The Fish That Looked Different

“The Fish That Looked Different” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Sakina Kassim Matcheswala, JSS International School, Dubai, UAE.

The Fish That Looked Different

One day a beautiful fish named Miranda was swimming in the sea. She was pink in colour with purple stripes. She looked lovely and was playing in the water. Suddenly she felt she had come the wrong way. Oops!! She had entered a Mermaid house and disturbed her sleep.

The mermaid got very angry and cursed Miranda. She turned her into an ugly black and yellow fish. Also put her to sleep for 4 years. When Mirinda got up from her deep sleep, she saw a magical message that appeared from her body. “Find the key from the red treasure in Limzim land so that you can be beautiful again.”

Mirinda didn't know Limzim land, so she went swimming in all directions. Soon she was tired and sad. She sat near a rock and started crying. A fish named Lura passed that way and saw her. Lura was a nice and friendly fish. She heard Mirinda's story and told her some magical words that she had learnt from her Mermaid friend. She also gave her a magical needle to use when needed.

After Lura left, Miranda said the magic words. At once, she saw a glowing tunnel in front of her. She swam through it and reached Limzim land. She could see the red treasure and hurried towards it. A big purple Monster Octopus was guarding the treasure. It came to attack her. It was really a scary sight! Mirinda poked the magical needle in its tentacle. The Octopus got a shock and died. Miranda thanked God and went to find the key.

Miranda searched for the key for a very long time but she couldn't find it. She closed her eyes and started praying. When she opened her eyes, she saw a snail wiggling its way through the red treasure. Mirinda decided to follow it. Hurray! She reached the key.

Mirinda used the key to open a glass box which lying next to it. She found a blue liquid, which she rubbed on her body. Finally, she turned into a beautiful fish again! She was very happy and went back to her home and decided to be very careful next time she went playing.