The hoarder and the boarder

Octopuses are underwater sea creatures with eight arms, three hearts and beak like jaws. These are highly intelligent animals, with a long list of defence mechanisms and tactics which they use to survive in the sea. Octopuses learn easily, including learning by observation of another octopus.

They are also known to be adept at using “tools” just like humans, such as removing a plug or unscrewing a lid to get prey from a container. A recent discovery showed that octopuses collect coconut shells and use two halves to shelter themselves inside.
Common octopuses collect shells and other objects to construct fortresses, or "gardens," around their lairs or dens.

They use camouflage to escape detection, by changing the pigment that colours their skin cells. However, if they’re discovered, they release a spray of bluish-black ink to confuse their enemies, giving them time to flee. The ink also contains a substance that dulls a predator's sense of smell, making the fleeing octopus harder to track.

All octopuses are venomous, but only the small blue-ringed octopuses are known to be lethal to humans. They are fast swimmers and can squeeze into the smallest of cracks and crevices where predators can't get at them. If all its defences fail, an octopus can lose an arm to escape a predator's grasp and regenerate it later to become whole.

Not again!” groaned Jimmy, the huge octopus, as his brother Tim came walking nimbly on his eight legs, carrying what looked like a coconut shell. “Tim, what am I going to do with you?”

Tim, who was much smaller in build, grinned slowly, deftly balancing the shell on top of many others he had brought in. “Why, what’s wrong?” he said, a trifle indignant, but mostly amused at Jimmy’s irritation.

“What’s wrong? Look at all this junk!” exploded Jimmy, while waving his eight arms in eight different directions, trying to emphasize how bad the situation was. “Your entire home is littered with all sorts of crazy stuff! Stuff that no fish use! The entire ocean is already laughing at you.”

Sure enough, Tim’s lair was a wonderland of sorts compared to the otherwise plaid, dull homes of the underwater creatures. There were bottle caps and shoes, which people had thrown into the sea at some time; jars (some of them with lids), plates and spoons that Tim had salvaged out of a shipwreck; rotting photo frames, tiny boxes and chains with pendants that unlucky people who had drowned long ago, had held close to their heart, as they sunk into the ocean’s vast depths.

A line of coconut shells too, adorned the outside of the home now. Tim, however didn’t consider it hoarding; he called it his “collection of items with aesthetic value.” “That’s not junk”, replied Tim defiantly. “And if the other creatures don’t use this stuff, it’s because they don’t know how to use them. And there’s no use teaching them either; they don’t learn.”

“Excuse me?” Jimmy did a double-take. “You actually tried teaching someone how to ‘use’ this junk?”
“Well, of course I did”, said Tim, in a hurt voice. “I was so tired of having this idiotic multicoloured fish— dunno his name— comment on me all the time that I caught hold of him and tried to put some sense into his head. But unfortunately, by the end of the lesson, I was so bored with his incompetence that I simply ate him up.”

Jimmy was not at all happy. “You’re supposed to hunt properly; rather, trap your prey using your octopus skills—like camouflage”, he said icily. “Not pretend to be a teacher and then gobble up your students.” Tim was hardly bothered. “Camouflage is just like pretending”, he said, shrugging. “Not much of a difference. How does it matter, anyway? My tool-wielding skills are way better than your gym-toned, big-muscled arms!”

Gym and exercise were a touchy point for Jimmy. Though he wasn’t a hoarder like Tim, and usually kept his home spic and span, he had his own obsessions and eccentricities, and one of them happened to be working out at the gym to build his muscles.

“My muscles are definitely going to come in useful some day, unlike your junk”, sneered Jimmy. “Ha! We’ll see about that. One day, you’ll be thankful I had my junk”, said Tim, snorting. Though arguments and disagreements were common between the Octopus brothers, they loved each other dearly, and one couldn’t bear to see the other hurt or upset. Despite all the fights, they would, at the end of the day, wrap their arms around each other in reconciliation.

So, when one day, Jimmy returned from his gym session as usual, he was surprised to find Tim’s lair empty. Where could he have gone? Jimmy was worried sick. “Tim, where are you?” he called, listening in vain for an answer. But no reply came. He went around the place, sorting out this and that, thinking that Tim must have fallen asleep under a piece of his own junk. But Tim was nowhere to be found!

Jimmy panicked, and searched all over. At last, tired out, he leant over one of Tim’s jars, sobbing his heart out. Suddenly a tap came from inside the jar. “Pssttt!!” came a whisper. “Have they gone?”

Startled, Jimmy stared down at the old jar. The lid was slowly turning open! Someone seemed to be turning it from within. An arm poked out. Jimmy caught hold of it and pulled. And tumbling out came Tim!

Tim looked all around with fearful glances, hardly noticing Jimmy. “Who’re you talking about?” cried Jimmy in anguish. “Do you know how long I looked for you? And here you are, playing hide-n-seek and talking gibberish!”

“There were humans here”, said Tim, in a scared voice. “They came after me. I heard one of them saying he wants to cook me and eat me up!”

“And you hid here like a coward?” boomed Jimmy, annoyed. “Have you forgotten your wonderful gifts? You’re an octopus, and well equipped enough to get the better of a hundred humans at once!”

“They were really scary”, said Tim in small voice, trembling all over, but wishing he had shown more nerve. “Alright, you don’t worry, little brother”, said Jimmy, drawing himself up to his full size. “I’ll take care of them.” “Shall I come with you?” asked Tim eagerly.

“Just stay here. I’ll handle it myself”, ordered Jimmy. “But I’m glad you’re fine, Tim”, he said, softening a bit. “I’m glad you hoarded so much. This junk saved your life.” Jimmy set out. After enquiring from a few fishes about which way the humans had gone, he realized that they had dived down from a small ship. He slowly swam up, inspecting the area all around the ship. It looked like they had struck anchor, and the men were relaxing.

“We got a good catch”, Jimmy overheard one saying. “Pity we couldn’t catch the octopus”, said another. “I know of a delicacy made from octopus meat. We could have had him for dinner!” Jimmy slowly spread one of his long, flexible arms onto the deck of the ship and slowly encircled it around a man’s leg. The men seemed unaware of what was happening, and they continued talking. Suddenly, Jimmy gave a sharp pull.

With a startled cry, the man went overboard. Before the rest of the men could understand what was happening, Jimmy had got almost all his arms around them, and had started pulling them towards the ocean depths. The men, screaming and flailing, tried to hold on to the deck railing as the small vessel shook dangerously, Jimmy’s weight pulling it down.

The men could hardly breathe, so tight was Jimmy’s hold on them. Jimmy had no intention of killing them, but he definitely intended to give them the fright of their life. They struggled, gasping for air. Finally, Jimmy let go as he slid back into the water.
The only man who had not been on the deck till then, came running to the spot. “What’s happened?” he screamed. He picked up a rifle from a nearby stand, peered into the water and took aim, hoping to get rid of the “monstrous creature”.

But he could no longer see anything in the water! A thick, bluish black cloud seemed to be spreading in the water around their ship. “Octopus ink”, he muttered angrily, and started helping his comrades get back on their feet. The group did not stay there a minute longer. “Not safe to fish in these waters”, declared one, and they beat a hasty retreat.

Jimmy swam back to Tim, who had been watching the show from below. “Well? What do you think of my muscles now?” asked Jimmy, proudly. “Well, I’m glad I didn’t waste my time building my own muscles, my brother’s got enough for the both of us!” said Tim laughing away as Jimmy gave a sharp tap on his head in mock anger.