Coral Reef Kids
The Legend
Where? Only the sea dwellers know.
But, somewhere among the cluster of Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands there lies a mysterious, magical island.
The island is surrounded by a coral reef and the coral reef creates a peaceful tropical lagoon.
The lagoon is called Barefoot Lagoon.
Barefoot Lagoon is nature’s paradise for all sea dwellers. Sea dwellers migrate here to escape capture, to rest, to heal wounds, and to birth new cuties. Now every year, one of nature’s greatest events occurs inside this gorgeous blue lagoon. The event occurs during the season that the manatees come to birth their new cuties and the ‘heart shaped’ clams seek to escape the fisherman’s deep dragging nets.
The newborn manatees admire the natural beauty of the clams. Just before the manatee cuties leave the lagoon they fondly place a small, flawless brain coral inside the clam shell. The clams close tightly around the gift.
For a season, nature wraps up all her magical forces inside the clams. The clams embrace those magical forces.
Soon, new cutie creations emerge. Each cutie swims to the lagoon’s surface from its underwater birth.
On the surface they bobble and gasp for air. Seahorses lift the cuties upon their backs and ride them to the beach.
The cuties wobble ashore.
They stand on the beach and look at each other.
Each cutie has special features from their watery birth. Their eyes are as blue as the lagoon and a star reflects in their eyes from the starfish. Their dimpled, rosy-red cheeks are from the morning sunrise. Their smile of peace is a gift from the manatee. Their flesh is tropical tan.
And, their short, chubby bodies are filled with nature's natural love.
The quietness of Barefoot Lagoon is broken as all inhabitants of the lagoon erupt with excitement over this wonderful event.
The new cuties are known as… Coral Reef Kids.
Copyright 1987 Richard Harding Wilson, Jr.
Rewritten 2021 Richard Harding Wilson, Jr.
All Rights Reserved