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The Tuna that decided not to listen.
The Tuna fish was always swimming with his swarm of Tuna fish buddies, one after the other, like soldiers. Always watching out for predators, working in unison, never letting their guard down, which was the reason as to why there was never any time for fun. As the Elder Tuna said, “We must never let our guard down, the predators are always lurking, stalking, preparing their attack. Never let separate yourself from the swarm, being together is what keeps you alive”.
One day, while following the route his swarm always follows, Tuna fish started talking about how he didn’t feel comfortable doing what he was told to do. “Has anyone ever felt like they’ve always wanted to do more, but can’t, because Elder Tuna won’t allow it?” Tuna fish said, hoping to get some of the same responses in return, but surprisingly, every fish in his swarm told him to shut up and be quiet and keep in line, and they began to ignore him. This makes Tuna fish upset and he slowly lets everyone pass him and makes his way into the back of the swarm, so that he does not have to talk to anybody. In the middle of their journey back home, Tuna fish see’s a group of clown fish near their coral, just talking and laughing, with almost no worries in life, and no elder clown fish to be seen anywhere near. Tuna starts to think to himself “Hmm, I wonder how that must feel like, having no responsibility to anyone, having to follow no rules, and just being able to hang out with your friends at any time, any place, any day”.
As he was thinking about it, something happened inside of him, not really sure of what happened to him, he separated himself from his swarm, and Elder’s rules were clear. “if one falls behind, no one goes and picks him back up, he’s on his own”. And so he was, on his own. With his new found spontaneous freedom, Tuna fish decides to approach the Clownfish, and starts talking to them. Tuna fish was pretty good at making friends, so the Clownfish accepted him into their clan and they invited Tuna to a party in another coral, somewhere where Tuna fish had never been to. Tuna, now free of his swarm, accepts and is happy because he is no longer a soldier, but his own fish.
“The only problem is that the coral is near where some sharks live”, one of the Clownfish said. Tuna fish had never seen a shark, and did not know how dangerous they could be. “So what?”, said Tuna fish. The other Clownfish were impressed and thought that the Tuna fish was very brave, and decide to go to the party.
They went to the party, and have a fun time. On their way back, as the Clownfish had mentioned, they encounter with a shark. Tuna had never seen one, and was stunned at his size and teeth. Due to this, Tuna gets all frozen up, and the other Clownfish run, leaving Tuna fish all alone. The last thought of Tuna fish, seeing the open jaws of the shark, was “Maybe I should have listened to Elder Tuna and stayed in the swarm”.
The End
The lesson: The young ones should always appreciate the counsel of the elder ones.
