A Fish Called Bad Eyes

By Larry Golicz

In every life there is a bit of magic. Either real or imagined, a miracle or happen stance, it is important to us. Because with such an encounter, there is always an adventure, forever remembered. With losses to our environment, this is a time for heroes to make our world better. In this case, there is a small reef along the Hawaiian islands. On that reef are many fish, but one fish, called manini by the Hawaiians, swarms in large schools to feed on algae and by doing so, they groom the reef for the survival of coral and all other reef dwellers. Our hero, Bad Eyes, a very small manini, has poor eye sight, and as such was ushered to the rear of his school, not so much as an out-cast, but to act as bait for predators at the tail of his school. The school, assuming he was so small, no fish would want to eat him and as he was a very fast swimmer, the fastest in the school, he could always get away. Bad Eyes’ life changed when a pair of glasses fell onto his head.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: May 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781483478852

Book preview

Golicz

Copyright © 2018 Larry Golicz.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-7886-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-7885-2 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 4/13/2018

DEDICATION

This story is dedicated to my five grandchildren, especially Kaitlyn, and to all of the grandchildren of the world. Their imagination, curiosity, and energy bless our future, and provide the greatest heartfelt warmth and satisfaction to us, their grandparents.

I encourage their keen sense of watching and wondering about the animals with whom we share our world.

CHAPTER ONE

Steady as it Goes

1BRN30055CE8C0EF000220.jpg

It’s not easy being a fish with bad eyesight. I can’t see the barracuda roaming our reef to make me and my kind his meal for this tide. For protection, we swim as a large group called a school. We number in the thousands. We boldly move about the reef where we eat the algae growing on the coral rocks. But my group put me, with my poor eyesight, at the tail end of our school. They hope that I’ll be the one the barracuda chases, while the rest make a get- away.

My friend, Big Guy, leads our school. He thinks I should concentrate on my speed to survive at the tail end.

He said, Bad Eyes, you have a gift. You swim faster than any other member of our school. When the barracuda comes hunting for us, save yourself and the rest of us by getting him to chase you. Lead him away for the safety of our school.

Yes, I want to help with the safety for our school. But I wish I could do more for my friends and be more sure of my survival. Being at the end of the school is a lonely and dangerous job.

I said to Big Guy, You know the barracuda is a very fast swimmer and he always catches what he chases. I will certainly become his dinner if I run from the school. He will think I am afraid, weak, and an easy meal.

Big Guy shrugged his tail and went to the front of the group. There he led us to a break in the reef where there was a green patch of food waiting for us to enjoy. As usual, I am still the last to reach the feeding area, and as usual there is little to nothing left for me to eat. If this goes on much longer, the barracuda won’t find me very tempting. I seem to be getting smaller with the passing of each tide.

But for all of my trouble as the tail runner of our school, my friend, Big Guy, came back and saw that I had little to eat.

2BRN30055CE8C0EF000221.jpg

He said, Bad Eyes; I am sorry that not much was left for you. Maybe with your great speed, you can zip up to the sky above and find something there to eat?

Hmmm. I stared upward to the top of our world. There were ripples, foam, and leafy palm branches floating along the sky, and it was crowded with small fish, and algae clumps! Could this be my survival?

Again I thought of more problems.

2aBRN30055CE8C0EF000222.jpg