The Turtle’s Quandary

Sea creatures have interesting methods of hunting and defense, and Camouflage is one of them. Creatures like the Sea Cucumber, have soft cylindrical bodies made of a protein called “collagen” which they can loosen or tighten at will, thus making them able to squeeze through even the narrowest of spaces! Decorator Crabs use materials from their environment to cover themselves, in order to hide from predators.

The Leafy Sea Dragon is another fish that has long, leaf-like protrusions on its body, helping it blend with the seaweeds and algae that grow in the ocean, thus escaping detection. The Peacock Flounder is another fish that can change its colours to match its background pattern and colour in a time span as short as 8 seconds!

It has even been found to change its colours to match the pattern of a checkerboard it was placed on. Though these are just a few creatures, there are many more in the deep sea that show such beautiful adaptations.

It was an important day in the life of Chips, the Turtle. Chips proudly groomed himself that morning. He had achieved his dream— of becoming a postman— or rather, a post-fish— one who delivered letters to the sea creatures. It was his first day at work.

It hadn’t been easy, however; getting the Postmaster— a mean Whale shark— to believe that he was right for the job was a feat in itself. Though the Whale Shark was quite slow and had never delivered a letter in his life, he had got quite a high opinion of himself. A sailfish had been the Postal Assistant before the Turtle took up the job, and the Sailfish’s speed was something everyone admired.

At 68mph, the Sailfish almost flew through the water, tossing letters carelessly as he passed other fish with lightning speed. A fish would just feel something whoosh past by him, and the next second he would be left holding a letter addressed to him. However, the Sailfish had got bored with his job, and decided to travel the world instead.

Chips, who had dreamt of nothing but that very job all his life, lost no time in applying for the vacancy.“You’re not very fast, are you?” the Whale Shark said at the interview, peering through his thick glasses at Chips.
“Oh, I am quite fast, Sir”, said Chips eagerly. “I can practise and become faster, if needed.”

“You don’t seem very smart either”, said the Whale Shark, peering again, and taking in the turtle from top to bottom, and then returning his gaze to the application form. Poor Chips did not know what to say to that. He sat quietly, nervous and fidgeting. “The Sailfish was so much better”, grumbled the Whale Shark, taking off his glasses. “I can’t imagine why he had to go off like that, putting me in trouble here.”

He glanced at the other candidates who had applied for the post, waiting in line for the interview. There was a sea horse, which was happily playing with a reed, a Sawfish with a grim expression who looked like he would saw off anyone’s head, and a puffer fish who scowled a little too much, puffing itself out threateningly even more than usual.

“And what do I get when I advertise for the post? A list of clowns!” muttered the Whale Shark to himself. Chips continued to look eagerly at the Postmaster. “Alright, look here”, said the Whale Shark at last, “You don’t seem bad. But I might just make up my mind not to take anyone at all.” Chips panicked. “Oh no, Sir, don’t do that! I’ll do my best, I will, I will! Please take me in”, said Chips.

And finally, the Postmaster gave him the job. “I’m giving you the job on one condition”, said the Whale Shark, “On the first day of your job, you should manage to get all the letters delivered by sunset. If you don’t, then you’re fired!”

Chips was not in the least perturbed. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for! He was beside himself with happiness. He danced all the way home, and waited eagerly for his first day at work. Finally, the day had arrived, and Chips made his way to the post office. The Whale Shark was already there when he reached. He handed Chips a bag full of letters.

“Remember what I’ve told you”, warned the Whale Shark. Chips took off like a rocket. He pulled out all the letters to see who he had to deliver them to. He cheered up when he saw that he knew many of them. He first set off to the north, and handed over a letter to the starfish, whom he had known for very long.

“Congratulations!” said the Starfish. But Chips didn’t have the time to stop and chat. “See you later!” he called, before landing at the next stop, the home of a clown fish. But Chips was careful not to go too close, as the sea anemone could hurt him! He tossed the letter to the clownfish as he came out.

The next letter was addressed to a jellyfish. Chips was a little pensive. The Jellyfish always moved in swarms and he would get hurt if he tried to break into it! But luckily for him, the jellyfish at the outermost ring of the swarm gladly took the letter from him, and passed it inside, from one jellyfish to the other, till the actual recipient got it.

In this way, Chips delivered most of his letters. He was getting more and more confident now! He peeped into his bag. “Just a few letters more, and I’ll be done!” he thought gleefully. The next letter said, “Mr. Sea Cucumber, 35, Hard Rock East, Beside Coral Reef Area, and Southern Ocean”. Chips frowned. What was a Sea Cucumber? He tried hard to remember if he had ever seen one. He decided to ask around. “Why, it’s that big, worm like creature”, said one fish.

“Look by those rocks”, said another. “I find it lazing around there.” Chips could make out the silhouette of a dark, big worm from afar. But when he finally reached there, it was nowhere to be seen! “Hello?” he called. How could it have disappeared so fast? It was too big to hide anywhere and didn’t seem to have swum away either. Chips was puzzled. He hung around for a little while, and then sighed. He picked up the next letter, hoping to find the Sea Cucumber later.

The next letter said “Leafy Sea Dragon”. Chips had never even heard of it. He asked a swordfish passing by. “Didn’t you see her on your way? She was there near the cluster of weeds and algae!” Chips hurried to the algal patch. But all he could see were leaves!

Dejected, he looked at the next letter. It said, “Decorator Crab”. Where was he supposed to find this one now, he wondered. He went to the place mentioned in the address. But not a single crab was in sight. There were small stones, covered in algae and anemones all around.

Chips was upset. He had not anticipated this at all! He looked at the last letter in his hand. It said “Mr. Peacock Flounder, White sand, Ocean floor”. Chips went in search of White sand. And he found only White Sand there, nothing else! Chips was shocked to see that it was almost evening. The sun would set soon! He couldn’t take it any longer.

He just plopped himself on the white sand-covered ocean floor and cried. He was going to lose his job! He moaned and groaned, thinking how badly he had wanted the job. He cried for a long time, and then slowly, he started calming down. But surprisingly, the moans and groans continued. Chips was shocked! He looked around, but could see no one. It took him a while to realize that the groans were coming from beneath him!

“Get … off… me”, came a muffled voice. Chips hurriedly got up and moved aside, and was shocked to see a creature emerging from the white sand. A peacock blue fish was now in front of him! Chips gulped a few times and asked, “Are you the Peacock Flounder?” “Yes, I am”, groaned the fish, rubbing his back. “What’s wrong with you? Why were you sitting on top of me?”

Chips was annoyed. “I didn’t even know you were there”, he said. “And I came looking for you. Why were you hiding from me?” he demanded. “That’s my way of hiding from both my enemies and my prey. I change my colours to match my surroundings”, it grumbled. “It’s called camouflage, in case you didn’t know! Why were you looking for me anyway?” “I’m the new postal assistant”, said Chips.

“I came to give you this letter.”The Peacock Flounder seemed gratified at this reply. “Thanks!” he said cheerily. He was about to go back to hiding when Chips stopped him. “Help me find the others too”, he pleaded.

The Peacock flounder, being a master of disguise himself, had no problem finding all the other missing recipients. He went to one of the stones covered in sponge and seaweed and sharply rapped at it. “Enough of the Christmas decorations. Show yourself, here’s a letter for you.” To Chips’ surprise, one of the stones turned out to be the Decorator Crab! He next dragged out a bunch of leaves from among the algae that Chips had seen earlier. “Let me introduce you to Mrs. Leafy Dragon”, he said. Chips was amazed to find the “leaf” giggling and talking.

Finally, the Flounder took Chips to the rocks. “Come on out, Cucumber”, he called. “Chips has come to give you a letter.” Chips was startled to find something squeezing itself out of a very, very narrow crevice in the rocks, till it took on its full form of a big worm. The Sea Cucumber grinned sheepishly and took his letter. The sun was setting.

“And you’re done!” said the Flounder. Chips thanked him, and hurried back to the post office. “I did it”, he panted. “I suppose I can’t turn you out now”, scowled the Postmaster. “Come on in.” And that’s how Chips made his dream a reality!