Because of seahorse clint

There was once a male seahorse named Clint, who lived in the Pacific Ocean. He had a wife, named Blouza, the most beautiful seahorse in the ocean. They had many, many children.

Clint was favored by the seahorse king, who gave him a high rank in the kingdom. His rank made his neighbors jealous of him. They often whispered to one another gossip about Clint. When he was around, they teased him.

One time one of his neighbors told Clint that his brother, Manuel, had been telling everybody that Clint had blackmailed the king to give him his rank. Supposedly, Clint had threatened the king, “If you don’t make me you right-hand, I will kill you.”

Clint got very angry hearing the story. He went to see his brother. “Manuel, get out of your house! Let us fight!” he shouted. Manuel got out; “What is it, brother?” he asked.

“Why are you telling everybody that I threatened to kill the king if I were not appointed his right-hand?!”

“No! I will never do that to you, brother,” Manuel swore. “Who told you that?” he asked.

Clint told Manuel that it was Luke who told him. And they both went looking for Luke to settle it out. They went to the Luke’s house in the coral reef. “Luke, come out here and let’s talk!” Manuel yelled.

Luke came out, asking, “What is it?”

“Why are you spreading rumors about my brother and naming me to be the source?” Manuel asked angrily. 

“No, it’s not me…” Luke tried to reason, but before he could finish Manuel began throwing stones at him.

“Nah, we better fight!” said Manuel as he hurled yet another stone at Luke. Luke retaliated and the fight had drawn the attention of the other seahorses, who started to gather out of curiosity.

The exchange of stones continued. Soon, many of the other seahorses around got hit. The small ones, especially, were badly knocked down.  The rest began to disperse.

“Stop!” Clint shouted. The force of Clint’s shout stunned the two fighting seahorses. “Look around you! Look what you’ve done!” he told them.

 “What… What happened?” Manuel and Luke mumbled in surprise as they looked around. Many seahorses lay wounded. They were hit by the stones. Many died, too.

 “It’s all your fault!” Clint rebuked the two. “A mere rumor had caused this disaster! Manuel and Luke bent their heads in remorse. It was their fault, they knew. 

Clint was repentant, as well. The fight was, after all, about him. He realized he should not have even picked up such small talk in the first place.

Shienna Kay S. Coles 11 years old Grade V Compostela Central School