Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 1976, Page 20

Description:	Oh, things are getting rather tight in this shell,Fletcher thought to himself. I guess its time to look fora new home. So Fletcher started looking for a newhome on the bottom of the ocean. Being a hermit crab,Fletcher didnt have many possessions, just a few shinyobjects he had found on the bottom as he wanderedaround.Fletcher had been crawling for some time when hecame upon a beautiful shell. What a magnificentshell, he thought to himself. Fletcher went around tothe opening and crawled in. Such room! This shell mustbe huge, he thought.Suddenly Fletcher felt something strange. It was toodark to see. He then was pinched as he had never beenpinched before. He scurried out of the entrance andwhirled around to see who dared intrude into his newhome. The intruder happened to be the biggest hermitcrab he had ever seen. His claws were as big as both ofFletchers put together.I knew it was too good to be true; such a shellwould never be left vacant, Fletcher muttered as hewobbled on. He crawled for what seemed like hourswith no luck at all. Then Fletcher decided to check onthe beach. As he crawled along the beach, he heard aloud noise. Being an ocean crab, he did not know muchabout life on the shore. As the noise became louder, hestarted looking nervously around. He saw a four-leggedmonster with two huge eyes, big teeth and lips, runningtoward him. It seemed like the end of the world forFletcher, so he just curled up in a ball and closed hiseyes tightly. The monster zoomed by over his head butoiujnjMary HaganThe world is a hollow ball,Drifting through space, deadlike.Like me.See the thin, clear paper packet,Filled with soft grey dirt.Once white, pure.Now mixed with dirt, it lasts longer.The gold it is worth clinks in my memory.Snort it, sniff it.Take it all.Choke as it sears your lungs.Up your burning, bleeding nose . . .Ah, the ball is filled,Sliding in a sea of wonder.But tomorrow . . .Forget.Behold the sea of wonder!Fletcher goeshouse huntingArt and story—John Weeddid not harm Fletcher. He must not have seen me,said Fletcher, his voice wavering slightly. It is much toodangerous on land for such a small crab as myself.Fletcher could not have known that dune buggies do noteat crabs.Just then Fletcher heard a squawk, and a shadowflew along the beach. Fletchers heart trembled, for heknew what that was. Its a seagull, he cried. Fletchercrawled as fast as he could towards the water, but theseagull came flashing down out of the sky and grabbedpoor Fletcher. Then, flying far up into the sky, the seagull dropped Fletcher! Down he fell, for what seemedan eternity. The ocean zoomed up on him, and finallyhe hit the water with a splat. Oh, that hurt, Fletchergroaned, as he sank to the bottom. That is the last timeI go up onto the beach.Poor Fletcher just lay on the bottom, resting from theseagull and that terrible monster. Fletcher felt secure,for the sea was his home; and he slowly drifted off tosleep. When he woke up, he noticed an object nearbythat he had not noticed when he fell to the bottom ofthe ocean. He waddled over to investigate. What afantastic house, he cried excitedly. Only oneentrance to guard, and all sorts of room! It was themodern type of styling and was almost all windows,except for a patch on the side. It was just what he hadbeen searching for. Fletcher settled down in his newhome with a feeling of great satisfaction.Little did Melvin Meathead know that his careleslydiscarded pop bottle would someday make a happyhome for a hermit crab.20 Literary
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/646
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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