Once upon a time, right here on
earth, there was a terrible flood. This flood covered every bit of land, up to
the tallest mountain. All that was left was water. Now many might wonder what
happened to all those living things that lived on land, but did you ever wonder
about the fish that lived down below? Were these sea creatures happy that now
their whole world was truly their oyster? Or did they have just as hard of a
time as all the other living creatures of the earth? This flood came swiftly
and lasted an entire year. Here is the tale of one fish in particular, a fish named Sparky.
(Earth Cover by Water - Wikipedia)
Sparky was a tropical fish that
lived in warm waters right in the center of earth. Sparky was a mid-sized fish with hints of blue and yellow coloring scattered over his body. He had two fins on the side of his body that were yellow and three back fins that were a radiant blue. Sparky was a fast little fellow,
and he loved to spend his days dashing from seabed to seabed. He had lots of brothers and sisters that he did everything with. One of his favorite things to do was play games and swim all day with his friends and family. He often went to
shore during the day to play in the waves, until one day, there was no shore.
Where there once was a beach with radiant waves, there was now just more water.
Sparky was sad that he could no longer play in the waves, but he found that he had
tons of green vegetation to eat. There were more plants to eat than he had ever
seen in his life. He ate and ate until he nearly couldn’t swim anymore. As
weeks turned into months Sparky began to lose his spark.
(Sparky - Wikimedia)
He really wished he could play in
the waves like he used to, and he couldn’t even swim very fast anymore. He had
eaten so much that he had become fat and no longer had the speed and agility he
once had. The shallow sea beds where Sparky used to go to hang out with his friends was there no more. The whole ocean had changed. There were no longer shallow waters for Sparky to lie down and rest. He found himself constantly moving from place to place, and often became very tired. There was too much water and all his normal
migration patterns were messed up. Sparky had a hard time finding any fish or
living things around him sometimes at all. This dark era nearly caused Sparky
to lose hope and forget all the good times he used to have.
Until one day something changed.
Not all at once, but Sparky could feel that something was different. He had been swimming in deep waters of darkness for so long, but he could now see rays of light. The water had also turned so cold during this last year, but he could now feel it warming back up. He began to grow optimistic with each passing day. After a few weeks Sparky finally saw
land. That was probably the happiest any fish has ever been to see land. Sparky
returned to the warm waters of his home, still a bit plumper than he used to
be, and after what seemed like an eternity he played in the waves.
(The Land and Waves - Pixabay)
He was reunited with his fishy friends and family. Some of his
friends didn’t make it back home, which was very sad for Sparky and his friends. All the fish will
still remember the year where the whole earth was under water for a long time.
But for the most part things went back to normal and Sparky got to go back to
his fun sparky ways.
Author's Note: This story is based on the story Noah and the Ark,
and the flood in that story. This flood lasted one year and covered the whole
earth in water. Noah put two of every species of animal on this Ark in order
for those species to survive. He was not able to put any fish or marine animals
on his ark though.
We always hear about all the animals, people and living things on
land that suffered from the flood, but no one ever considered the animals in
the water. There are many major problems that would have caused marine life to suffer from this flood as well. First, the migration patterns of
animals would be completely messed up and many of those fish would become separated.
Secondly, lots of fish can only survive in shallow waters and would not survive
in all the deep waters that covered the earth. Another factor that would be harmful
is the change in salt water and fresh water. The fresh and salt water would become mixed and entirely change the water composition. There are many more problems that would come from this flood that would impact aquatic animals. These are just some major ones that I can
thing of.
This story originates from
the Bible and I wanted to make it fun and lighthearted to where children would
like reading it. If they read this story they might want to learn more about
the original Noah’s Ark story and other stories from the Bible.
Bibliography: Noah and the Ark , by Louis Ginzberg, 1909. Link to online source
I really liked your title; it made me want to read the story. You posed a very interesting question and I really enjoyed the set up for the story. I would’ve assumed that the fish would’ve been happy with the whole world submerged, but I have to admit that I had never thought about how sea life would’ve perceived a completely underwater world. I also really enjoyed the new perspective on the story. I suppose it would be weird for a fish to suddenly have a much larger world. Food, migration, all of it would be different which makes a lot of sense. One thing I’m curious about is the waves. There are waves out in the middle of the ocean. Even if the whole world was covered in water, wouldn’t there still be waves? That’s really my only criticism. It was an interesting take. And I really enjoyed the story. Hopefully Sparky finds some friends because I feel bad for him. He seems lonely.
ReplyDeleteMacey, I really enjoyed your story. I love how you took a serious story like Noah's Ark and turned it into something simple and easy to read. I really like how you gave a different perspective as well. I've always heard about the flood and Noah's Ark, but every story only describes what life was like above the surface. One thing you might consider adding would maybe give Sparky some family members or friends that you could talk about so that he didn't seem so lonely. One way you could go would be like a Finding Nemo type of theme. Once the earth flooded, he was swept away from his family and friends due to the new ocean patterns, but then in the end he was reunited. Just some suggestions in case you ever thought about extending your story. Overall, I really enjoyed your short story. I think it was a new fresh take on Noah's Ark. I could definitely see a children's book being written about this new perspective!
ReplyDeleteThis is a clever little story. It's true, the animals on land were not the only ones affected by the flood. Here is another thing to think about: not all fish are saltwater fish, so having the world covered in ocean could still have killed a lot of underwater life. Also, some fish cannot live in the deep waters, so in some ways the shallow waters also got flooded with deep water.
ReplyDeleteSparky has a fitting name. Describing his situation and emotions makes me feel sorry for him. It's good to make readers feel emotions for the characters.
Starting the story with once upon a time does a good job of giving the story a classical fairytale/folklore feel. Can you tell us a little bit about Sparky's friends from before the flood? Maybe make Sparky think about specific memories he had with friends. This would make the absence even sadder.
Just a few things to think about! I really did like the story.
I really enjoyed reading your story! I thought how you decided to branch off from the story of Noah’s Ark by writing a fish’s perspective was very clever. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like if there was a flood on earth like that today! I also really liked that you included more than just one picture throughout the story. It helped give me a mental picture of what was going on.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that caught my attention was your title! I tend to forget how important the title can be. It will either encourage someone to read the story or discourage someone from reading it. I thought your version of the fish called Sparky was really cute! I love the story of Noah and I would love to read this version to both of my nieces! They would really like it!
ReplyDeleteI really like the design you chose for your blog page! The colors are vibrant and they make reading a little more fun. You did a really good job of spacing out the paragraphs of your story; it made it very readable. The lighter blue/white font stands out really well against the background. I also thought the blue/green color was the perfect color for this story since it was about the ocean. All of your images fit perfectly with what was happening in the story, and I liked that you had more than one. I am often guilty of putting just one picture. The links in your story worked but only one of them led me to a site where I could learn anything more. The other two just led to the picture itself in another place. Maybe in the future you could use links that give the reader more information about the picture! Overall, your blog is easy to navigate and the links between pages work really well. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI would have never thought to make a story about the animals that couldn't go into the ark because they live in the ocean! I can honestly say that even though I've heard this story a million times, I've never wondered what happened to the marine life! I wonder if Sparky would have lost any of his friends or family in the flood. I think your story was really great because it is all about how even though a change might have been made in order to accomplish one thing, there are often other huge consequences that the actor may not have taken into account. A big change like the flooding of the world would be hard to endure! I think my favorite thing in your whole story was the rich imagery. It was awesome that you really made Sparky and the ocean come to life by describing them in a very detailed way.
ReplyDeleteCreative story! I think it great you came up with the idea of the flood under water. I have never though about that perspective before. Great idea! I wonder how the water went down though? Did another major occurrence take place? The picture of the fish goes really well with your description. It makes it easy to imagine the story being told.
ReplyDeleteThis was such a creative story! I've read the Noah and the Ark story many times since I was little, but I had never thought of the fact that Noah couldn't save any of the animals that lived in the sea. You are so creative for thinking of that! The only things I would suggest as far as revising would be to tell more of how Sparky felt when he was separated from his family and friends. Did he start to worry? Did he go looking for them? Did he start eating all that food because he got depressed? The only other thing I would suggest revising is your font size. I sometimes have to squint when I am reading it, or maybe you could try bolding it? It would make it much easier to read your stories on your Portfolio. Overall, great story and I look forward to reading more of your work!
ReplyDeleteHi Macey! You took a totally different perspective from the famous Noah's Ark story, and it worked really well! I never ever ever considered the ocean life and how the flood affected them. Of course it would affect the sea critters! When a massive flood like that, their whole ecosystem would change! The name Sparky made me chuckle. I like that name. I appreciate the fact that you have background information about Sparky and his life before the flood. There was such a huge contrast when comparing his life pre-flood and post-flood. You wouldn't think that land would affect a fish much but your story showed how it did! At least it affected one little fish named Sparky. You know what would have been a crazy story? What if God did the opposite? Instead of flooding the Earth, he removed all the water, and the Earth was just covered with land. I guess it wouldn't have eliminated the "evil" from the world as rapidly as drowning, but no water is still a pretty good punishment if you ask me. Good job on creating a whole new story and shedding light on an important habitat!
ReplyDeleteHey Macy!
ReplyDelete(I was in your group last semester for Debbie’s class! Wally—Walter? The Whale…)
I loved your first paragraph for this story! The phrase, ”right here on earth” was neat, and it gave it that fun “storytelling” vibe. I also like that you enticed us with the question, “Were these sea creatures truly happy the world was their oyster?” because it’s something I wouldn’t have thought about but then immediately wanted an answer to!
“He ate and ate until he nearly couldn’t swim anymore.” I love the simple writing style, and how it reads sort of like a children’s book (a sophisticated one.) This, plus the name Sparky, just really makes me like Sparky the fish, and I was sad when he had no more waves to play in.
I love the build-up to his water returning to normal! “Something changed—not all at once, but slowly.”
One suggestion I would make to help tighten up your writing would be to look for phrases that are in the past progressive (I think that’s what it is) rather than simple past. “He began to grow optimistic” would just be “He grew optimistic with each passing day.” You don’t need the “began to,” because that just slows down the action and the writing.
Overall, I loved it! I thought it was really cute, and I think it’s crazy that you thought of what happened to marine life during The Flood. That’s something I’ve never considered, and you made some really valid and interesting points about it!
Hi Macey, I was really surprised when I saw your title, and it made me excited to read your story. Most people have heard the flood story, but this was exciting to read because it was a fresh take on that. It was definitely original! I expected for the fish to be really happy at first because everything was theirs to explore. I didn’t even think of how it might be bad for them as well as being bad for the land creatures. It was sad that Sparky couldn’t find any of his friends since the ocean had become too large. Your pictures really helped to add a visual aspect to your story, and made it easier to imagine the setting that it took place in. Your colors also went along with this nicely, and gave it an ocean type of feel. I did have a little trouble reading the words because they seemed a little small on the page, but other than that your story was great!
ReplyDeleteI’m from the Indian Epic Class and decided to check out some stories for your class! The title and description of your story had me interested at once! For one of my storytelling assignments, I wrote about the Indian Epic through the eyes of Marlin and Dory so I loved that you also used a fish in your story as well! I absolutely love the name Sparky. I feel that it fits the character so well. You also used such great descriptions to depict the fish and the surroundings. You did it so well I could have pictured Sparky without the picture you provided. I love that you took a story we are all familiar with and tweaked it a bit, providing a different point of view than what we’re used to. You did a great job of allowing the readers to follow along with Sparky as he explores the waters. Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteYour story called out to me because I had just read someone else's rendition of Noah's Ark. Your snipit said it was from the fish's perspective so I knew I had to read it. This was a really great idea- I have not seen anyone take this stance in Noah's Ark yet. I like that you kept a childlike feel but brought up real potential issues such as migration patterns. It makes the story easy for young readers but also still teaching them real facts about the ocean. Honestly I had never though about the marine life during the story of Noah's Ark so I am glad you brought this perspective up to me!
ReplyDelete