by Davy Ocean
“No. It’s. Not!” I yell, swimming sharply from side to side to try and trick him.
“Oh. Yes. It. Is!”
Puk! One of Gordon’s tentacles attaches itself to my back.
He starts to roll me toward his mouth.
“And I don’t think I’ll bother with the cooking,” he says. “Sometimes food tastes best when it’s RAW!”
I’m completely out of ideas. I’d set out to be a lone shark and ended up becoming a lunch shark. I close my eyes and hope it’s over quickly.
“And what do you think you’re doing with my little starfish?”
Mom?
I open my eyes. Gordon jumps in shock and lets me drop. I can’t believe what I’m seeing either. There in front of us are Mom, Dad, Ralph, Joe, and a team of police sharks. A group of lantern fish are swimming in front of them, lighting the way. And in front of everyone is the minnow. He’d gone to get them after all!
“Mom! Dad! Ralph, Joe, and . . . umm . . . what is your name?”
The minnow looks sheepish. “It’s not important, okay?”
Mom is advancing on Gordon. “I asked you what you were doing, you big tentacled oaf!”
“Yes, what’s going on here, sir?” one of the police sharks says, swimming over.
Gordon shrinks away from him. “Just having a bit of lunch, Officer. . . .”
“Having MY boy as a bit of lunch?” Mom swipes at Gordon with her tail. Gordon leans back farther.
“Do you know who my husband is?”
Dad gives Gordon a little wave.
“He’s the mayor of Shark Point. Do you think it’s a good idea for you to be eating the son of the mayor?”
Gordon shakes his head.
“It really isn’t a good idea, sir,” the police shark says. He clinks his pair of giant-size tentacle cuffs threateningly.
“We’ve heard all about you from this brave little minnow,” Mom says. “The police know all about your job in Clam City, and we know why you were thrown out of that restaurant. So I suggest you take my son off the menu or you’ll have me, Mayor Hugo, and every shark in Shark Point coming to turn you into calamari! Do I make myself clear?”
I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Mom is scarier than Gregor the Gnasher!
Gordon nods and tries to hide his chef’s hat behind his back. His tentacles start putting the knives inside his chef’s jacket all on their own.
“Come on, Harry,” says Mom. “It’s time to go back home!”
I really don’t mind being cuddled by Mom and Dad on the way back to Shark Point, even if it is in front of Ralph and Joe and my newest friend, the minnow. Mom insisted he come back to Shark Point for refreshments so she could say thank you.
As we approach the shallows around Shark Point, I turn to the minnow. “Listen, now that we’re friends, you have to tell me your name. I can’t keep calling you ‘the minnow,’ can I? It’s silly.”
“Not as silly as my name,” the minnow says sadly. “You’ll laugh at me.”
“No, I won’t,” I promise. “How can I laugh at someone who’s as fast and as clever and as brave as you? You’re really cool.”
“Not with a name like Marmaduke.”
“Marmaduke?”
Marmaduke the Minnow nods.
I try not to laugh, but the bubbles from my nose show I’m swallowing a giggle.
Marmaduke frowns. “See, I told you you’d laugh! Well, I may have a silly name, but at least I don’t have a head shaped like a novelty can opener.”
I start to laugh out loud. Then Marmaduke does too. Then everyone laughs, except for Joe, who is being very, very quiet.
“What’s up?” I ask him.
“My list of reasons not to leave Shark Point. It was garbage.”
“Your list wasn’t garbage,” I say to him. “No way. It had two hundred and forty-seven things on it!”
“Yes, but none of those things was ’You’ll get kidnapped by a crazy giant-squid chef’. That should have been in the top ten at least,” Joe moans.
I laugh and pat Joe’s jelly shoulder. “Don’t be sad. I’m just happy I’ve got such a brilliant friend who’d make a list that long to try to get me to stay. Shows me how lucky I really am!”
Joe smiles.
“So, do you still want to be a lone shark, Harry?” Dad asks as we swim into Shark Point.
I shake my head. “No way! The open ocean is way too dangerous for a hammerhead to be on his own. Especially one who tastes as nice as me!”
THE END
Meet Harry and the Shark Point gang. . . .
HARRY
Species: hammerhead shark
You’ll spot him . . . using his special hammer-vision
Favorite thing: his Gregor the Gnasher poster
Most likely to say: “I wish I was a great white.”
Most embarrassing moment: when Mom called him her “little starfish” in front of all his friends
RALPH
Species: pilot fish
You’ll spot him . . . eating the food from between Harry’s teeth!
Favorite thing: shrimp Pop-Tarts
Most likely to say: “So, Harry, what’s for breakfast today?”
Most embarrassing moment: eating too much cake on Joe’s birthday. His face was COVERED in pink plankton icing.
JOE
Species: jellyfish
You’ll spot him . . . hiding behind Ralph and Harry, or behind his own tentacles
Favorite thing: his cave, since it’s nice and safe
Most likely to say: “If we do this, we’re going to end up as fish food. . . .”
Most embarrassing moment: whenever his rear goes toot, which is when he’s scared. Which is all the time.
RICK
Species: blacktip reef shark
You’ll spot him . . . bullying smaller fish or showing off
Favorite thing: his black leather jacket
Most likely to say: “Last one there’s a sea snail!”
Most embarrassing moment: none. Rick’s far too cool to get embarrassed.
Shark Bites
The dorsal fin is the main fin that is located on the back of a fish or marine (relating to the sea) animal.
Plankton can be plants or animals, but since they can’t swim, they have to rely on the tides and currents of the ocean in order to move.
Sea cows are also known as manatees. They never leave the water, but since they are mammals, sea cows must come to the surface to breathe air.
Minnows can live in both salt water and fresh water.
Sharks have been swimming in the world’s oceans for over 400 million years.
There are more than four hundred different species of sharks, from the giant hammerhead to the goblin shark.
Sharks do not have bones. They are cartilaginous fish, which means their skeletons are made of cartilage, not bone. Cartilage is a type of connective tissue that is softer than bone. Humans have cartilage in their ears and nose.
The shortfin mako is the fastest shark in the ocean. It can swim in bursts as fast as forty-six miles per hour.
The whale shark is the largest shark in the sea. It can grow to be as long as sixty feet.
DAVY OCEAN has traveled the seven seas in search of good seafaring shanties and fishy tales. He currently resides in a small fishing town that overlooks Shark Point and allows him uninterrupted access to the antics of a small community of hammerhead sharks and its fellow ocean neighbors.
AARON BLECHA is an artist who designs funny characters, animates silly cartoons, and illustrates humorous books. His work incudes illustrations for the bestselling book series George Brown, Class Clown and The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless. Originally from the United States, Aaron now lives with his family in Brighton & Hove, on the south coast of England, near the seaside.
Aladdin
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Aladdin hardcover edition September 2014
Text copyright © 2013 by Hothouse Fiction
Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Aaron Blecha
Originally published in 2013 in Great Britain as Lone Shark by Templar Publishing
Also available in an Aladdin paperback edition.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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Jacket designed by Karin Paprocki
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2014 by Aaron Blecha
Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia
The text of this book was set in Write Demibd.
Library of Congress Control Number 2014941350
ISBN 978-1-4814-0685-7 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-0684-0 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-0686-4 (eBook)