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From the series Grandpa Ralot Tales

Miss Swallows lessons

Late December. Evening.

My beloved grandchildren George and Mary, having mucked up their clothes with glue and sticky pieces ofpaper (they have been cutting out snowflakes and various figures all day, and then have been hanging them on the window), finally calmed down and grew quiet inthe corner, looking through an old, battered book with New Year pictures.

Grandpa! Were bored! my granddaughter resolutely declares inabout five minutes.

Thats because there is still no snow! George echoes her and points his finger at the painted snowdrift, There is snow everywhere but not here.

You cant ask Santa Claus tobring presents let alone even real snowflakes! Mary echoes her brother, If only Icould find out his phone number! Then we would be able tocall him and ask if we are going tomodel amudman instead ofasnowman again as we had todo last year!



Stop being mean! Send here ahuge snow cloud and get amoveon!

And gifts, too, Georges sister adds, There is no New Year without gifts! Am Iright, Grandpa?

Ofcourse, Iagree and continue, But only on the condition that you obeyed your parents and grandparents for awhole year, put away your toys, helped your grandparents, well, and were not too naughty Anyway, its time for someone togo tobed. Do we need tomake it more specific, or is it clear?!

Tomy surprise, the kids are getting up from their seats and walking away tothe bedroom. Iam delighted bythis, take acouple ofsteps towards the kitchen but Ishould not have.

And what about afairy tale? Weve been waiting for anew tale all day! the voices are coming up behind me. You promised us this morning! Have you forgotten? You are getting old, aren t you? the kids are exclaiming inaduet.

Iam scratching the back ofmy head, remembering that at breakfast Idid make such apromise and then Iask inadoleful tone:

Well, who should Itell you about today?

About them, Mary pokes her finger at the wall ofthe large aquarium.

You have already written about frogs, also about afirefly, but there hasnt been astory about fish yet, George agrees with his sister then takes her bythe hand and pulls her towards the bathroom: he hopes that the sooner they brush their teeth and get into beds, the sooner anew fairy tale will be told!




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Chapter 1. Marine Science


The teacher ofthe school named after the Blue Whale, an elderly fish Miss Swallow, who had visited all the seas and oceans, was swimming slowly tothe far grotto, not forgetting tolook carefully around: her life experience suggested that danger could lie inwait for alonely fish on the right, on the left and even from above from theair.

***

All the twelve students little gudgeons, having made themselves snug behind the seaweedcovered rocks, were eagerly waiting for their beloved teacher.

Afew more patches ofsunlight and Iam going toswim away into shallow water because the water is warmer there and we can have agood time playing tag, kid gudgeon named Jocky gurgled. He waved his transparent fin and proposed:

Guys, whos coming withme?

Calm down, fidget! Swim quickly back toyour place! Needle fish has taken him up short, I, as the monitor ofthe class, and the oldest ofthe present, forbid everyone toswim away. If the teacher is late, it means that there are good reasons for that, maybe she is fleeing away from areal shark rightnow.

Needle, why does everyone call our teacher Miss Swallow? My mother told me that swallows are birds that build nests along the banks ofrivers and seas and actually, they are afraid ofwater and fly down tothe water surface for asecond toget some water, little Smelt said and sat down at her stone desk.

Shame on you! Youre always wagging your tail and inattentively listening tothe lesson.

Miss Swallow told us at the first lesson that she got the name Swallow for her tail, which is as long and bifurcated as the tails ofbirds that fly intheair

And maybe you can tell us what ashark is and what it looks like? Smelt unceremoniously interrupted the monitor.

That is the topic ofour lesson today, Miss Swallow answered for Needle, floating gracefully into the classroom, and remember, minnows, teachers are never late they sometimes come late but purely for objective reasons. For example, today Ihave arrived afew minutes late because on the way toour school Iwas pondering why all fish live short lives. Few ofthem live toan oldage

Because the predators eat us, Jocky gurgled and, just incase, hid himself behind the rock.

Firstly, it is extremely impolite tointerrupt the teacher, Miss Swallow replied, and secondly, you are absolutely right. Indeed, we have plenty ofenemies. And one ofthem is apredatory shark, which we are going totalk about today.




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Chapter 2. Predators


Remember, minnows! Sharks are different.

Blue and red, Jocky sneered softly, so that only his classmate Mackerel could hearhim.

Meanwhile, the teacher continued:

There are very big sharks and small ones. And surprisingly, the larger theyare

The scarier, Jocky cried out from his place, My dad told me that inwarm seas there live enormous sharks, they are also called tiger sharks. They have such huge mouths that even one huge fish can swallow awhole school offish at atime!

Jocky, dont shout! Ihave an excellent hearing. Bythe way, most fish can hear very well. Ofcourse, unlike bipeds and quadrupeds walking around on the land, we dont have ears. But fish have abuilt-in inner ear. We use it toperceive water fluctuations, including your chatter! at these words, the teacher tapped her tail three times on the rocky bottom, calling the students toattention, shortly afterwards she continued:

Needle, did you invite Mister Octopus totodays lesson?

Yes, ofcourse. He is sitting inthe corner, hiding.

My friend, do me afavour, let out some ink, we need towrite something down, Miss Swallow turned tothe guest, and you children, dip your fins into ink clouds and write down: tiger sharks are not dangerous for fish, because they feed on plankton, which consists ofsmall organisms that float freely inthe water. Have you put it down? Then lets continue.

Another feature ofall sharks is replaceable teeth. They grow all the time, then fall out, but new ones appear instead ofthe old ones. Therefore, the bottom ofthe seas and oceans intheir habitats is littered with used shark teeth

The teacher did not finish the explanation because at that moment abig head ofafish appeared inthe narrow crack which served as adoor and snapped its mouth. Without delay all the gudgeons hid under the stone desks.

Only the calm teacher remained inher place.

Kids, you can swim out safely and have no fear: believe me, its just an oxye. Big two-legged humans gave it this name. Bythe way, its not the name ofthe fish, but its structure. See for yourselves, she picked up astick from the bottom and began poking it at the uninvited guest.

You see, the head is larger than the body and if it gets stuck, it will not be able tomove any farther.

And what is going tohappen tothis bull now? the monitor asked, can it swim backwards?

Miss Swallow once again tapped the stupid fishs muzzle with the stick, If it can swim inreverse, then it will gladly leave us and will keep inmind that you cant swim into aplace where you cant getout!

What if it fails todo it? Mackerel shouted from his place.

Well, then our school will have anew visual aid on the topic Predators and their teeth.




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Chapter 3. The next day. Flyingfish


Miss Swallow! Is it true that fish can fly? Ahermit crab told me about it. As for me, Icant. Itried, but Ifailed tomake it. Smelt chattered without astop, following her teacher.

Hold on, you restless! Wait for afew minutes and you will learn it. You had better swim quickly and fetch Madam Cuttlefish. We need her ink for the lesson. We are going towrite alot today, the elderly fish wanted towipe the sweat from her forehead with afin, but remembered intime that she was inthe sea, and infact, fish cannot sweat.

Blue Whale School. Five minutes later

Gudgeons! Are you going tocalm down today? If not, Iwill have tocall the head master here! Mister Stingray, with his thorn will bring you into line inno time, and somebody, the most disobedient, maybe

What? What may happen tothat fish? squeaked little Khamsa, peeking out from behind astone.

May be eaten up! That is what Imean! As far as Iremember, it has happened so, but actually, very seldom.

So, the topic oftodays lesson is Flying fish and Creeping fish.

Iwill be honest with you. Unlike yesterday, today Ihad toarrive here long before our class started

Why? Jocky, the fidget, interrupted the teacher inhis usual manner.

But this time Miss Swallow did not resent or reprimand him. She just continued calmly:

Ihad todig out and invite Miss Flounder tothe lesson. This is not an easy task, for she and her relatives always burrow into the sand when they see danger. And Ihad tomake aspecial effort toexplain that Iam not apredator and do not feed on flounders. Only when Igave her acompliment having called her the most charming and attractive fish inthe world, because she is the only fish that has both eyes on the same side Inaword, meet her beautifulness Mrs. Flounder inperson!

On hearing this, the monitor ofthe class fish Needle made Madam Cuttlefish angry, and the latter filled the whole class with herink.

All the minnows had towave their tails and fins vigorously tobe able tosee something inthe ink clouds.

After the break

Miss Swallow had difficulty indriving back all the naughty students totheir places. She was doing it with the help ofher bifurcated tail.

Well, toresume, she said, then thought for aminute and addressed the class with aquestion: Where do we start? Shall we begin with creeping or flying fish?

The little fish started making ahubbub, as if they were not under water, but were flying inthe sky like jackdaws. The class was split inhalf.

Meanwhile, the teacher was turning her head from side toside, not knowing which group toprefer.

The guest that had slept for the entire break, came toher rescue. She gurgled loudly and said that all her life she had been dreaming offlying, but, alas, she had tocrawl.

And only when Miss Flounder closed her mouth, Miss Swallow told the students an amazing story. Once, many years ago she was swimming inthe southern seas and met areal flying fish. While fleeing from predators this fish does not hide under the stones, but on the contrary, but it flies up inthe air and can fly up toten meters. The rest fishes get totally bewildered they cannnot understand where their legal prey went.

Do flying fish live inthe rivers? Mackerel asked with anxiety. Miss Swallow took abreath inthe gillstoanswer, but wise Miss Flounder was ahead ofher and vividly told the students astory which afriend Salmon had told her. He claimed tobe personally acquainted with afish byname Aravana. Well, she is the most terrible predator. She swims near the surface ofthe water, examines what is happening there inthe air, and as soon as she notices someone, immediately jumps out ofthe water and catches insects, small birds and even little snakes hanging from tree branches inthe air. Her attack is so quick that the prey is inAravanas mouth faster than it realizes that it has already been eaten!

Thank you, dear Miss Flounder, the teacher thanked the guest, you can swim further, here is anote for you, with the coordinates ofthe place where you will find alarge number ofyour favorite crustaceans, and we will continue the lesson.

On hearing this, Needle raised her fin and waved it impatiently.

You may answer, the teacher swam up tothe monitor and stroked her sharp head.



Are there any fish that can live without water? she gurgled and accidentally almost bit the teacher with her sharp teeth.

You see, children, Miss Swallow came up tothe vault ofthe grotto, and continued, there are places inthe seas and oceans where the sea periodically recedes from the land for several kilometers, this phenomenon is called low tide, and it lasts for several hours. But there are such fish as Anabas or creeper fish, and so, it can even move along the rocky shore for eight hours! And sometimes it crawls from one pool toanother but only at night, so that the bright sun does not dry out its scale.

Probably, this is how we, fish, appear inlakes and swamps, where we have not been before! exclaimed the quick-witted monitor.

It happens so. But mostly birds doit.

Who? the class gurgled inbewilderment.

Yes, yes. And there is nothing surprising inthis. Birds, floating on the water surface, their paws cling toour eggs, they stick tothe claws, and thus are transferred toother pools. But thats all for today. Write down your homework, Miss Swallow thought for aminute musing on some additional home task and even closed her eyes. And when she opened them, there was no one inthe grotto. Only the clumsy Flounder did not swim away and was looking for her favorite crustaceans right at the entrance tothe grotto.




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Chapter 4Symbiosis


Miss Swallow was watching her students playing tag from adistance.

The fish frolicked, not paying any attention tothe bush which was approaching them.

Only some time later, the most sharp-sighted Needle suddenly stopped dead inan upright position, as if she were Seahorse.

Oh! Teacher! Whats this? The bush is alive! How can itbe?

Yes, it happens so, Miss Swallow said quietly, so as not tofrighten away another visual aid for the forthcoming lesson with aloud sound.

Tell me, please, the fish asked together inawhisper.

Then lets go toour classroom. The topic oftodays lesson is Symbiosis.

All the students, having linied up inaregular column, swam into the grotto, pondering over the tricky word just uttered bythe teacher.

***

Which ofyou have seen live sharks? asked the teacher when everyone sat down at their stone desks.

Since everybody is intheir place and nobody is missing, so no one has seenthem! Needle, the monitor, answered for the classmates.

The teacher nodded insatisfaction and continued:

Sharks and other marine predators do not clean their terrible teeth and that is why there is plenty offood stuck between them.

Therefore, our Dame Nature created cleaner fish that are not afraid toswim into the terrible toothy mouths and eat what is left as well as destroyed dead skin and ectoparasites that live on the bodies oflarge fish. This is the first example ofsymbiosis, when predators do not eat small relatives that are ofuse. The latter are content with light and tasty food. Thus both fish benefit from such friendship.

Is this symbiosis? Needle, the excellent student, was raising the fin. The teacher did not answer her pets question and continued calmly:

Have you noticed that there is anewcomer inour class?

Everyone started clamoring and began toexamine the grotto. Finally, they have found asmall fish hiding behind arock inthe farthest corner.

Octa, baby, come out here, let everyone see your front dorsal fin, the teacher asked kindly.

Nope. Im very shy, avoice came from behind the stone.

Well, be agood fish, do not be afraid. Our students are kind. They wont laugh. Iassure you. Swim up tome quickly and show us something special that you and your parents have totravel quickly and, what is more important safely, Miss Swallow begged the new student.

Octa approached the board, seized with her teeth alarge bow ofbrown seaweed, which was on her head, and pulled it down.

The aglae fell on the sand and everyone except the teacher gasped. On the back ofthe new student were real suckers.

Wow! They are cute! Iwant such suckers, too! How did you grow them? Smelt blurted out inone breath, share them with your friends rightnow!

Our Octa needs suckers inorder tostick tothe belly ofashark, the teacher answered, with the help ofthis unique suction cup her relatives stick toany large fish or large sea animal and swim using free transportation' which is both convenient and safe.

They eat what predators havent eaten up, Jocky shouted from his seat.

Not at all! the new student was offended and pouted her lips, we, we feed on planktonic organisms.

Is this also symbiosis? asked Hamsa.

Alas, it is not. Miss Swallow tapped the stone with her tail, calling everyone tosilence she wanted toadd something else, but aliving bush tumbled groaning into the classroom.

Let me introduce myself Basil, the Hermit Crab, and on my back Ihave my best friend Basilia anemones. We have been living together for many years Iam Well, excuse my bad memory, Iforgot what Iwanted to saymy old age, you know.

Children, here is an example ofobligatorysymbiosis, the teacher continued answering for the guest, first, completely different sea creatures find each other, then the crab persuades the sea anemone tomove toits back. Poisonous Basilia protects him from parasites and predators, and Basil travels with her along the seabed, making it possible tofind more food. Admit that, waiting for along time for something tasty toswim byyou is worse than coming tothe delicacy yourself, and not walk, but ride on your friends back!




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