I squeaked.
“Do you mean these?” The old remora fish pointed his fin and gleaming rocks appeared, sitting on some seaweed.
“There’s the sunglasses and the key, just like you said!” Daisy yelled in excitement. “You really don’t know how brave you are, do you?” the remora fish asked kindly. I looked at him in surprise.
“Me? But I was so scared!”
“Right, but you came along with your friends anyway, and really, that’s the bravest thing of all — going even when you’re afraid.”
I grinned, feeling proud and happy!
After that, the remora fish told me and Daisy about all the other treasures in the cave. It turned out they were just seashells and pretty stones, but still, showing them to me made me so glad. It was like he was sharing his life of treasures even more than the humans who had originally lost them had done!
But soon the other sea creatures started getting jealous. So many crabs and” other fish started popping in — seahorses too, and jellyfish! Everyone wanted to see all of the cool stuff the remora fish had. So after thanking him over and over again, Daisy and I decided it was time to go home, treasure-less but so very happy!
“You know, Timmy,” Daisy asked me on the way back, “what was the best treasure back in that cave?”
“Um… the glowing algae that lit it up?” I guessed nervously.
“No. I think the one treasure in there was all the stories that old fish had. That’s what made everything feel so special!”
She was right, of course! And now I have an exciting story to tell you too!
Now tell me, do you have any treasures hiding where you live?