A Fish Story

When David and I were first married, we had a small fish bowl and three fish. Bert, Ernie and Algie. ( He was an algae eater). Bert didn't last very long, he was, after all, a goldfish, and a 10 cent feeder fish at that. Ernie seemed sad, so David and I went out and bought him some new friends: Sherbet and Malt. Malt also didn't last very long, but I don't think Sherbet and Ernie cared much about him anyway. Sherbet and Ernie took to swimming really fast around the bowl in circles, and every so often they would run into Algie as they went by. Algie, being an algae eater, was generally stuck to the side of the bowl. This seemed like a game to those of us watching. Circle, circle, slam!!! Circle, circle, slam!!! Eventually, Algie would give up trying to cling to the bowl and start circling with Sherbet and Ernie. It was NASCAR for fishes.

This couldn't last forever, because as with all creatures, if you get slammed up against the side of a fish bowl often enough, it's going to do some damage. Yes, poor Algie died. Sherbet and Ernie were left circling the bowl with no one to slam into. Circle, circle,...Circle, circle...

Not long after this, being a 10 cent feeder himself, Ernie died. Sherbet was left alone in the bowl. He swam rather aimlessly for a couple of days and then he went belly up, too. David and I think he died of loneliness.

The moral of this story is: "Fish are friends, not food!"



Disclaimer: Believe it if you wish, David and I know the truth.