Feeding the fish in Sicily.

A very exciting underwater experience.
By Claudia

Last summer, I was swimming in the very beautiful sea of Sicily.  To be more precise, I was having a great time using my mask and flippers, in the sea around the little Sicilian island of Levanzo.

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'È fantastico!' I thought, as I swam about, pretending to be a deep-sea action-girl.  Every now and then, I saw an interesting shell lying at the bottom on the white sand. 

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Suddenly, I realised that there were no fish!
'Dove sono i pesci?' 'Where are all the fish?' I asked myself.  This seemed very strange.  The sea should be full of fish.

 I decided to do some deep-sea investigating.  'Uno, due, tre!'  I dived down a few metres.  I couldn't go any further because my ears started to hurt. 

Not one fish was to be seen.  There was just a clear sea with white sand, some rocks and some sea-weed on the bottom.  'Mamma mia!'  Sometimes I saw a jelly fish, or 'una medusa' as they are called in Italian. 

I felt very lonely, so I came out of the water and sat on a rock to eat a sandwich.  I didn't like the sandwich very much so I secretly threw it into the sea. 

At that moment, I couldn't believe my eyes!  Suddenly, the floating sandwich was whizzing all over the place like a mini speed boat on top of the water.  There was splashing all around.  'Molto strano!' Very strange!  Sandwiches do NOT move on their own.  What was causing this mysterious event?

'I'm going to investigate!'  I put on my mask and flippers and jumped back into the water.  I was so impatient, I flew into the water and nearly landed on the sandwich. 

The mystery was solved!  I found myself underwater in the middle of hundreds and thousands of fish!  They were attacking the floating sandwich.  It felt like I was swimming in a fish tank.  I was totally surrounded by hungry fish.

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I started to worry.  'I hope they don't bite,' I thought. 

Next, I decided to conduct an experiment.  Would the fish eat from my hand?  I held a piece of bread and ...... Sì! Yes!  The fish nibbled away until the bread was gone and their little teeth tickled my fingers.

'I'm going to be an investigator!' I decided.  'Let's see if there is anything that the fish do not eat!' 
My big sister was watching and she helped me with my investigation.  She threw in some pieces of melon, then some pasta, then some cheese and salad.  The fish arrived in thousands.  It was a feast for fish!  They ate EVERYTHING!

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(Hungry, Sicilian fish.  Photo by Claudia.)

Hundreds of Sicilian seagulls started to arrive too. They floated on top of the water and pecked each other as they fought for the food.  I was trapped between nibbling fish and pecking birds.  The fluffy seagulls were the young ones.  I felt sorry for them because the older seagulls bullied them and didn't let them have any of the food.

Facts about Sicily
(A young, fluffy, Sicilian seagull.  Photo taken by Claudia.)
'Aiuto!'  'Help!'  I risked being bitten and pecked by fish and seagulls.  My big sister thought it was very funny.

When all the food was gone, the fish swam away.  The seagulls flew away.  Once again, the sea became a lonely place with not one fish to be seen.

Now that I am back home, I often think of my friends the Sicilian fish.  I miss them very much and I really enjoyed visiting their world.  One day soon, I would like to return, with more food.  I want to discover if they eat chocolate and crisps.

I think that the sea is a very beautiful and interesting place and it belongs to the fish (and partly to the seagulls).  For that reason, we should all help to look after the sea.


La Fine.
(The End)