In a country where there are hardly any trees, just a lot of sand and a huge sea all around, there lived a little boy. He lived with his parents in a small house near the beach. The windows of his room looked out to the sea. In the morning he was awakened by the chirping of seagulls flying to the edge of the sea and in the evening he was lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves. Because he loved the water and was always swimming and diving, everyone called him Swimmy.
In the morning, he had barely had breakfast before he jumped into his swimming trunks and went to the sea. Swimmy also liked animals. When he was diving, he watched them under the water. Under the water he saw colourful fish, sea turtles, and sometimes also a curious dolphin which swam up to see the boy. The little swimmer wished very much to have a pet. He wanted to take care of it and feed it, and most importantly, he wanted to have it all to himself and close to him.
One day when he was diving in the sea, a strange fish swam up to him. It was yellow with blue stripes and wasn’t afraid of him at all. It just swam around and watched him. The fish came closer and closer to him. And when she was within arm’s reach, Swimmy took advantage of it. He quickly caught it and put it in his bucket of water. He was so glad to have a pet. He made her a beautiful aquarium. He put rocks, plants, a little house and sand inside. He filled the aquarium with water from the sea and let the fish in. The poor thing didn’t know where it was. First it bumped into the glass a few times, but then it quickly hid among the plants. The swimmer fed it every day and tried to take the best care of it, but the fish was still just hiding. He sat down at the aquarium, knocked and asked. “What are you missing? Why are you afraid? Why are you sad?” The fish slowly peeked out from its hiding place. It began to swim strangely around the sand, running its fin along the bottom. When it stopped moving and the water calmed down, Little Swimmer noticed an inscription on the bottom of the aquarium that the fish had written in the sand with its fin. “Home.” He read the inscription and understood. Even though it made him sad, he knew that the fish belonged in the sea. It was the only way to make her happy. The next day he took the fish and released it into the sea. Immediately the fish began to swim wildly and spin happily. “And will you ever come to mine when I’m diving?” Swimmy asked sadly. The little fish shook its head and patted his hand, which was submerged in the water, with its fin.
They had been inseparable friends ever since. Every day the little fish came to see Swimmy and he looked forward to seeing her every day. At first he was sorry to let her go, but he knew it was the right thing to do. It’s nice to think of others and do something to make them happy. Because then we’re happy too.
