Princess Olive and the Floating Fish

When Olive woke up in the morning the sun was bright. Her mommy and daddy were still sleep-ing in their beds. She looked around. Wouldn’t it be nice to play with my fish today? she thought.

Olive got out of the bed, her princess bed. It had a big purple pointy tiara painted on the head board. Olive’s favorite color was purple. She wore purple hair ties, purple shirts, purple pants and purple shoes.

Even her toothpaste was purple. Olive loved purple.

She also loved her cozee. Cozee was small, a little blanket with a doggie face on top of it. Cozee and Olive always woke up together. Olive would smile and pat cozee on the head and then she and cozee would get up and play.

This morning Olive wanted to make breakfast.

After I play with my fish, she thought.

She looked in the fish tank. There were her goldfish, all three of them. Her mommy had won them for her at the fair. She had thrown three balls at that cans and hit them all. Olive was very proud that her mommy was so good at winning things.

She named the three little orange fish Simon, Sadie, and Sara. They were her new friends and Olive was so pleased to have them. She woke up every morning and stuck her hand in the water to feel them. They were scared of her at first, but now every morning they came right up to her hand and let their little fins brush over her fingertips.

Olive walked over to them this morning the same as always, but one of the fish did not come up to see her. This fish was very sad, it floated upside down. She touched it, and it did not move.

“Cozee what is it?” Olive asked her cozee.

Cozee was not sure either.

Olive was going to have to tell her mommy. She walked with cozee out the door and down the hallway. She could hear her daddy snoring and mommy was quiet. They were still asleep.

This morning Olive was going to make her mommy and daddy breakfast. She was big now and she could cook for them all.

She grabbed some plates from the cabinet and then walked over to the table. She stared at the ta-ble and looked around. There were the places for mommy and daddy, and herself.

She began to set it up and hummed a tune.

Mommy was still sleeping, so Olive put on mommy’s robe and pretended she too was mommy.

But there was still something missing. Was it the pancakes? Yes it was! She walked to the refrig-erator and opened it up.

What does mommy usually use to make pancakes. She thought and thought about it. Her little eyes searching.Then she found it! Mommy uses the box of magic pancake mix and water. But where is that? Olive looked around the room.

Everything was hard to see, she was shorter than the counters and too small to reach the stove.

She remembered something then, mommy had told her to never ever ever reach up and touch the stove because it gave bad boo-boo’s and Olive did not want one of those. Instead,she walked over to the countertop and grabbed some heft-o’s.

Those looked yummy.

Olive was happy to begin making everyone a healthy bowel of cereal.

She had the milk from the refridgerator and she had the cereal form the counter. But something was missing.

What could it be? She looked around and around. But there was nothing in site.

She needed something to hold it in. She couldn't put the milk in the cereal box that would make it soggy and wet.She opened the dishwasher and grabbed clean bowls from the night before.

She placed three of them on the table and grabbed three spoons.

“These are for eating with cozee.” Olive smiled and began to pour our the cereal.

But she was sad because it came out so fast that it made a big mess all over the table. She knew mommy did not like big messy messes and Olive was sad that she did this.

She began to pick up all the little heft-o’s and put them back in the cereal box. Cozee sat on the table where she had left her.Then after she was done picking it all up Olive walked back to the bowls and poured in some milk. The milk came out too fast also, this was hard work for a little girl.

“Cozeeeee… I made another mess.” Olive felt tears in her little brown eyes.

She walked over to the countertop and grabbed the towel off of it.

“What am I to do now?” She whined.

Olive wiped it up, but there were still drops and dots everywhere.

Olive was better now, she had wiped up the mess. Mommy would not even know it was there.

She looked at the cereal bowls, they were perfect. “Should I wake up mommy and daddy now?” She asked cozee.

Cozee stared at her as if to say, not yet.

Olive smiled and sat down with cozee draped over her shoulder. She was a big girl now, big enough to make her own breakfast. She was big enough to wipe up messes even!

Mommy would be so proud when she woke up and saw that cozee and Olive had made this for everyone.

Olive could not wait to see mommy happy. She knew that everyday mommy had a list of chores and the she helped her all the time with them. It was fun for Olive and mommy.

Olive could cross making breakfast off of mommy’s list and put it on to her own now.

Yeah for Olive!

“I am such a big girl now Cozee” Olive happily munched her breakfast and listened to daddy snoring. Then she remembered her goldfish, she wondered if they were hungry again and she de-cided to go and check on them.

She got up and walked into her room, daddy was still snoring and Olive was sure that they would wakeup soon.

She walked over to the tank and looked in now two of the goldfish were floating upside down!

“Uh-oh!” She looked very surprised this time.

She picked up the food and sprinkled it in, only one goldfish came and got some.Then she poked the floating little fish in the tank and they did not move.

She burst into tears. They were sick, she had to get mommy now!

Olive rushed in with cozee in her arms.

Mommy was asleep and daddy was snoring on his back.

“Mommy! Mommy!” Olive rushed up to her.

Mommy sat up fast. “Yes Olive?” She looked are her little Olive with tears all over her little face.“Mommy the goldfish they are sick and they are floating upside down. Come help.” She grabbed mommy’s arm to pull her to eh goldfish and mommy followed.

“Okay little one. “ Mommy nudged daddy who stopped snoring for a minute and then began again as they left.

When they got to Olives’ room mommy looked into the tank, there inside were two little goldfish floating upside down.

“What’s wrong with them mommy?” Olive asked.

Mommy smiled at her Olive. “These two fishes had to go to heaven little one.”

“What?” Olive looked at them. “Can’t you give them some medicine?” She wanted to help her friends.

“No, I can’t Olive. These two fish have lived and now they are gone. But it is okay, it happens to all things.” She smiled.

“No, no!” Olive was sad. She did not want the fish to leave her. But Mommy looked at Olive with a brave face and said “We have to be brave for our fishies, they had a lot of fun with you and mommy. Now it was time for them to go bye-bye. Come on I’ll cook you a pancake and we can tal more about this.” Mommy walked Olive out with cozee.

“Cozee is sad too mommy.” Olive looked at her bears little face.

Mommy and Olive got to the kitchen where mommy began to take out the pancake mix. But then she turned.

“Olive did you make this?” She was happy! Olive forgot all about the fish and smiled. “Yes mommy. I made you and daddy your very own breakfast!” “Oh sweetheart thank you!” Mommy gave Olive a hug and sat down to eat her cereal.

“I hope it tastes as good as it looks.” Mommy took a bite.

“Mommy, how come its not crunching?” Olive looked on.

“Oh sweetie, when you leave cereal it gets soggy and thats all that happened here.” Mommy looked over Olive happily.

Mommy and Olive ate all of their breakfast. Then daddy came down too. He we hungry, and he too began to eat his food.

“This is great.” He said.

“I know Olive made it.” Mommy said.

Then mommy and daddy smiled and gave Olive a big hug.

Olive was so happy for the rest to the morning that she forgot all about her fish. Then after lunch before her nap, mommy had daddy go to the store. When he came back he had two new goldfish in a bag. They were orange and swimming, a lot happier then her two goldfish that went to heaven.

“Mommy had me get you two more of these.” Daddy handed lOve the bag and smiled.

“I hope these work for you.”Mommy was there.

“Mommy why do we buy new things when other things get old?” Olive was confused, she looked at cozee would they have to buy a new cozee one day?

“Well because you see when things get old honey, we have to replace them. But with living things like your fish, mommy just wanted you to have these two to remember the others by. Plus your little fish that is still alive will want a friend.”

Mommy smiled and took the bag form Olive.” Let’ s go put them in the tank.”

Olive walked over with mommy and looked in. There were no floating fishies in there.

“Mommy where did they go?” Olives eyes were wide with excitement. Maybe they jumped out.

“Mommy had to take them out to put these new ones in.”Mommy grabbed the bag with the two new fish in and put them in the tank.

The water was clear and the fish moved around it happily. They were not sad anymore, they were all swimming even the old fish. Olive put her hand in the water and the fish swam around her fingers. Mommy had even put colored rocks in the bottom.

It we so pretty. Cozee looked too and sat on Olive’s shoulder.

“It’s time for your nap now little one.” Mommy walked to Olives bed and turned down the sheets.

Then Olive laid down. “I love my princess bed.” She snuggled in deep and rolled on her side.

Just before mommy left Olive called her. “Mommy, do you think that when grandma goes to heaven we can get a new one?”

Mommy stopped and walked over to Olive. “Oh no sweetie, there is only one grandma.”

Olive did not understand. But she knew that Grandma was getting older. She just wanted to make sure that she had another one when the old one went away.

“But we can talk to grandma about it.” Mommy smiled.

“Mommy I love you.” Olive gave her mommy a kiss and laid back down.

She had been a big girl that day, making breakfast, taking care of her fish and learning all to about old and new things. Cozee was tired too. They both drifted into sleep and listened to the sound of the wind move in the trees. Olive began to dream about her fish up in fish heaven. They had a lot of food, and a lot of clear water.It was everything a fish could want. Olive was happy about it-she was a big girl.