A More Surprising World
Adam Cho Age 9
Squishy vs. His Bullies There once was a fish named Squishy. He liked to make friends, but he had bullies. They were a sea snake, a crab, and an eel. Their names were Tod, Tony, and Bob. Bob the snake liked to chase other fish. Tod the crab liked to attack fish, and Tony the eel liked to call fish names. But the fish they liked to bully most was Squishy. They bullied him by calling him names at the school playground. After a few years, Squishy grew older and braver. But his bullies got fiercer over the years, so he went to his mother for courage. His mother gives Squishy courage. “Think about your heart and how big it is,” she said. “It does not matter about the size of your body, it depends on your heart.” Then, Squishy went for a swim. When his bullies saw him, they quickly hid. Then, when Squishy wasn’t looking, they jumped out and called Squishy names. But instead of crying, Squishy ignored his bullies, so they started to chase Squishy. Squishy swam and swam as fast as he could. Then, Squishy tried to tire them out by swimming around the coral reef. But it did not work. While Squishy was getting tired, he found a clay pot, so he went into the clay pot, but the clay pot was almost full. So, he went as deep as he could into the clay pot. Then, his bullies crowded around the clay pot, so Squishy couldn’t get out to escape. Then, eight arms and a pair of eyes appeared in the clay pot. The bullies swam away with all their might. Squishy wanted to swim away, but he was frozen in fear. Just then, the clay pot was lifted by a hook from a helicopter. The pilots cried happily, “Yay, we caught a giant octopus!” Then, the helicopter began to sway, and the pilots had trouble moving the helicopter. “Put the clay pot with the other stuff,” said the instructor. But because of the strong wind, the helicopter swayed. When the pilot fell, Squishy jumped into his shirt. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” cried the pilot. He put his hand into his shirt and said, “I got you, fishy.” Then, the clay pot hit the wall and the octopus grabbed the pilot. Then, the helicopter flipped over and went into the ocean. The pilots were drowning! Squishy and the octopus were
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