Angela

Not all angelfish are perfect angels . . .

It’s August 1st, and I wanted to start with a great big THANK YOU to everyone who ordered a copy of my brand new children’s book, Cosette Goes to the County. If you still haven’t had a chance there are still a few hours left to get your paws on a book. Sales end at midnight tonight . . .

BUT . . .

This month’s story is BRAND NEW, and it’s all about a devilish angelfish who just doesn’t fit in with the rest of her crowd . . . or her SCHOOL, as the fish like to say! When Angela swims away from home she discovers she’s not the only fish who feels a little different. But, sometimes it’s our differences that can make us pretty darn cool . . .

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Angela

by caitlin nicole evans

Dedicated to my oldest, best-est friend Angela. We met in art class, and flash forward 20 years, we still love crafting and creating together! Thanks for always swimming by my side and helping me have some “devilish” fun . . .

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(Click the PLAY button below to hear the audio story. BUT, this month’s story is filled with cartoons, so don’t forget to follow along with the illustrations . . . )

Once upon an ocean, there lived an angelfish named Angela.

Angela did not quite fit in with her particular school of fish.

Angelfish were known for being . . .

well . . .

angels.

They were NEVER troublemakers.

They ALWAYS paid attention in class.

And, they were well known for being there to lend a helping fin.

On the other hand, Angela liked to move with her own current.

Most of the time, that meant that Angela was NOOOOO angel.

She could be pretty silly . . .

She could be a little sneaky . . .

Sometimes, she could even be downright stinky . . .

The other angelfish thought Angela was weird.

It made Angela resent being an angelfish at all!

 All that bittery-bitterness could make Angela feel angry, and then she could be a bit of a devil . . .

When she wasn’t feeling resentful or angry, Angela really just felt lonely. It was tough being the “black fish” in a sea of perfect silver scales.

She sometimes wished she could slink away, like an octopus slunked in a cave.

However, Angela had bright shiny scales, not so great for hiding! Instead, she decided it would be best to simply swim away.

Her parents had been threatening to send her to fin-ishing school anyways, and she certainly didn’t want that!

So, she set off alone with no plan in mind except to get away from all those perfectly-perfect angels.

Swimming deeper away into the sea, Angela passed many different schools of fish.

Mostly, it seemed, everyone fit in right where they belonged.

Except for maybe the octopus. They seemed to wander alone, their tantalizing tentacles perfectly peaceful.

Unfortunately, Angela was NOT an octopus. Sometimes, she felt a bit of company would be nice.

Continuing her swim, she eventually came across a cluster of clownfish.

Among the sea of stripes, Angela met a clownfish named Chloe.

Like Angela, Chloe did not fit in with the other clownfish.

The problem was Chloe wasn’t clownish at all. She wasn’t funny, or goofy, or even silly.

Chloe was shy. She was quiet. And, she preferred reading books over clowning around . . .

Chloe also felt like an outcast, and decided to follow Angela away from her own school of fish.

As they swam further away, Angela and Chloe came across a consortium of crabs.

They met a crab named Craig. He was also different from his cast of crabs. They were all quite crabby.

But, Craig was bubbly. He was overly optimistic. He never thought the shell was half-empty. It was always half-full in Craig’s incredibly un-crabby mind.

This drove the other crabs crazy . . .

Craig was tired of being the only happy crab in the clan, and crawled away with Angela and Chloe.

Eventually, the school of misfits met a shiver of sharks.

They were stealthy and scary and had jaws filled with sharp white teeth.

Angela thought the sharks were pretty cool. Chloe was nervous. Craig was hopeful the sharks would be friendly. It was a nice thought, but most of the sharks WERE pretty frightening . . .

Until they met one young shark who was different from the rest. Her name was Sheila, and she wasn’t scary at all. At least not since the day her baby teeth fell out . . .

Craig the crab told Sheila she could join them, and she also decided to leave her school of sharks behind and head out into the deep blue sea, where no one could hurt her!

Except, fish, crabs AND sharks could get hurt anywhere in the sea.

Just ask Steve . . .

They met Steve when they swam across a galaxy of starfish.

Steve had been in a scruff with a very scary, very hungry tiger shark. The shark had ate Steve’s arms for a scrumptious snack. Fortunately, Steve survived. But, with no arms left he was no longer a star at all . . .

Steve was a triangle.

This made Steve very sad. He too wanted to swim away.

He hopped on Sheila’s back (because she was not nearly as scary as the tiger shark) and the whole group of odd-fish out swam away together.

Even though they had found each other, they hadn’t found what they truly needed.

Until they swam into one final creature . . .

An OCTOPUS, perfectly peaceful and whimsically whisking her tentacles through the waters waves. It is important to note a few things about octopus . . .

First, octopus are very wise (they have extra big brains!)

They are also very kind (they have THREE hearts!!)

And, they are VERY helpful (they have eight legs, always ready to lend a helping tentacle!!!)

The octopus saw this school of misfits, and asked them where they were headed, so far from their family and friends.

Tired of not fitting in, they told the friendly octopus they were swimming away from home.

The octopus held up a tentacle to stop them. The ocean was a very big place and it didn’t make much sense to wander away, when a perfectly good home awaited each of them.

“You may be different, but that’s what makes you FIN-tastic!”

“Angela, a rebellious angelfish, who likes to clown around.”

“Chloe, a clownfish who is quiet, but clever.”

“Craig, a crab not so crabby, but full of hope and smiles.”

“Sheila. Why Sheila, you’re a shark who won’t eat Steve!”

“And Steve….well, I’m truly sorry about your arms Steve. But, you are still a magnificent star on the inside to me!”

Angela and the others suddenly realized they could return home, even though nothing had changed on the surface.

They were still the odd ones out.

BUT . . .

They didn’t mind so much anymore, knowing they had each other AND they had qualities that made them all pretty magnificent!

It turned out Angela even had a few tricks she could teach her new friends . . .

She showed Chloe how to clown around.

She showed Sheila how to spook the other sharks.

And Craig . . . . well, Craig was pretty happy just to share a smile.

Alongside her friends both old and new, Angela no longer worried if she fit in.

She no longer got angry or resentful.

And, she no longer fret if she was a perfect angel.

Because, she was something even better.

She was PERFECTLY Angela . . .

and that was FIN-tastic, indeed!

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Recommended Reading: I will never pass up an opportunity to recommend some classic Dr. Seuss. So, to keep up the fishy-fun, why not read (or re-read!) One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish with your little ones. It is perfect for kids learning to read, and the bright colours keep little eyes swimming across every page!

Thanks for reading and listening along, and as always STAY TUNED for next month’s B-Side Story - Ptodd the Ptarmigan! It’s one of my favourites, and even stars a guest appearance from none-other-than Gary the Grumpy Ground Squirrel! Don’t forget to check out the archives if you have missed any previous tales, like Gary’s, and as always . . .

HAPPY READING!