Homework

By

Carol Foss

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Very Good! What an imagination! B+

You need to watch the punctuation, and omit the profanity. 

Deep Down Below

By

Harry Nelson age 8

It was a dark and stormy night and all was well with the submarine 'Candonowrong' deep deep deep down below in the sea.

It was a nice submarine, it had great big windows to look out of but the captain still preferred to use the periscope. All captains'liked to use periscopes.

"It must be a captain thing," said one of the crewmen drafted for this top-secret mission whispered as he saw the skipper move it around and around.

Lots of creatures swam in front of the submarine but were smart enough to move away and not get run over, the captain noticed. Oh well, he was tired of fish for dinner anyway.

"We're here," the captain said. "What do we do now?"

"I'd like you to get me one of those," the mad scientist said of the yellow-orange-purple thing with fins, scales, and tentacles swimming in front of the round window. "But be careful, it could be poisonous."

"Don't worry, I'll catch it myself," said the captain bravely. All captains were brave noted another crewman as he watched the skipper head aft to the escape hatch.

"It must be a 'captain thing," the crewman said.

Within a short time the captain had put on the special and very expensive diving gear and left the submarine with a net, a speargun and a can of bug spray. He was always prepared, the mad scientist noted. Must be a captain thing he thought.

The scientist was proud of his submarine. He had had it built himself. People had laughed at him but he'd show them.

Pretty soon the captain spotted the odd creature and was about to scoop it up with a net when the creature said," Are you sure about this bud?"

"You can talk?" the captain asked.

"Of course I can talk. We can all talk," it indicated sharks, octopuses and all sorts of other sea creatures swimming nearby, trying hard not be too curious. It wasn't polite to be too nosy.

"How come nobody's ever heard you talk?" the captain said.

"Nobody's ever asked us."

"Oh," the captain said, it was true he knew. He'd never even thought to ask, not even of his pet goldfish in his cabin. "Look, how about a visit to the submarine...I'm sure my boss will let you go, he's just curious about you and we're not all that hungry."

"Well, I'm kind of busy right now. Just go away and leave me alone."

"Oh," the captain said sadly. "We just wanted to make friends. What is it that you're busy with?"

"I'm going to become a mother. Any minute now."

"Oh," the captain said, embarrassed. Not only did he want to make friends, but he'd always been taught to treat ladies with respect. "Look, if you need anything, we have a doctor aboard."

"I just want to go into that cave and have my babies. How about giving me some privacy."

"Oh, okay. Good luck," the captain said and swam back to the submarine, the net empty.

"What do you mean it talked? And it was about to give birth, and you let it get away?"The mad scientist asked, very upset. He'd built a great big laboratory on the submarine and really wanted to use it. The captain was way too polite with girls,even if they were fish so it must be a captain thing, he thought.

"Oh very well, go get me that creature there, the one with the pointy teeth and the long tail. And this time don't let it talk you out of it...offer it money if it gives you a hard time."

Pretty soon, after the captain had gotten a new air tank, and gone back outside, he found the creature.

"I told you," the creature said, after the captain invited it aboard, " I don't want any money. You can't eat it."

"It'll buy you all the food you want."

"What good is food in a fisherman's net."

"But we only want to make friends, we'll let you go."

"I've heard that before, and it's never true."

"It isn't?" the captain asked.

"No it isn't. Look, you seem nice enough, for a human, that is, but go back to your submarine and tell your scientist friend, that I for one will not end up on his dissection table. So there."

And with that the creature swam away, leaving the captain with his mouth open, which wasn't easy as he needed to keep it closed around the breathing device.

"What do you mean you let it go? Why didn't you use the spear gun?" the mad scientist asked.

"Well, it made sense...you..You weren't really going to dissect it were you?" The captain asked, the idea making his stomach sick.

As the mad scientist tore out his hair, he looked at the captain's sad eyes. He was way too sympathetic. Must be a captain thing.

"It's necessary for scientific research, now go out again and get me that speckled, spiny thing that's attached itself to the window."

"Can't I send someone else?" he asked. He was tired, he didn't like the idea of innocent sea creatures being cut up, even for research, and his skin was starting to wrinkle.

"You're already in diving gear. It's called economizing. And don't say anything to the creature, not a word. I don't want it talking you out of bringing it back. Just get it."

The captain went out again; duty had compelled him, and this time he pried the creature off of the window, tucked it into his net, and brought it back aboard the submarine.

"Here it is," he said as the mad scientist took the creature to the lab. "You're not really going to hurt it are you?"

The mad scientist shook his head in disbelief about the captain's concern for the welfare of his crew, even if they were lab specimens. Must be a captain thing.

All alone in the lab the mad scientist wondered what new honors and discoveries he'd make with this odd specimen. He was just about to cut it open when he saw it's eyes.

"Look, I need to investigate," he told it, "You could be the key to all sorts of interesting discoveries, medicines, and..."

The creature simply looked up at him with its great big blue eyes, just like his pet dog at home.

"Shit!" the mad scientist threw down his scalpel. "Blast!" he shouted. "Double Blast!"

"What's wrong sir?" The captain entered the lab.

"Go back out and let it go. We'll do our research some other way....hmm..yes...perhaps some specialized equipment...non-invasive...." he began to scribble some highly technical figures on a piece of paper. "Might even help people some day..."

The captain looked at the discarded scalpel, breathed a sigh of relief, and took the creature to the escape hatch.

"Did he mean that?" the creature asked as the captain swam with the creature a little way from the submarine.

"He meant it, " the captain said proudly, his boss was a man of honor after all. Must be a scientist thing.

The End

Ps: May science always use compassion mixed with curiosity.

 

 

Author's note: Any similarity to a submarine 'Candonowrong', real or imagined is purely coincidence.