The crab and the tide

The crab and the tide. A story for children. By Richard Jenkins

 

Once there was a crab who lived on a sandy beach.

The beach was nice and the crab liked his patch of the beach.

The crab lived by eating small creatures and sea weed, which he found by scuttling around his patch

The crab could see the ocean from the beach, and every day when the tide came in, the crab would paddle and wash, splash and play.  He never ventured into the deep water as he didn't know if he could swim, or how far he could swim, or even how big the ocean was.

Every now and then, a very big tide , called a spring tide, would come in and leave debris, flotsam and jetsum would appear on the sea and on the beach.

The crab would explore the new treasures.

The tide would also be small from time to time, a neap tide.The crab would go up and down the beach, like a yo-yo.

 

One day, a very big tide came and the crab had nowhere to go, so big was the tide.

He had to try to swim in the deep sea. He found that after a bit of practice and some scary moments that he could swim quite well, and even very well after more practice.It was scary and tiring, but he managed to swim until he found a big rock.

He climbed up and rested and pondered. All along he could swim, and even if he still didn't know how big the ocean was, he had found a new belief and a new skill.

The crab was happy, but careful. He swam back to the beach and carried on living amongst the sand and off what the sea brought.

Every now and then, the crab would go exploring, but he always prepared himself and he never went too far. The ocean was big and dangerous, and the beach was safe. The crab liked the thrill of the ocean and the safety of the beach.

The crab lived out the rest of his days like this. He never did find how big the ocean was, but at least he explored it.

 

The end