Seems like a lot of folks are shark crazy this week with all the shark-related shows on TV. I even wasted some time watching a bit of Sharknado II – if you missed it, I am sure it will be on a thousand more times.  So, in honor of Shark Week, here is a little fish story for you.

Enjoy!

One day many years ago, a fisherman’ and his wife had twin sons. They were very excited with the addition to their family, but try as they might, they just could not come up with appropriate names for the two boys. After struggling with this for days, the fisherman said, “Let’s not decide on names right now. If we wait a little while, perhaps the names will simply occur to us.” 

Several weeks passed, and the fisherman and his wife noticed a peculiar fact. When the boys were left alone, one would always turn towards the sea, while the other would always face inland. It didn’t matter how the parents positioned the children, the same child always faced the same direction. “Let’s call the boys Towards and Away,” suggested the fisherman. His wife thought this a bit odd, but lacking any good alternatives, she agreed.  From that point on, the boys were simply known as Towards and Away.

Well, the years passed quickly and the lads grew tall and strong. The day came when the aging fisherman said to his sons, “Boys, it’s time that you learned how to make a living from the sea.” They loaded their ship, said their goodbyes, and set sail for a three-week voyage.

The three weeks passed quickly for the fisherman’s wife, yet the ship had not returned. Another three weeks passed, and still no ship.

Three months passed before the grieving woman saw a lone man walking towards her house. She finally recognized him as her husband. “My goodness! What has happened to my darling boys?” she cried.

 The ragged fisherman began to tell his tragic tale:

“We were just barely one whole day out to sea when Towards hooked into a great giant shark. Towards fought long and hard, but the shark was more than his equal. For a whole week they wrestled upon the waves without either of them letting up. Yet eventually the great shark started to win the battle, and Towards was pulled over the side of our ship. He was swallowed whole, and we never saw either of them again.”

“Oh dear, that must have been terrible! What a huge shark that must have been! What a horrible fish. What a terrible, horrible shark!”

 “Yes, it was, but you should have seen the one that got Away!”

Thought for the Week 

Men and fish are alike.  They both get into trouble when they open their mouths.  ~Author Unknown