The Tail of Little Bit by Headline Books / Zoom Into Books

Linda Hickam

illustrated by

Jan Philpot

Meet the real Little Bit & Buddy Hickam!

Linda Hickam illustrated by

Jan Philpot

The Tail of Little Bit by Linda Hickam illustrated by Jan Philpot ©2025 Linda Hickam All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any other form or for any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage system, without written permission from Headline Books, Inc. To order additional copies of this book or for book publishing information, or to contact the author: Headline Books, Inc. P. O. Box 52 Terra Alta, WV 26764 www.headlinebooks.com mybook@headlinebooks.com Headline Kids is an imprint of Headline Books, Inc. ISBN: 9781958914540 Library of Congress Control Number: 2024945976

PRINTED IN MEXICO

For my wonderful friend, Teacher Carol English, who continues to inspire so many students

There once was a beautiful little rock pond with a waterfall where six goldfish happily lived. One summer night, a baby goldfish was born, so tiny the other fish didn’t notice him. Not sure what to do, the baby fish hid under a rock sticking out from the side. He was a strange little fish with big bulging eyes and a tail bent to the side. PondDad and PondMom lived in the house beside the pond. PondDad came out every day to care for his pretty pond and feed his goldfish. The day after the little fish was born, PondDad tossed food as usual in the pond and the fish swarmed after it.

When the baby goldfish saw the food in the water, he wanted some, too! But the moment he stuck his head out from beneath his rock, the other fish saw him and chased him right back. He feared they might think he was also something to eat and grab HIM! Yikes! When PondDad came out the next day, the sun shone just the right way for him to notice that he had a baby goldfish! He was very excited and called PondMom to come and see. The new baby was so tiny they named him Little Bit. 6

Looking closer, they noticed Little Bit was different. His eyes bulged out and there was something wrong with his tail. It was crooked! PondDad reached down under the rock and gently pushed Little Bit out to see him swim. Little Bit couldn’t go straight, just in circles. “We will have to do something to help him, I am afraid,” PondDad said.

PondDad and PondMom went inside and Little Bit got hungrier and hungrier. Every time he poked his head out, the other goldfish called him ugly names like Crook Tail or Pickle Face! He was always left behind when they swam together, which made him sad. Soon, he stopped trying and stayed by his rock. The next day, PondDad came home with a small aquarium. He put in colored gravel and placed a bridge and plastic seaweed beside it. He put the tank on the kitchen table and carefully added the water. He was sure when PondMom saw it, she would like what he’d done. 8

Now he just needed a fish! He scooped up Little Bit from the pond in his hand net and rushed him inside to his new home. PLOP! And it was done.

Poor Little Bit landed hard in the water and looked around in confusion. Where the heck was he? He was scared, but he saw a bridge on the bottom so he worked hard to spiral-swim down to it with his bent tail and finally got under it and hid. He felt safe now, but that had made him sooooooo tired he had to take a nap. When he woke up, he saw a huge arm through the glass dropping fish food by the bridge. Why, all he had to do was poke his head out and eat it! Yummy!

When she got home from work, PondMom liked the aquarium, but right away, she knew it would be a lot of work. “We have to keep it clean every day,” she said, “and change the water when it gets dirty. Are you willing to do that?” To keep Little Bit healthy, PondDad said he was, so he and PondMom worked hard to make it the best aquarium they could. Little Bit grew fast and soon required a larger aquarium. But PondParents loved Little Bit so much they did all that was necessary. After a while, though, PondMom noticed Little Bit looked droopy. His front fins hung down and his big, bulgy eyes looked sick.

PondMom called the man at a Fish Store and told him the whole story. He said, “I have some medicine that will help, but I bet I know what’s really wrong. Come to the store and I’ll have everything ready.” At the Fish Store, the man gave PondMom the medicine and he also surprised her with a plastic bag that contained a beautiful goldfish with long, silvery, flowing fins and tail! He said, “You do know that goldfish are schooling fish, right? Your Little Bit is lonely! He needs a friend.”

PondMom thought that over. “Okay. I will call him Buddy,” she said, and that was that. In his aquarium at home, Little Bit was having a terrible day. He did not feel good at all. Then he saw PondMom and her hand moved, and the water smelled funny. What was she doing? But then he heard a splash and, oh NO, suddenly, there was another FISH in his tank with him!

When PondDad came home, he couldn’t believe what PondMom had done. “Honey, you know Little Bit is scared of other fish,” he said. “And that one will steal his food, too!” “Let’s wait and see,” PondMom said. PondDad was wrong. Little Bit was not afraid of Buddy because Buddy was a very calm nice fish and only ate what was his. But Buddy stayed away from Little Bit because he seemed so strange. PondMom noticed this and when Little Bit was asleep, she took the time to talk with Buddy, “Now see here, Buddy, Little Bit can’t change how he looks, but you can change how you think about him. That’s what friends do; no matter what, they look after each other.”

This made sense to Buddy, and to Little Bit’s delight, Buddy began to cuddle beside him under the bridge and use his nose to move the food to where Little Bit could get to it easier without swimming very far. The weeks passed and the two fish friends grew. Both fish were so much bigger and brightly colored—what fine fish they were! PondDad had to buy a larger aquarium, and the fish raced around it exploring. Little Bit excitedly spin-swimming, Buddy encouraged him along. Everyone was happy until one day, Little Bit started having trouble getting below the surface. He would fin hard to get to his food on the bottom, but he would float right back up before he got any. Buddy would dive down to wait and look up and wait and wait, but Little Bit couldn’t swim down to him.

PondDad tried to help Little Bit by pushing him under the water with his finger, but he popped right back up. PondMom said, “What is the matter with you, Little Bit? Get on down there and EAT, for goodness sake! I know you are hungry!” But he just couldn’t, no matter how hard he tried. PondMom asked the man at the Fish Store what to do. His answer was strange. He said Little Bit had a swim bladder problem and to feed him mashed-up green peas, which are especially rich in fiber and fiber helps goldfish with this problem. PondMom cooked some peas and mashed them. When everything was ready, PondDad took a big calming breath and pushed Little Bit down with his finger. 16

He cradled him in his hand while PondMom held the spoon with the smushed green peas up to his open mouth. Little Bit was confused and scared. He tried to spit the nasty green stuff out, but PondMom kept pushing the mush back into his mouth. PondMom said, “Look, Bit, it is for your own good. These peas will make you well, honey. Please eat for us.”

Little Bit ate the peas. When he was dropped back into his tank, Buddy came rushing over to see if he could help him. Suddenly, Little Bit’s tummy felt funny. He gasped and then said, “Look out, Buddy!” And he let out a big green POOT! And then another green cloud in the water. Buddy finned backward in alarm.

But Little Bit started sinking into the water like he was supposed to. He gave a cautious push with his front fins and started circling down some more with no problem. The peas were working. A few more fin flips and good poots and he felt so fine that when PondDad came over to see how he was doing, Little Bit circled hungrily near the bridge and looked up, waiting for him to drop the food near him like usual. Buddy joined him. Little Bit wasn’t sick anymore. Why, he felt...GOOD!! Only one other time did Little Bit need the green pea medicine, and life continued to be wonderful in the aquarium with his best friend Buddy beside him. When Spring came again, PondMom called a family meeting. She said that Little Bit and Buddy were now so big that an even bigger aquarium was needed. “Maybe, instead,” PondMom said, “it is time to put them into the pond.” PondDad thought it over and agreed. As scary as the thought was, there was no room in the house for a bigger aquarium, and he knew it was best to get them into the pond where they belonged. So the big day came, it was sunny and warm and PondParents carefully put their goldfish in a plastic bag with water and carried them outside to the pond. The bag was dangled in the pond for a while to let the water become the same temperature; pond water added to it, then they were finally let out. 19

Little Bit was frightened and huddled close to Buddy— he remembered where they were, THE POND. Buddy was scared, too, especially when the other goldfish came swimming up fast, right towards them. The biggest of them, white with an orange spot on his head, pushed forward, his stubby fins quivering in anger. “Who dares enter our pond?” he demanded. I am Leader Goldfish here! 20

“And I am Buddy,” Buddy said, doing his best to be brave, “This is my friend Little Bit. We are just PondDad’s goldfish like you.”

This confused Leader. “But you have such a beautiful, flowing tail such as I have never seen before and that little one’s tail is all twisted,” he said. Remembering what PondMom said, Buddy answered, “We can’t change the way we look, but you can change how you think about us.” Before Leader could think that over, PondDad tossed food in the middle and all the fish swarmed after it except for one very old greyish goldfish with tattered fins. After eating, Leader came back over to Buddy and Little Bit. “You did not eat,” he said to Buddy. “With your giant tail, you could have been fast enough to snatch it away from us all.”

“But Little Bit wouldn’t have eaten then,” he said. There were a few food pellets that had settled to the bottom and Buddy showed the big fish how he used his nose to push some of the food pellets to Little Bit after he spiral-swam down to the bottom close to them and then Buddy ate too. Leader was amazed, and then he looked over at an old fish with cloudy eyes and tried Buddy’s trick, using his snout to move some food still floating towards her. Leader came back after the old fish ate. “She looked after me when I was little,” he explained.

Little Bit summoned up his courage. With great effort, he swam forward towards Leader. “And now you will take care of her. That’s what friends do no matter who they are or how they look.” This made sense to Leader, and when he explained it to the rest of the group, all the other goldfish agreed. Buddy and Little Bit were now welcome in the pond and soon they became true friends and were all swimming together as a school - Little Bit in small circles, it is true, but his friend, Buddy was always by his side, which made the PondParents very happy. 25

Every year, PondMom enjoyed planting flowers and ferns in the rock gardens around the pond, making it even more beautiful.

Little Bit still loved hanging out and napping by his ledge rock, even though he was too big to get under it anymore. Buddy was often there with him, and they became friends with the big bullfrog, Sabastian, who now lived on top of it. Soon, many other forest creatures came to visit and became special pond friends, but those are stories Little Bit and Buddy will tell you later. The End

Fun Facts about Goldfish If reading this story about Linda and Homer Hickam’s goldfish Little Bit and his best friend Buddy made you interested in these cute popular pets, here are some FUN FACTS about them. • Not all goldfish are gold. Goldfish are many colors including yellow, white, black and there are even many beautiful spotted kinds with many colors. • Goldfish aren’t all the same size. There are over 200 kinds of them too! There are common ones like Little Bit, or fancy-finned ones with pretty, flowing fins like Buddy has. • There are even goldfish that have funny heads with big puffy cheeks and some with large sticky-out eyes. • Goldfish can live up to 15 years in an aquarium and in a nice well-kept pond much longer, up to 25-40 years. • Goldfish are nearsighted. They can see colors and even infrared. • Goldfish can’t taste anything and don’t have a stomach but they sure like to eat and need to eat small meals often. • Goldfish can smell very well, even better than people scientists think. • It has been shown that goldfish have better memories than we first thought. They can recognize and remember objects even after some time has passed. Little Bit and Buddy remembered PondDad was their feeder, and when he came to the aquarium, they would swim excitedly to the glass to greet him. • If a goldfish’s tail is hurt or gone, they can usually grow it back. • Goldfish don’t have any eyelids so they can’t close their eyes and need the lights turned off to sleep. • They don’t have ears but they can still hear a little, especially vibrations and they do not like big bangs or people knocking hard on their glass. A light tap to get their attention is okay though. • A female goldfish can lay many eggs in the spring or summer but not all of them hatch. So, having a baby goldfish grow up is rare. The little fish has to be smart and stay hidden until big enough that the other fish don’t think he is something to eat. Little Bit was smart! 30

Teacher Resources to go along with the story of Little Bit An awesome teacher help website with activity pages related to goldfish from fun facts, coloring sheets, and care of them, much of it free, is Twinkl. There is a free trial download. www.twinkl.com A good book about goldfish care: The Truth About Goldfish by Meredith Clawson. It is available online or at your library.

Acknowledgments With so much thanks and love to my husband, Homer Hickam, the best PondDad, and my first reader and editor. To my beautiful friend, inside and out, Dreama Denver, who is like human sunshine and believed in my Little Bit story at first telling. She just picked up the phone and made it happen! My lovely publisher, Cathy at Headline Books who held the hand of this first-timer with patience. My patient and talented illustrator, Jan Philpot, made the pond come alive again. Thanks to my writer friends who are always helpful and inspiring and had to listen to all my excitement: Dee, Dale, Courtney, Karren and Kamara. Write on! My forever friend Lucy, who got to see everything first and listened to my angst, and to my sweet friends Pat and Cyndi, who shared my excitement and tried to help me look better. Of course, to my wonderful large family, especially my mom, who at 95 lets me read my stories aloud to her to catch errors, and Daddy, who taught me to know and love nature. Love you all forever.

This is Linda Hickam’s first book based on the true story of their bent-tailed baby goldfish Little Bit and his best friend Buddy. When she would bring up the idea of writing about Little Bit, her bestselling author husband, Homer Hickam of Rocket Boys/October Sky’s fame, kept saying SHE ought to write their fishie’s story, not him. . . so she finally DID! She is passionate about reading, cats, and anything related to nature. Huntsville, Alabama, Rocket City, USA is home, with St. John, USVI, as a second one where she appreciates all the beauty above and below the Caribbean seas. Illustrator Jan Philpot is a retired teacher and librarian. As a senior author for an educational publisher, she authored/illustrated fourteen teacher resource books during her teaching years. She illustrated the awardwinning books Zen and Now by Dreama Denver and The Snowman Project by Angie Dixon, both Gold Mom’s Choice Award Winners. Jan earned her BA, MA, and Rk1 from Eastern Kentucky University and is now a freelance independent artist living in southeast Kentucky. She works fluidly in many mediums, and she uses watercolor with pen and ink. 32

Watch for more adventures about Little Bit and Buddy!

“The non-human kingdom carries wisdom we will never know. I’ve watched animals nurture their young, and a pelican returns year after year to the spot where it lost its mate. The beautiful story of the goldfish, “Little Bit,” calls forth the best in all of us. This story of belonging, friendship, acceptance, and helping the disadvantaged is a story our souls not only yearn for but need. All ages will love this book!” REV. DALE CLEM, author of Winds of Fury, Circles of Grace and 40 Days in the Wilderness “In this beautifully illustrated book, Linda Hickam weaves a true story about her goldfish, Little Bit, and the rejection and bullying of Little Bit by the other goldfish in the pond. Little Bit is somewhat different and is shunned by the other fish until his friend Buddy helps him along. This heartwarming story teaches young and old about friendship, inclusion, acceptance, and caring for others in a unique way that will touch the hearts of all. DR. JAN DAVIS, three-time Space Shuttle astronaut and author of Air Born: Two Generations in Flight and Air Born: Artistic Musings of a WWII Pilot and POW “The sweet and true story of our baby goldfish, Little Bit, who was so brave.” HOMER HICKAM, author Rocket Boys/October Sky “Little Bit and Buddy navigate the waters of true friendship showing how to celebrate the differences that make us unique. Don’t miss the chance to share this inspiring, beautifully illustrated story with your little ones.” DREAMA DENVER, actress/producer and Award Winning author of the “Four Bears in a Box” children’s books series “I started reading Little Bit’s story and couldn't stop. I loved PondMom and PondDad, especially the pea story. It was really, really good. Even I learned something about goldfish! I'm going to buy these for my grandchildren.” DR. MARTY BECKER, DVM, Elite FFCP-V, “America’s Veterinarian,” author, and founder of Fear Free “It turns out the story of Little Bit by Linda Hickam is much more than meets the eye. This book is a great reminder that fish are just like people. Don’t judge until you get to know them because you could miss out on a great friendship!” KEVIN SIZEMORE, actor/producer—www.imdb.me/kevinsizemore