THE GOOD SHARK

There was once a beach plagued by sharks in a land very far away, where no one could go swimming. The few daring humans who did go swimming were eaten by the sharks in a matter of minutes. Naturally, the beach had been closed to the public because it was so dangerous.

However, a brave swimmer, an animal-lover called Alberto, had a plan to fill the beach back up with swimmers who could splash around in the water, safe in the knowledge they wouldn’t be eaten by sharks.

One day, Alberto took a motor boat and set off for a rocky crag near the beach, where he put up his base camp to put his plan into action. The first thing he did was establish contact with the sharks, and observe their behaviour. That was how he was able to discover a shark in the group who stood out for his calm nature and apparent lack of aggression. Alberto named him “Freddy”.

Alberto stayed at his base camp to learn about the sharks, and above all, to interpret their language. Once he began to understand what they were saying, he began to communicate with the quietest shark called Freddy.

In the beginning, Alberto didn’t really understand him very well, but gradually he began to interpret Freddy’s gestures and movements. Over time he learned lots of things, such as the fact that Freddy didn’t like eating humans and that he usually ate only the diving flippers sometimes worn by reckless swimmers when his group went hunting.

Everything remained calm until one day he realised that Freddy was sending him an important message: “Leave this place, Alberto. My fellow sharks are planning to eat you…”

Alberto was so scared by what Freddy had told him he decided to speed up his plan… So he talked to Freddy, and told him: “Freddy, I know you’re a good shark and that you don’t like eating humans. So I think that you should protect the beach from the group, so they won’t attack anyone. And in return I’ll bring you a pair of divers’ flippers every day.”

Freddy liked the deal, and in a short time he managed to persuade the rest of the sharks to leave the beach alone. And so the beach was re-opened to the public, and Freddy was named the beach’s official shark protector.

THE END

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