The cave monster
The three of us didn’t move an inch. We just stared at the end of the tunnel where something was looking back at us. It was still too dark for us to see what it was.
“It’s gonna eat us,” whispered Paulie.
It seemed like we were just staring at each other for hours, but it was really only a few minutes.
“What are we going to do?” asked Alex in a very quiet voice.
I decided that it was time to act. “We’re going to see the monster.”
Both Paulie and Alex looked at me like I was crazy. But what else could we do? We couldn’t stay here forever. We needed to move forward. I started swimming forward slowly.
“Eartha, don’t!” shouted Paulie, covering his mouth after realizing he’d said that very loudly.
From the end of the tunnel came a deep, low, monstrous voice, “Eartha.”
I stopped, a little scared for the first time. Paulie panicked, “It knows your name!” he screamed. “You’re on his lunch menu! We gotta get out of here.” He swam in circles. Up and down, left and right. In somersaults, and figure eights. “I’m gonna be an appetizer!” he shouted. He continued to swim like a crazy fish, then smacked his head on the cave wall and knocked himself out.
I caught Paulie and held him in my flipper as I peered down the cave tunnel. The dark figure at the end of the tunnel was now moving toward us.
“We should go,” whispered Alex.
I turned to him and asked, “Go where? The entrance is blocked.”
“Eartha?” the voice said again. This time it sounded like it was asking a question.
I took a chance and replied, “Yes?”
“Ha, Ha, Ha,” laughed the approaching dark shadow.
As the shadowy figure got closed, Alex hid behind me. The figure was only a few feet away now, and I was able to see it more clearly.
“It’s good to see you again, youngin.”
It was then that I recognized that voice. “Roger?” I asked. “Jolly Roger?”
This was no monster. This was an old friend. The sea turtle I knew as Jolly Roger came into clear view.
I had met Roger when I was being cared for at the turtle hospital. He was also a patient there. I had never thought that I would see him again. He was very kind to me and explained the whole process of being treated and released back into the ocean.
“What are you doing in this cave?” I asked.
“This is my home,” he said.
I looked around at the cave walls. “This?”
“No. Follow me,” he said, turning to guide us down the tunnel to the light ahead.
I cradled Paulie in my flipper, and Alex and I followed Roger.
We exited the tunnel into a huge, open cave.
“This is my home,” he said.
I looked up and all around. All I could say was “Wow!”
Posted by Dan under From Eartha | Permalink | No Comments »Exploring the cave
Paulie was shaking. He was convinced there was a monster at the end of the cave tunnel. I wasn’t scared, but I was being careful. The light we were seeing was coming from the very end of the tunnel, and it was getting brighter the closer we got to it. The walls of the tunnel were narrow in some places and wider in other places. Being the larger of the three of us, I had some trouble squeezing through some spots. But with the help of Alex and Paulie pushing me from behind, I made it through. After one push through a small opening, I led us into a larger room of the tunnel.
Paulie looked toward the side of the tunnel. “Did you see that?” he whispered.
I looked toward the wall, but didn’t see anything.
“Over there. Look!” shouted Paulie.
Again I looked and saw nothing. It was then that we started hearing some clicking sounds. We all stopped to listen. The clicking began to get louder and louder.
“The monster!” cried Paulie, as he swam to hide behind me.
There were more and more clicks, and they were getting louder. I looked at the end of the tunnel, and something swam in front of the light. It was very big, and it blocked all the light for just a moment.
“I don’t think it’s a monster,” said Alex.
Paulie was still hiding behind Eartha. He poked his head out, “Yes, it is. First it clicks. Then it eats you.”
Alex swam over the edge of the wall, “Look.”
Paulie peeked out from behind Eartha again, expecting Alex to get eaten by the monster.
“These are snapping shrimp. They make that noise when they snap their little claws closed,” explained Alex.
Paulie wasn’t fully convinced. He slowly swam over to where the shrimp were. Once he saw them, he smiled. “Aw, shucks,” he said. “You don’t look like a monster.” He stretched out with his fin to touch the shrimp, and it snapped its claw down on his fin.
“Ahhhh!” cried Paulie. “He’s got me! The shrimp monster’s got me.” He swam around, shaking his fin, trying to get the shrimp to release him. He shook his fin as hard as he could, but it wouldn’t let go. “It’s gonna eat me!” he shouted. The other shrimp were now clicking even louder. Another shrimp grabbed his tail, and then one grabbed his other fin. One even latched onto his front tooth. He spun round and round, trying to get the shrimp to let go. He swam backwards into the wall of the tunnel, and the shrimp let go—well, not all of them, one was still holding on to his tooth. He crossed his eyes to be able to see it, and then grabbed it with his fin and yanked it off.
I was glad the shouting was over. But I realized that someone else heard the shouting, too. I looked down the tunnel and saw that whatever it was that swam in front of the light earlier, it was now blocking all the light. And it was looking down the tunnel right at us.
Posted by Dan under From Eartha | Permalink | No Comments »The cave-in
Over the past few days, Alex and I have learned more and more about our new friend Paulie the parrotfish. He tells us stories. Actually, Paulie hasn’t stopped telling us stories. He likes to swim backwards while he talks, facing us as we swim:
“… and when I was two years old, I got caught in a net, and my parents had to chew through the net to get me out,” Paulie said. “And I once got caught in a plastic bag, and had to swim with it on me for a while until I learned I could swim backwards … Another time, I got chased by two barracuda and was rescued by a sea turtle and a stingray.” After saying that last part, he tilted his head, “Hey, wait a minute, that was you!” He chuckled as he continued to swim backwards.
“It seems you’ve gotten pretty good at swimming backwards,” I told him.
“Yup,” replied Paulie. “I’m what you’d call an expert at it.” As he finished his sentence, Paulie backed into a reef wall. This made me and Alex laugh.
We watched as several pieces of coral and rock broke off, revealing a small cave entrance.
Paulie shook off the piece of coral that landed on him, “I’m all right,” he said. “I have a hard head.” He was still facing backwards and didn’t see the cave. “What?” he asked.
“Look!” I said as I swam closer to the small opening to look inside. It was a cave. The opening was just wide enough for me to fit through. I began to swim through the opening.
“Where are you going?” asked Alex.
I turned back toward Alex, “I’m going to explore the cave.”
Alex swam up to the opening and looked inside, “Are you sure it’s a good idea?”
I turned to Alex, “We are adventurers. This is what we’re out here to do, right?”
Paulie swam up to the opening and looked in, “What if there is a monster in there, or a shark, or a monster shark?”
“There is only one way to find out,” I told him.
Alex went in first, and then I started to go through the opening. I thought I could fit, but I got a stuck halfway. I wiggled and wiggled until I was able to fit through. But all my wiggling made more coral and rocks fall. One big rock started falling, and Paulie saw it. He didn’t want to be alone, so he swam fast through the opening and bumped right into me.
I turned around and saw that the entrance to the cave was now blocked by all the falling rocks. It was now even darker in the cave since there was no light coming in from the opening.
Paulie got scared. He started trying to push the rock away from the opening, but it didn’t budge. Then he tried chewing on the rock with his large front teeth.
“Paulie!” I called out to him. “It will take you a month to chew through that.” Paulie stopped chewing and spit out a piece of rock.
“Let’s see if we can find another way out.” I smiled at him and motioned for him to come with me.
Paulie looked at the rock again, and I knew that he was thinking, “I can eat that.” He lowered his head, and slowly swam over to join me.
“Look,” said Alex.
We all looked down the tunnel and saw a small glowing light coming from the very end.
I looked over at Paulie and could see he was still scared. I pulled him closer to me and smiled.
I turned to Alex, “Let’s go.”
Posted by Dan under From Eartha | Permalink | No Comments »A new friend for our adventure
After our encounter with the barracudas, Crunch and Nibble, we had made a new friend.
“Paulie, you’re a parrotfish, right?” asked Alex.
“Yup! My dad was a parrotfish, and my mom was a parrotfish, and that makes me a parrotfish, too,” replied Paulie.
“You’re pretty funny,” said Alex.
Paulie frowned. “You mean I’m funny looking.” Paulie was sad.
“No. That’s not what I meant,” Alex tried to explain. Paulie began to swim away.
“Where are you going?” I asked him.
Paulie said sadly, “Thanks for the help, but I guess you’re no different than the rest.”
He was swimming away slowly when I approached him. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
Posted by Dan under From Eartha | Permalink | No Comments »Nobody likes a bully
As Alex and I made our way along the edge of the coral reef, our peaceful journey was interrupted by a colorful fish zooming past and yelling, “Help!” Following it were two silver fish. One was thin, and the other was more round. They raced by, chasing the colorful fish who continued to shout, “Help!” as he swam.
“What was that all about?” I asked Alex.
His eyes were wide. “I have no idea. But I think we should check it out.” I smiled.
We took off as fast as we could after the three other fish. Around the bend and through the coral arch, we raced to catch up with the others. We stopped at a seaweed patch and looked around.
“Which way did they go?” asked Alex. I looked around, not knowing which way to go. I floated up a little and saw a small cave at the edge of the seaweed patch.
“This way!” I shouted as I darted off. Alex did his best to keep up with my speed. At the mouth of the cave were the two silver fish. I knew this type of fish. They are called barracudas. The barracuda is an ocean fish that has long, fang-like teeth. “Leave that fish alone!” I demanded. The two fish spun around to face me, their sharp, pointy teeth visible now.
“Who are you?” asked the skinny fish.
Posted by Dan under From Eartha | Permalink | No Comments »The coral reef is full of beauty
Photo by Thespis377 via Flickr.com
Alex and I have been traveling along the edge of the coral reef, heading toward the open ocean. There are so many beautiful colors in the coral reef. There are also so many really cool shapes. The coral reef is made up of all these different types of coral. Alex taught me that even though coral looks like a rock, it’s actually alive. Coral is made up of thousands of little creatures called anemone (Say Ah-Nem-Moe-Nee).
The sea fan is one type of coral that is shaped like a fan. Its branches stretch out just like a tree. We’ve seen sea fans in different colors, such as yellow, red and blue. I thought that the sea fan was really neat until Alex showed me brain coral. Brain coral looks like a brain! It’s a little creepy, but it’s still really pretty. It’s round in shape and has lines going through it like a maze.
Coral is very fragile, and it should never be touched. Another type of coral is called fire coral. It’s called that because if you touch it, it burns. I thought it was odd that something that looks like a rock could burn you. But Alex told me that the fire coral is related to the jellyfish. Those tiny little anemones (remember how to say that?) have stingers like a jellyfish, and they sting you when you touch them.
We also saw very tall coral called pillar coral. This grows straight up and can reach up to eight feel tall! Imagine a piece of coral as tall at your bedroom. Wow!
As we make our way to the open ocean, Alex will be teaching me more about the coral reef and all its wonders.
Eartha
Posted by Dan under From Eartha | Permalink | No Comments »Exploring the coral reefs
Alex and I spent the past few days just swimming around the coral reefs. It is so beautiful underwater! We’ve seen some amazing butterflyfish and king angelfish. Yesterday, we saw a bright blue fish that I have never seen before; Alex said it’s called a “Blue Tang.” The coral reef is full of so many different types of fish. I wish I could make friends with all of them, but that would take years. There were also people snorkeling above us. They were wearing masks and breathing through tubes. (Alex said that’s the snorkel.)
I could spend many more days here just looking around the reef, but we want to head out to explore the open water. This area is called the Caribbean. There were many stories of pirate ships and other sailing ships that sank here a long time ago. Alex and I hope to find and explore some of these ships, and with any luck, we’ll make some new friends.
Eartha
Posted by Dan under From Eartha | Permalink | No Comments »The lost seahorse
As Alex the stingray and I explored the reef, we heard crying coming from an area of the coral. We looked and looked, but could not find where the crying was coming from. Then we saw it. Clinging to the branch of a piece of coral was a baby seahorse.
“Why are you crying?” I asked the tiny little fish.
“I can’t find my mom and my dad,” replied the little seahorse. The little fin on his back was fluttering as he hung onto the coral with his tail.
“We’ll help you find them,” I said.
“Really? That would be great.” The seahorse let go of the coral and fluttered over to me.
“Seahorses aren’t very good swimmers, and when a boat passed by above, I got swished away from them,” he explained.
“My name is Eartha, and this,” I said, pointing to Alex, “is Alex.”
“My name is Skip,” said the little seahorse.
I moved under Skip, “Okay, hang onto my shell tight, and we’ll see if we can find them. Do you know which way they went?” Skip latched onto my shell, just behind my head, then pointed with his long nose in the direction his parents went. “All right,” I said to him. “Here we go.”
I took off swimming, being careful not to go too fast to knock little Skip off. “Yeeeeehaaaaaw!” shouted Skip, who was really enjoying the ride. “I’ve never gone this fast before.”
Alex swam closer to the bottom, looking around for Skip’s parents. I was doing loops, rolling around and around, to help make my new friend happy. We swam up and down, all around the coral reef, until Alex shouted, “I think they are over here.”
Around a small notch in the coral were two adult seahorses. “Skip!’ they shouted.
“Over here, Mom!” yelled Skip.
The two parents were holding onto a branch of coral when they saw their young son ride up on my back. I approached them and lowered myself to allow Skip to flutter to them. “Thank you so much,” said Skip’s father.
“My pleasure,” I responded.
Skip fluttered up to his parents and wrapped his body around them. Skip’s mother swam up to me and Alex, and she gave each of us a kiss on the forehead. “Thank you for returning Skip to us. We seahorses are not as fast of swimmers as you two are. It would have taken us a long time to find him.”
Alex used his big fin and pointed up toward another passing boat. “Small sea animals need to be careful of the big waves that boats make. That’s why, when I was younger, I swam toward the bottom.”
“Thanks for the tip, and for the ride,” said Skip.
“Where are you two off to now?” asked Skip’s mom.
“We’re on an adventure to explore the reef, and from there, the great blue beyond.”
Skip’s eyes lit up. He turned to his mom, “Can I go with them?”
Skip’s mom replied, “Sorry, dear. You’re too young to go exploring.”
“Aw, Mom!” cried Skip. He then turned to me and suggested, “Maybe someday I can travel with you and Alex.”
“Sure,” I said. “That would be fun.” Skip smiled.
Alex and I waved as we swam away from Skip and his parents. We were happy to be able to help Skip, and most of all, to make a new friend.
Eartha
Posted by Dan under From Eartha | Permalink | No Comments »My new friend, Alex.
As I mentioned before, I made a new friend: Alex, the stingray. He’s super-smart and knows his way around the local reef. We swam to the other side of the reef today and saw a boat lying all the way on the bottom. We both swam to the bottom to look at it, and we saw it had a big hole in the side. Did we go in? You bet we did; we’re adventurers!
We slowly entered the boat. It was empty except for a few crabs that tried to shoo us away. Above us was another hole that was just big enough for me to fit through. Swimming around small places with a big shell is not as easy as it looks. On the top of the boat there wasn’t much to see. Alex said it was a fishing boat that sank in a storm. He said there are lots of boats at the bottom of the ocean and that one day he wants to find a treasure ship.
“What’s a treasure ship?” I asked him.
He said, “It’s a big boat that was filled with shiny coins and gems, which sank many years ago.”
Wow, I thought, Now that would be an adventure.
We swam around the boat a few times and saw some yellow jack fish swimming around the front of it. We then went back to the reef to see what everyone else was doing.
Wow, my first sunken boat. I wonder what tomorrow will bring for me?
Eartha
Posted by Dan under From Eartha | Permalink | No Comments »Oops, I did it again!
When I was at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center getting well, I had many people come to see me. The day I left, there were more people visiting. Well, yesterday I was swimming around some people who were cleaning up the reef, and today, I saw even more people here! I popped my head out of the water and people on the beach were picking up trash, too.
Did I do that? I think because the underwater people saw me yesterday, they told their friends about me, and today everybody showed up. It feels good to be helping. Maybe you can help, too. Next time you go to the beach or a park, take a paper garbage bag and help pick up trash.
Oh, I almost forgot: I made a new friend. His name is Alex, and he’s a stingray. He was caught in a plastic bag, and the underwater people were able to help him. We’ve become fast friends. He’s funny because he’s not afraid of anything. He’s smart, too. He knew where we were. He said the place where we are is called the Bahamas. It’s a funny word. When he said it, I laughed and said “Bahama, Bahama, Bahama.” Try it, and see if it makes you laugh.
Tomorrow, we are going to the other side of the reef. I like making new friends.
Eartha
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