There has to be a way to give this big, stupid fish the slip.
He tried some evasive action, but the pike remained on his tail. The large fish bit down and just narrowly missed taking a chunk out of Bernard.
Bernard raced through the water and aimed for the bank hoping he could fly atop the grass and evade the pursuer. But the pike was cutting him off. Suddenly, a log appeared on the horizon and it was time for some clever maneuvering.
The trout dove under the log and then saw a hole that he was able to squeeze into. The hungry pike attempted to get through the same hole but became momentarily stuck. He fussed as much as possible but there was no getting out of it. When he noticed that the enemy was at a disadvantage, Bernard took off like a shot and made good his escape.
He created a lot of distance between the pike and himself in a relatively short amount of time. While being a fish was not the best situation, he started to realize that it was not a bad dream; somehow he had turned into a trout.
How had this happened? Did people turn into fish on a regular basis? How did one turn back into a human?
There were no easy answers and he realized that the best thing to do was try and get along as best as he could as a fish.
It was kind of fun to be able to swim through the water with relative ease. In fact, it felt so good to be able to cruise so fast that Bernard spent the rest of the morning testing his newfound abilities. It lasted until he realized that he was hungry.
What does a fish eat?
He thought back to his youth and all the times Uncle Dwayne had taken him fishing. It seemed they had baited the hooks with slimy, grubby worms.
That is utterly disgusting. I am not eating worms.
But there was no denying the fact that he was hungry and food was a necessity. He looked around for other fish that could tell him what to eat but there seemed to be none. So he decided to go and find some.
Bernard cruised through the water and saw a school of minnows up ahead. They were shiny silver and appeared to be a smiling, happy bunch. But when he approached them they scattered before there was a chance to even say hello.
What are they afraid of?
So Bernard chased them. He went after them hard and fast, but the little minnows were quick and elusive driving him crazy. Eventually he gave up.
I can find my own food.
He had cruised a long while and only grew hungrier when he noticed another trout up ahead. He swam over and smiled.
“Hello”
“Hello do I know you?”
“I am new here. My name is Bernard.”
“My name is Tatiana. Where are you going?”
“I'm looking for food.”
“Well you are headed toward the home of Spike.”
“Who's Spike?”
“The trout eating pike who rules this part of the water. He is very dangerous and mean.”
“I think I saw him today. Scary fellow with all of those teeth.”
“Yes lots of large, sharp teeth. If you follow me then I will share my food with you.”
“Really? That would be fantastic.”
“Great. Let’s go.”
Tatiana led and Bernard followed. They swam for some time before she stopped to a large garden of underwater plants.
“This is our main food supply. Best of all, if Spike ever decides to chase you again head over here and you can easily lose him in the vegetation.”
“Good advice.”
They ate. Bernard was so hungry he thought that he would devour every plant in the vast underwater garden. But, the hungry trout stopped at just a couple of plants.
“That was delicious.”
“I'm glad you like it. So what part of the area do you live in?”
Bernard thought about it for a long second and shook his head. “I don't know.”
“You don't know where you live?”
“It's kind of hard to explain. Where do you live?”
“Not far from here. There are a couple of empty places where I am from. If you want to, you could stay there, I guess.”
“Great. What are we waiting for?”
“Well, my father is the king and you have to gain his approval.”
“I'll do my best.”
“Come on then.”
They swam away from the underwater garden and were soon in the territory of Tatiana's and her kind. She took Bernard before her father the king.
King Sloan looked at Bernard and didn't seem to have a smile for him.
“What water were you born in?”
“Well I wasn't born in this water.”
“He's a stranger. They are often trouble,” said Luther the biggest fish amongst the crowd. He was also the King’s right hand fish.
“If you weren't born in this water then where do you come from?”
“I wasn't born in water. Until a few hours ago, I used to be a human being.”
King Sloan grew angry and all the other trout moved back in horror.
“We do not like humans.”
“What's wrong with humans?”
“They use metal hooks to catch us. Sometimes they use nets to scoop a lot of us up at once. They also pour chemicals into the water that make us sick and often kill us. Humans are our sworn enemy.”
“King Sloan, I think he should be banished.”
“But he doesn't know the area and Spike almost ate him this morning.” Tatiana pleaded with her father and the rest of the colony.
“If Spike eats him, then he might leave the rest of us alone.”
“Luther, I will decide if he stays or has to go. Tell me about your battle with Spike.”
“I was exploring an area and saw him coming at me with all of those teeth. So I swam as fast as I could and he followed me and no matter what maneuver I tried, I couldn't shake him. Then I saw a log and went through a hole that he couldn't get through. I hid in there and then left on the other side.”
Everyone cheered.
“You have earned your place among us.”
“I still think he's trouble.”
“We are a peaceful kingdom and help one another out as much as possible. If you can abide by this code then you can stay.”
“It would be a pleasure to be part of your kingdom sire.”
“Very well.”
“He needs a place to stay father.”
“Then show him to the mud bank and a suitable empty hole.”
Tatiana led Bernard to living quarters where he found a practical mud hole. It wasn't the lap of luxury, but it was better than being left out in the elements with Spike lurking about or worse, a sturgeon or large channel cat.
5
Bernard adjusted to his new world. Life in the Kingdom of Sloan was good. There was lots of food and with each passing day, he became more accustomed to being a fish. He also grew close to Tatiana who taught