Along the Sea

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By Angie Bromeland

The sea brooded after the storm. In the scrub that grew along the shore, a sea turtle, snake, and crocodile crept around.
The sea turtle said to the crocodile, “Why do you always smile?”
The crocodile replied, “I suppose because I can always find something to eat. I don’t go hungry.”
This made the sea turtle nervous, and he tucked himself into his rubbery shell.
The snake then came slithering by. “What’s all this hubbub? Where’s Turtle?” he asked.
“He’s just brooding,” said the crocodile. “I think he fears I’ll eat him. But I was just ribbing him, of course.”
The sea turtle popped his head out of his shell. “What a cruel thing to do! Your teeth gleam even in the darkness.”
The crocodile laughed. “I was just blabbing. I knew you had a full belly, yourself. After all, I could see you grubbing for squid when you dove into the sea.”
The sea turtle looked surprised. “You can see beneath the surface?”
“No,” the crocodile shook his head. “I was swimming around for a bite to eat, myself. You must not have noticed me.”
The snake had never left land. How he longed to feel the ocean. Hearing his glib friends speak of the sea made him feel snubbed.
“What is it, snake?” the sea turtle asked. The snake looked at the sea.
“I think I’ll go for a swim,” he said. He slithered away before his friends could stop him. When he slid into the sea, though, he knew he had made a mistake. Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted. He was on top of the crocodile’s back. When they returned to shore, the snake slithered back to the ground.
“I’m sorry,” he said to the crocodile. “I feel so ashamed. You saved my life,”
“You made a very dangerous decision,” said the crocodile. “Promise me you’ll never go swimming again.”
The snake sheepishly agreed. The sea turtle put his flipper atop the snake’s slippery head.
“The crocodile is right,” the sea turtle said. “You gave us quite a scare. Perhaps you’d enjoy a little land exploration, instead?”
The snake smiled. “I’d like that.”
And the three creatures slithered, stomped, and slowly slid into the scrub along the sea.


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