Topsey

Topsey was happy. He had a beautiful home on Topsail Island, and he had many wonderful friends. He was a teacher at the Turtle School. He lived in a cove on one side of the island. At the back of the cove there was a cave that was his home. His mother and father had lived there when they were alive, along with many brothers and sisters. But now his brothers and sisters had all left home seeking adventure on the high seas. But Topsey had stayed in the cave, and it will be his home when he starts his own family. His cove was always very peaceful and quiet, blocking out the rough waves of the big ocean. Just outside the cove he had planted a garden of sea vegetables. He had planted kelp, along with many other sea vegetables, but kelp was his favorite. It was easy for him to scoot around the corner and munch on some kelp for his dinner every night. Topsey loved to go out in the ocean and swim fast, especially when the surf was high. He could swim and swoop and dive for many hours. Sometimes he would feel a big wave coming, and he would flatten out his body and let the big wave pick him up. He would slide down the side of the wave, going super-fast. When he reached the shore, the wave would tumble him, tumble bumble, in the sand. He would pull in his flippers so his shell would protect him. He laughed and laughed.

Also, there was a special place he could go where he could swim REAL - LY fast. At the other end of the island, across the sound on the mainland, there was a big building, with a huge pipe that came from the building down to the water. Sometimes the building would let out a fast stream of water through the pipe, and he would slide onto that fast river and fly through the water. He could always tell when the fast river would flow, because there would be a big rumble from the building. One day he was swimming around the island toward the building, and he heard the rumble start up. Quick as a wink, he swam up beside the pipe and got ready for a fast ride. He felt the water start to flow, so he swam over and got into the current. He started flying along and soon he felt stinging and burning all over his body. His eyes were burning terribly. His body felt like it was on fire. He could hardly breathe. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t get out of the burning water. He went tumbling head over heels, Topsey turvy, until he landed on the ocean floor on his back, with his head and flippers hanging loosely.

His friend Eel was swimming nearby and saw Topsey falling to the ocean floor. He rushed over and said, “Topsey! Topsey! What’s wrong? Topsey! Topsey! Talk to me!”

But Topsey was unconscious. Eel zipped over to where Octopus lived. He said, “Octopus! Come and help. Topsey’s hurt!”