Big Al and Shrimpy

Big Al and Shrimpy
By Andrew Clements
Big Al and Shrimpy
In a wide blue sea, there was a very clever fish named Shrimpy
You should not find a smarter fish
But Shrimpy was also very very small
Shrimpy wanted to be with Big Al
But no one wanted to be friends with a tiny fish like him
So Shrimpy was lonely
And he cried little salty tears into the big salty sea
One day,all the fish said, ?Let?s play tag!?
Big Al said ?Me, too!
And Shrimpy said, ?Yah! Me too!?
When the game started, Big Al was there. Big Al was fast but he couldn?t zig-zag. He couldn?t tag anyone except Shrimpy.
Then, Shrimpy was ?It?. Shrimpy was too slow. He couldn?t catch anyone. But Shrimpy was smart, he waited in just the right place, and then he tagged Big Al.?
All the other fish said, ?It?s not fair! Shrimpy and Big Al are just tagging each other.? So, Big Al and Shrimpy had to leave the game.
And that?s when Big Al and Shrimpy became best friends.
For Shrimpy, it is great to have a big strong friend.
Shrimpy could fly to the water faster than ever before.
Shrimpy always had plenty of sea.
And Shrimpy could go to many places with Big Al.
One day, Shrimpy and Big Al went to the edge of the big deep.
Shrimpy had never seen the big deep before. The big deep was too scary.
But not now. With Big Al next to him, Shrimpy felt just fine.
They went right at the edged and looked over. It was dark in there.
The big deep went down and down and down.
It went down so far that some fish think there was no bottom at all!
Shrimpy said, ?Could you push a rock in there??
Big Al puffed himself up and said, ?Sure I could. Just watch.?
Big Al pushed a round green rock. He flipped his tail and he flapped his fins. The rock moved a little and then it went over the edge.
Big Al and Shrimpy was looking.
The rock tumbled down and down and down. And then, all was quiet again.
Shrimpy said, ?That was great!?
Big Al smiled and puffed himself up. He said, ?Watch this!?
He pushed another one. Even bigger.
Big Al pushed another big rock. He flipped his tail and he flapped his fins.
The rock moved a little and Big Al pushed farther.
Then over the edge it went.
But Big Al said, ?Oh no! Help!
His fin was stuck in the crack on the rock.
The rock went tumbling into the deep and Big Al went with it.
Shrimpy was so scared, he swam back to get all of the other fish.
?Come quick! We have to help Big Al!? All the fish came to the edge of the Big Deep. One fish said, ?We can?t go down there. It?s too deep and too dark.? Everyone was ready to just give up. But not Shrimpy. He said, ?We have to help Big Al and I know how.? Halfway down the Big Deep it was almost dark. Big Al saw a big fish and all at once he didn?t feel so big anymore. He wanted to swim home to his friends but he couldn?t. His fin was still stuck and the white rock was caught on a big shell. If he pulled too hard the shell might come loose. Big Al was scared. He did not want to go deeper and what if that giant fish got hungry. Suddenly, just above him, Big Al saw a light. The giant fish saw it, too, and he swam away fast. The light came closer and closer. It was a lantern fish and Shrimpy! Shrimpy looked at the rock and he looked at the shell and he looked at Big Al?s fin. Then, Shrimpy gave some orders. Ten little fish held the shell, and ten little fish held the white rock. Then, Shrimpy called ten other fish to pull out Big Al?s fin. Pop! It came loose and just in time. The white rock wobbled and then it tumbled down the deeper parts of the Big Deep. Then, Shrimpy told everyone to turn around. A chain of fish swam up and up and up and Big Al followed Shrimpy headed for home. There was a party that night. Everyone was happy that Big Al was safe. But guess of honor was Shrimpy, the little fish with Big ideas. The End.