Part One
One morning, a mother seagull was taking her baby seagull out to hunt for food over the ocean. They soared and swooped, searching for something to eat, sometimes gliding low over the waves, sometimes flying high in the sky. As the baby seagull glanced down at the sea again, he suddenly spotted a small fish about 30 centimeters long, with a blue back and black stripes along its sides, appearing in his view.
“Wow, awesome!”
The baby seagull was delighted and dove toward the sea at high speed.
“Child, danger!”
Just as the baby seagull was about to reach the water, his mother’s frightened voice came from above. The baby seagull quickly ascended back into the sky.
After joining his mother, the baby seagull asked, puzzled, “Mom, what’s wrong?”
The mother seagull replied, “Look, there’s a great white shark down there!”
The baby seagull looked down at the sea and indeed saw a large fish, about six meters long, with a crescent-shaped tail, a light gray back, and a pale white belly, swimming slowly in the water.
“Hey, where did that little fish go?” the baby seagull asked, scanning the water.
The mother seagull said, “That little fish is a pilot fish. Generally, where there’s a pilot fish, there’s a big shark. The great white shark has poor eyesight, so the pilot fish helps it find prey and then eats the leftovers.”
“That was close!” The baby seagull said, feeling a bit scared.
The mother seagull reassured him, “There’s nothing to fear. As long as you’re observant, you can avoid danger.”
After speaking, the mother seagull led her baby to another part of the sea to look for food.
Part Two
The great white shark, unable to catch the baby seagull, felt frustrated. Guided by the pilot fish, it swam toward the coral reef area.
The sound of the great white shark’s splashing scared the other fish into fleeing. Those that couldn’t escape hid in the crevices of the coral reef. For a long time, the great white shark couldn’t find anything to eat.
“What should I do?”
After a moment of thought, the great white shark remembered another hunting method his mother had taught him. He straightened his body and lifted his head out of the water about two feet.
“What are you doing?” asked the pilot fish. “Don’t you know we fish die if we leave the water?”
“It’s fine!” the great white shark said, returning to the water. “Among all sharks, the great white shark is the only one that can lift its head above the water, giving us the advantage of spotting potential prey from above.”
“Did you see any prey just now?”
The great white shark said, “I saw some dolphins moving in the north, but it wasn’t very clear. Let’s go check it out!”
The pilot fish and the great white shark swam toward the area where the dolphins were active.
Part Three
Through the reflected sound waves, the mother dolphin sensed danger.
The dolphin the great white shark had seen was a mother dolphin, who was at that moment hunting with her baby in that part of the sea.
“Child, run! A great white shark is coming!”
The mother dolphin quickly led her baby toward the nearby coral reef.
She pushed her baby into a crevice in the coral reef. Just as she was about to find a larger crevice to hide in, the great white shark charged with its jaws wide open. However, because seaweed blocked its view, the great white shark missed biting the mother dolphin and swam past her.
Fearing the great white shark would come back, the mother dolphin hurried into a larger crevice.
Sure enough, the great white shark returned soon after. Although the pilot fish saw the mother and baby dolphin hiding in the coral crevices, the great white shark’s large body couldn’t fit in. After some time, the great white shark and the pilot fish left.
Part Four
After seeing the great white shark swim away, the mother dolphin called her baby out of the coral crevice.
“Mom, are you okay?” the baby dolphin asked with concern.
The mother dolphin replied, “I’m fine, just a few scratches.”
“Does it hurt?” The baby dolphin swam around his mother and saw several cuts on her skin.
“It’s nothing, it’ll heal soon.”
The baby dolphin asked, “Mom, did the great white shark bite you?”
“No, it’s from the great white shark’s skin!” the mother dolphin explained. “The great white shark’s skin, although it has no scales, is covered with tiny spines that are rougher than sandpaper. Even a slight touch can cause bleeding. So, the great white shark’s skin is very dangerous.”
“That’s terrifying!”
“We’re lucky. If the great white shark had bitten, it would have been worse!” the mother dolphin said. “I heard that humans only change their teeth when they’re young, and once they grow up, they don’t change teeth anymore. Even when they do change teeth as children, it’s a slow process. But the great white shark is different. They have 26 sharp teeth with barbs on the upper jaw, making it almost impossible for prey to escape once bitten. So, we must always be vigilant to avoid a great white shark attack.”
“Mom,” the baby dolphin said, suddenly thinking of something, “if the great white shark’s teeth are so sharp, won’t their babies hurt their moms while nursing?”
“No,” the mother dolphin replied, “great white sharks are different from us dolphins. They’re fish, and we’re mammals. Their babies don’t nurse!”
“But I heard their babies are also born from their moms, right? Doesn’t that mean they should nurse?”
The mother dolphin explained, “Although great white shark babies are born from their mothers, they are ovoviviparous, which is different from us.”
“What is ovoviviparous?”
“Ovoviviparous means the eggs mature inside the mother’s body, and the young sharks hatch from the eggs and continue to grow inside the mother until they’re born.”
“Oh, I see!” The baby dolphin nodded.
As they spoke, the sky gradually darkened. The mother dolphin led her baby home.
Short stories shared for free on our ” Sitestorys “. Thank you for reading!
