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“Say, Ian, did I
ever tell you about the time my granny took me for a ride in a submarine?”
“Uh no,” Ian
said. “You’ve been in a submarine? Cool.”
Mac stretched his
furry arms. “I was just a wee raccoon. My granny said I was always
mischievous. Can you believe that? Me?”
“Uh no. You?
Never.” Ian chuckled.
“Don’t be a smart
aleck, Ian.” Mac leaned his back against the tree trunk. “Maybe that can
be your bedtime story tonight. I’ll tell you all about it. Granny came to
visit one day and while she was there my mum was frazzled. All six of us
wee ones decided to act up. I was the ringleader. Granny asked Mum if she
could take me for the day. Mum was happy to have me go. She told Granny to
keep me for a week.”
“Hee hee. You must
have been mischievous, Mac. A whole week?”
“I was not happy.
Granny always made lumpy porridge and ate liver and put onions in
everything. While I’m quite partial to that now, I hated it when I was a
wee raccoon. She took me to her house, which was this huge oak tree by the
sea. It was sort of fun. We went for walks along the beach every day and
found tons of seashells. We even dug up clams and ate them. I thought they
were all right, but not my favorite. One morning Granny asked if I wanted
to do something really special. She told me if I was a good laddie all
day, that the next day she’d take me. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I
looked forward to it. That day I behaved myself. I didn’t get my fur wet
in the sea; I didn’t waste any liver. She doesn’t know this but I put all
my onions under my tail and threw them away later, while she was not
looking. That night I went to bed without arguing.
“The next morning
she took my hand and we went for a long walk along the beach. There was a
submarine docked at the pier. Granny said we were going for a ride in it.
I was sort of scared. I wasn’t sure I would like being under the water.
The captain of the submarine helped me in and Granny and I sat at one of
the windows. It was bumpy and my tummy started rolling. Once the submarine
moved I was all right.
“I kept my face
plastered to the window. It was so great. I saw all sorts of fish in lots
of different colors and I saw a shark and a whale.”
“Did you see a
mermaid?” Ian snickered.
“No mermaid. There
were rocks and seaweed and it was dark. The submarine shone its lights
around so we could see. Granny pointed something out to me. I strained to
see. It looked like the Loch Ness monster. At first I was scared, but then
I saw it was a sunken ship with a head mast on it, like pirates had. Fish
swam in and out of the holes. It was really quiet down there and I was
glad I wasn’t a fish. When it was over, we climbed out of the submarine
and Granny took me for some fish and chips. I couldn’t eat them. After
seeing fish swimming around in the sea, I didn’t want any. I ate the
chips, but not the fish.”
“You turned down
fish and chips? That’s unheard of, Mac.” Ian yawned and stretched.
“Think of the sea
being like the sky. See all the stars. That’s how many fish are under the
water.”
“I suppose you’re
going to sing me a song now?” Ian pulled his tail over his arms to keep
warm.
“If you’d like.
It’s called Fish Are like the Stars.
Down in the
sea, the deep blue sea,
Millions of fish swim around.
Some are red and some are green,
And some are clear and can’t be seen.
Down in the sea, the deep blue sea,
Millions of fish swim around,
Oh how I wish that I were a fish
So I could swim anytime I wish.
Up in the sky,
the deep blue sky
Millions of stars shine on me;
Some sparkle bright
And some are nice and white,
Up in the sky, the deep blue sky
Millions of stars shine on me;
Oh how I wish that I were a star
So I could twinkle all night long.”
“That was a very
nice lullaby, Mac. I think I’m ready to go to sleep now. I’ll probably
dream of submarines and stars. Goodnight, Mac.”
“Goodnight, Ian.”
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