Saving Some Seaweed

This is the story of a tiny Blue Acara fish named Pogi. He had been swimming through the coral reef all morning long and stopped to watch the other fish. They swam all about, looking very busy. Pogi never understood why all the fish were in such a hurry.
One particular fish caught his eye. She was a Gourami, a beautiful pearly white fish. A light green shimmer came from her scales as she swam along the ocean floor.
Pogi watched as she blew on the sea floor, near the base of the coral reef. Dust flew in many directions. Pogi swam through the coral, approaching the fish.
"Hi!" he said. The other fish darted away for a second, then turned to see Pogi.
"Did I scare you?" said Pogi.
"A little."
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to see what you were doing."
"I am saving up seaweed," she said.
Little Pogi Fish looked all around him.
"Everywhere I look, I see fish eating seaweed," he said.
"They are now, but when winter comes, the seaweed will be gone. What will you do then?"
"That couldn't possibly be happen," said Pogi.
"Do you know what winter is?” she asked.
Pogi shook his head.
"See the sunlight, shining from above?”
Pogi nodded.
“Every winter, the sun goes away. Then, the seaweed stops growing.”
Ganda Fish continued hiding her seaweed. After a few moments thinking about winter, Pogi interrupted the beautiful white fish again.
“Mind if I help?” he said.
“Not at all.”
"My name is Pogi. What's yours?" he asked.
"I'm Ganda Fish. I'm a kissing Gourami," she replied.
"I'm a Blue Acara."
“I know,” she replied.
“How do you know?”
“Because there are schools of Blue Acara throughout the reef. Why aren’t you with them?”
“I don’t like big crowds,” he said.
“Me neither,” said Ganda Fish.
“I can hardly wait until Winter,” said Pogi.
“Why?”
“One day, we will have our seaweed and we can share it."
“We can share it now,” replied Ganda Fish. She grabbed a chunk of seaweed of a kelp plant and offered a piece to Pogi Fish. He took a bite and left a piece for Ganda Fish. It hung in the water, floating along. She quickly grabbed it and ate it.
They took turns gathering seaweed from the kelp plants, picking off tiny pieces and burying them in the sand. Soon, there were large mounds stored all around them. Pogi Fish stopped to rest. Ganda Fish swam towards another part of the coral reefs.
“Would you like to play a game?” he asked.
“I have to do a few more things,” said Ganda Fish.
“Okay,” replied Pogi Fish.
Ganda Fish swam toward the octopus cave, near the cliffs. Pogi watched as she swam away. As she disappeared in the murky blue ocean, he tried to say goodbye. Three bubbles of air came from his mouth.
“Glug-glug-glug.”
Quickly, Pogi darted through the water towards Ganda Fish. He gently bumped his nose into her side.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“I just wanted to say goodbye.”
“Goodbye, good friend,” said Ganda Fish.
“Goodbye.”
This time, as Pogi Fish returned to the coral reef, Ganda Fish watched him until he disappeared from view. She then went about her way, sure to meet Pogi Fish again.



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MORAL: A penny saved is a penny earned.

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