Dark Day in the Deep Sea

But now I would like to give it to you.”
    “Oh, no, Henry. You love it. You keep it,” said Annie.
    “I do love it,” said Henry. “But I want you two to have it. Today you taught me—no, you taughtall of us—an important lesson. It is a dark day in the deep sea when we cause innocent creatures to suffer. The professor said we can conquer our fears through knowledge. But you taught us that our fears can best be conquered through compassion. Even we scientists must never forget tohave compassion for all living creatures. My compassion for the little creature that once lived in this shell made me very happy.”

    Oh, man!
thought Jack.
That’s the secret!
    Henry held out the gleaming nautilus shell, and Annie took it from him. “Thanks, Henry,” said Annie. “We promise to take very good care of it.”
    “Thank
you
,” said Henry. He brushed his hand across his eyes. “Well, I must say good-bye now. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.”
    Henry saluted them. Before Jack and Annie could say anything, the scientist turned and walked briskly back to the rowboat.
    “Let’s go,” Annie said to Jack.
    Jack and Annie walked around the dunes and headed through the sea grass to the rope ladder. Then they climbed back into the tree house and looked out the window. The rowboat was gliding over the shimmering water of the sunlit sea, heading back to the HMS
Challenger.
    “Good-bye, mates,” said Jack.
    “Our mission!” said Annie, as if she’d just remembered. She looked at Jack. “We didn’t discover a secret of happiness!”
    “Yes, we did,” said Jack with a smile. “Henry said it, actually. A secret of happiness is having compassion for all living creatures.”
    “Compassion?” said Annie.
    “Yeah, that means feeling sympathy and love for them,” said Jack.
    “Oh, sure,” Annie said matter-of-factly. “Loving other creatures makes me really happy. I wonder why some people don’t get that.”
    “I don’t know,” said Jack.
    “Too bad they have to see a miracle first, like an octopus talking,” said Annie.
    “I know what you mean,” said Jack. “The octopus just being an octopus is the real miracle.”
    Annie smiled. “And Henry’s seashell—the little creature inside—him too,” she said. “He was a miracle, too.” She held out the shining shell.
    Jack took the shell from her and carefully put it in his backpack. “The shell will help us remember the secret,” he said.
    “I think we always knew it,” said Annie. “Henry just put it into words for us. Come on, let’s go.”
    Annie picked up the Pennsylvania book and turned to the picture of the Frog Creek woods. “Lehhh meee gooo hooome,” she said, repeating the strange sounds from the octopus.
    Jack smiled. He started to tell her to say it right. But before he could, the tree house started to spin.
    It spun faster and faster.
    Then everything was still.
    Absolutely still.

    Soft raindrops pattered against the roof of the tree house.
    “I love being home,” said Annie.
    “Me too,” said Jack with a sigh.
    Jack and Annie strapped on their bike helmets and pulled on their sneakers. Then Jack took their research book out of his pack and put in their library books.
    “All I want to do now is go into our warm, dry house and see Mom and Dad,” said Annie.
    “Me too,” said Jack. “And read one of my new library books.”
    “And eat dinner,” said Annie.
    “A
good
dinner,” said Jack. “No stale biscuits or lime juice.” He slipped on his backpack. “And
no
pea soup.”
    “Pea soup?” asked Annie.
    But Jack had already started down the ladder. “And then read a little more and climb into bed,” he continued.
    “A warm, dry bed in a warm, dry house,” said Annie, following him.
    “Yep,” said Jack, stepping onto the wet ground. “I guess the octopus just wanted to go home, too. Hey, I wonder if he has a name.”
    “Hmm …,” said Annie. She and Jack climbed on their bikes. “I think his name might be …
Charles!
”
    “That sounds right,” said Jack, laughing. “I wonder if Charles has an octopus wife—and octopus kids.”
    “I bet he does,” said Annie. “And I bet he couldn’t wait to get home and hold them in all eight of his arms.”
    Jack laughed again. “Yeah, I bet you’re right,” he said. Then he and Annie took off riding through the Frog Creek woods.
    The rain fell harder. But it didn’t matter. They were heading home.

W hen I first decided to write about the deep sea, I had no