Frog waters run deep
With the mid-day sun staring straight down on him; Cabo lay with his eyes half closed in the shade of a lush willow tree on the grassy edge of a fair sized lake. One arm thrown carelessly behind his head and the other moving languidly back and forth fanning himself with the feather he received from his friend the chicken king. Cabo was replaying his recent adventure over in his mind and the tiniest of smiles appeared on his face. He croaked in satisfaction and every now and again a juicy grasshopper would leap out of the surrounding grasses and make for a tasty snack.
At that very same moment. In the very same shade, of the very same tree. Fish, who of course was in the water and certainly not on terra firma, was practicing back flips and fin spins with very little success. Frustrated and angry, Fish flopped and splashed with such furious determination that he roused Cabo from his reverie. Opening first one eye, then the other, Cabo sat up and spied the grassy area around him. Unable to discover the source of the commotion he sauntered over to where water met land and sat on his haunches. There he discovered not only the reason for all the vehement cursing and splashing, but also something that anyone, even a well traveled frog would find amusing. A fish that could not swim! Although he did not mean to, Cabo started to laugh. He croaked and guffawed and shook so hard that it caused him to tumble from his perch, down into the water, and fall with a splash right next to Fish.
Now fish in general are not known for their sense of humour; they can, in fact, be quite arrogant. To make matters worse this particular lad had an ego the size of the national debt. Needless to say Fish was not happy with the appearance of, nor wanted to make the acquaintance of our amphibian friend. Cabo politely introduced himself and was met with a fairly cold response. Fish did not want to make friends and he definitely didn’t want anyone to know that he couldn’t swim. He attempted to extricate himself from the already embarrassing situation, but Cabo wasn’t one to give up on a situation until his curious nature was satisfied. He cornered fish; apologised for laughing at him, then patiently and thoroughly extracted the entire story from him.
It seems that when fish come of age, they are expected to display their prowess and perform an acrobatic display of aquatic finesse in front of the entire school during the Dorsal Fin Festival. Cabo felt somewhat chagrined when he understood the reason for the fishes endeavours. He could remember what it was like to have to get up in front of others at school and show your stuff. Cabo told Fish that he knew a thing or two about swimming and that if Fish were willing, he would help him with his routine. Fishes’ first reaction was to tell Cabo to take a flying leap, but when he realized that was exactly what frogs do, he let out a laugh that bubbled upand escalated from gurggles into hysterical gill quivering. Cabo thought that maybe the fish had a sense of humour that matched his swimming ability, but was happy that the wall that previously stood between them was now cracked in places and starting to crumble.
There wasn’t much time; the festivities were only a fortnight away and Cabo knew that Fish had much work ahead of him. As the lessons proceeded, Fish and frog argued. Fish didn’t understand Cabo’s instructions and the frog was becoming frustrated at Fishes’ inability to let go of his pride. At one point the altercation between them became so heated that Cabo turned to the young fish and croaked,
“How are you going to learn anything when you already know everything there is to know?” Cabo turned, flipped, kicked and blasted out of the lake and away from his student with amazing power and grace; that the fishling was tossed and tumbled and left swirling in a muddy wake.
Cabo was disheartened and ashamed of his actions. There was no place for anger or exasperation in the heart of a true teacher. Cabo returned to the water’s edge to find his student waiting there for him and before Cabo could speak, Fish sculled and popped himself out of the water (A very advanced move for a fish, you know). He looked at Cabo and was about to speak when Cabo broke out in a smile. A smile as wide as the Panama canal, and said,
In that moment, both student and fish came to an understanding. The days that followed passed quickly. Fish and frog left their anger behind and swam together as friends. Fish followed Cabo around the lake and Cabo took him on longer and more intricate tours that forced fish to do amazing things just to keep up with his mentor. The day of the Jubilee arrived and Fish was anxious. He had spent so much time just swimming around with his friend that he had forgotten to prepare a routine! Cabo just grinned and swam with him to the festival area.
As they approached, they were stopped by guards who protected the sanctity of the rites of passage. Cabo was told that he could not attend. Although he was a creature of the water, he was not a fish and did not belong to the school. Fish started to panic and pleaded with the guards to allow his friend to pass, but the guards would not listen. Cabo asked if the headmaster of the school was present and if he could have a word with him. The headmaster arrived and Cabo put an arm around him and guided him to a spot where they could talk in private. Fish couldn’t hear what was being said, but he could tell that things weren’t going well because the headmaster was constantly shaking his head. Cabo started to reach behind his back and the guards stiffened, but before anyone could move; Cabo brought out the fair feather of justice and presented it to the headmaster. Grasping the feather, the headmaster bowed deeply and escorted Cabo to the Dorsal Fin Festival
Cabo was seated to the left of the headmaster in a place that was reserved for only the most important fish. He was excused from the festivities from time to time so that he might surface and get air, but when the time came for Fish to do his thing Cabo was nowhere to be seen. Fish had no choice but to go out on his own. He Swam up to the headmaster and bowed. The headmaster returned the compliment with the slightest of nods and a suspicious expression on his face. A fish who couldn’t swim showing up with a frog and the feather of justice was just a little to much for one day.
Fish started to swim and as he did he recalled the time spent with Cabo. Fish twirled and flipped, sculled and shimmied in syncopated rhythm. He paddled and crawled and reversed direction. He dipped and twisted and did tail spins with panache; upside down, in spirals, helixes and vortices.
When Fish was done everyone stared in awe. He swam! Oh, but how he swam!
The entire school cheered and blew the largest bubbles that any fish had ever received. Later on when the festival was winding down Cabo returned. Fish cruised up to him and darted back and forth in happiness and glee. The headmaster also came up and thanked Cabo for his assistance. He then presented Cabo with the Stone of Destiny, the symbol of teachers who help students achieve greatness. Cabo thanked the headmaster and slapped fins with Fish. He then turned and swam away. Curiously he swam in almost exactly the same way Fish had done in his performance. Fish just watched and understood. He waited until the very last vestiges of pink faded into the distance before returning to the school.
At that very same moment. In the very same shade, of the very same tree. Fish, who of course was in the water and certainly not on terra firma, was practicing back flips and fin spins with very little success. Frustrated and angry, Fish flopped and splashed with such furious determination that he roused Cabo from his reverie. Opening first one eye, then the other, Cabo sat up and spied the grassy area around him. Unable to discover the source of the commotion he sauntered over to where water met land and sat on his haunches. There he discovered not only the reason for all the vehement cursing and splashing, but also something that anyone, even a well traveled frog would find amusing. A fish that could not swim! Although he did not mean to, Cabo started to laugh. He croaked and guffawed and shook so hard that it caused him to tumble from his perch, down into the water, and fall with a splash right next to Fish.
Now fish in general are not known for their sense of humour; they can, in fact, be quite arrogant. To make matters worse this particular lad had an ego the size of the national debt. Needless to say Fish was not happy with the appearance of, nor wanted to make the acquaintance of our amphibian friend. Cabo politely introduced himself and was met with a fairly cold response. Fish did not want to make friends and he definitely didn’t want anyone to know that he couldn’t swim. He attempted to extricate himself from the already embarrassing situation, but Cabo wasn’t one to give up on a situation until his curious nature was satisfied. He cornered fish; apologised for laughing at him, then patiently and thoroughly extracted the entire story from him.
It seems that when fish come of age, they are expected to display their prowess and perform an acrobatic display of aquatic finesse in front of the entire school during the Dorsal Fin Festival. Cabo felt somewhat chagrined when he understood the reason for the fishes endeavours. He could remember what it was like to have to get up in front of others at school and show your stuff. Cabo told Fish that he knew a thing or two about swimming and that if Fish were willing, he would help him with his routine. Fishes’ first reaction was to tell Cabo to take a flying leap, but when he realized that was exactly what frogs do, he let out a laugh that bubbled upand escalated from gurggles into hysterical gill quivering. Cabo thought that maybe the fish had a sense of humour that matched his swimming ability, but was happy that the wall that previously stood between them was now cracked in places and starting to crumble.
There wasn’t much time; the festivities were only a fortnight away and Cabo knew that Fish had much work ahead of him. As the lessons proceeded, Fish and frog argued. Fish didn’t understand Cabo’s instructions and the frog was becoming frustrated at Fishes’ inability to let go of his pride. At one point the altercation between them became so heated that Cabo turned to the young fish and croaked,
“How are you going to learn anything when you already know everything there is to know?” Cabo turned, flipped, kicked and blasted out of the lake and away from his student with amazing power and grace; that the fishling was tossed and tumbled and left swirling in a muddy wake.
Cabo was disheartened and ashamed of his actions. There was no place for anger or exasperation in the heart of a true teacher. Cabo returned to the water’s edge to find his student waiting there for him and before Cabo could speak, Fish sculled and popped himself out of the water (A very advanced move for a fish, you know). He looked at Cabo and was about to speak when Cabo broke out in a smile. A smile as wide as the Panama canal, and said,
“You’re treading water, young fish.”
In that moment, both student and fish came to an understanding. The days that followed passed quickly. Fish and frog left their anger behind and swam together as friends. Fish followed Cabo around the lake and Cabo took him on longer and more intricate tours that forced fish to do amazing things just to keep up with his mentor. The day of the Jubilee arrived and Fish was anxious. He had spent so much time just swimming around with his friend that he had forgotten to prepare a routine! Cabo just grinned and swam with him to the festival area.
As they approached, they were stopped by guards who protected the sanctity of the rites of passage. Cabo was told that he could not attend. Although he was a creature of the water, he was not a fish and did not belong to the school. Fish started to panic and pleaded with the guards to allow his friend to pass, but the guards would not listen. Cabo asked if the headmaster of the school was present and if he could have a word with him. The headmaster arrived and Cabo put an arm around him and guided him to a spot where they could talk in private. Fish couldn’t hear what was being said, but he could tell that things weren’t going well because the headmaster was constantly shaking his head. Cabo started to reach behind his back and the guards stiffened, but before anyone could move; Cabo brought out the fair feather of justice and presented it to the headmaster. Grasping the feather, the headmaster bowed deeply and escorted Cabo to the Dorsal Fin Festival
Cabo was seated to the left of the headmaster in a place that was reserved for only the most important fish. He was excused from the festivities from time to time so that he might surface and get air, but when the time came for Fish to do his thing Cabo was nowhere to be seen. Fish had no choice but to go out on his own. He Swam up to the headmaster and bowed. The headmaster returned the compliment with the slightest of nods and a suspicious expression on his face. A fish who couldn’t swim showing up with a frog and the feather of justice was just a little to much for one day.
Fish started to swim and as he did he recalled the time spent with Cabo. Fish twirled and flipped, sculled and shimmied in syncopated rhythm. He paddled and crawled and reversed direction. He dipped and twisted and did tail spins with panache; upside down, in spirals, helixes and vortices.
When Fish was done everyone stared in awe. He swam! Oh, but how he swam!
The entire school cheered and blew the largest bubbles that any fish had ever received. Later on when the festival was winding down Cabo returned. Fish cruised up to him and darted back and forth in happiness and glee. The headmaster also came up and thanked Cabo for his assistance. He then presented Cabo with the Stone of Destiny, the symbol of teachers who help students achieve greatness. Cabo thanked the headmaster and slapped fins with Fish. He then turned and swam away. Curiously he swam in almost exactly the same way Fish had done in his performance. Fish just watched and understood. He waited until the very last vestiges of pink faded into the distance before returning to the school.
16 comments:
Me hope you enjoyed this months adventure. Me ain't aprofessional writer like many of the folks who comment here, but me has always liked to tell stories to people.
Cabo seems to be a pretty cool guy and Men will try to keep things fun in the months to come.
Truly yours,
Scary Monster.
P.S. Me mail is like Generalissimo Francisco Franco...
You should be professional. That was great! Got me thinking. So many morals in that- the main one is that we find our teachers in the last place we expect to find them.
Where is JST? I must now know where the monster lair is.
Cabo must have a very old soul, for he is wise indeed. I am now officially in love with an old pink frog.
Yes, where IS JST? Can Cabo be found there? You spin a great tale, Scary. Kudos.
When the student is ready, the teacher appears.
You may not be a professional writer, but the best writers were great storytellers first. You could go pro, if you wanted to.
Kanrei ~ Me wondered about how to teach a fish to swim. That's something they all have inside them, right? Who actually learned anything- Cabo or Fish?
SJ~ Cabo might just be as old as Santa. He just doesn't have the same PR firm.
The monster lair isn't really a secret. I'll post some family pics to help you out.
Southern Writer ~ Writing is such hard work for me. Even this short story had me banging me head a few times; trying to get the idea of what me wanted to say turned into the picture Me was painting.
Bless all you who can do that day after day and then deal with the publishing end of the job. Seems like Me would have to learn a little grammer first.
Fish learned if we look at knowledge from the perspective that we know everything, we just don't know what we know. A person cannot teach me, but rather make me aware of what I already knew.
Logic would tell Fish that he would need another fish to teach him how to swim, but Fish looked to Cabo, a frog. Frogs start as fish and move to land. Maybe Fish wanted to learn how to do that instead, thus his flopping on the surface of the water.
AND WHERE IS JST? Is that Japan? Are all giant monsters in Japan?
You know you can set your blog to any language and any time you want, don't you?
Me profile gives a bit of a hint, but when you see tomorrows pic it will make more sense, Mt thinks. No hopes. Um, err Expects
Cabo might have learned a thing or to as well, Hmmmm
Thanks for that, Scary M, what a treat!
I recently finished Neil Gaiman's *Anansi Boys*, and your great story-telling reminded me of some of the Anansi folklore passages.
V. cool.
--Camille
I know where you are, but I'm looking forward to the pictures.
Southern~ Do you really know where Me am???
''We seek him here, we seek him there,
Those bloggers seek him everywhere.
Is he in heaven?
—Is he in hell?
That demmed, elusive Pimpernel.''
In another month or so Me will be blogging from another continent...
Litle birdblue~ Me checked out Neil Gaiman seems like a writer Me wants to read.
AACKKK!!
Scary Monster, you just quoted my favourite movie lines ever ever ever. I love the book too, but in my mind's ear (does it have one? YES), it will always be Leslie Howard..."Those Froggies seek him EVERYwhere..."
Please do read Gaiman, just don't start off w/American Gods. Start w/ Anansi Boys, or Fragile Things (for short prose).
The feather of Justice- and the Stone of Destiny...
Wonder where Cabo will end up next?
Very well done SM! Most of us do have what it takes within us to be what we want to be~ and sometimes full of too much pride to let a teacher show the way.
A fertilized egg is full of sticky goo until the mother sits on it- and encourages it to grow. Good thing that baby chicks have no pride :)
I need to be more like a baby chick...
Thanks for the reminder~
scaredmonster.blogspot.com; You saved my day again.
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