The Fish That Got Away

One day while fishing, a couple of fishermen passed over ‘the pond’ where Barabbas lived. The fishermen, knowing the exotic nature of the fish in this area, kept throwing in some pretty good squid, eel, and really tasty clams to attract Barabbas and his friends. They went nuts over this feast, it was like a gourmet city. They had to keep moving to avoid getting caught, but the food along the way was great. They zigged and zagged between appetizer and entrée. And OHHH!!! Those desserts were to die for. They never had anything this good before. Theodora seemed to become somewhat addicted to the crawfish almost immediately. While the fishermen were preparing the next batch, she was quite impatient…no…she was salivating with exhilaration, and darting back and forth under the boat she carelessly rammed it from underneath. She jostled the boat so violently that the fisherman’s burger was knocked right out of his hand and into the water. Actually it went straight into Barabbas’ mouth. He was right under the boat when the burger took flight, and it fell into his open mouth and he ate it and said “What the heck was that!” That taste! That aroma! It was simply unbelievable. He thought, “Surely I died and went to fish heaven.” This was not like anything he’d eaten before. This was not like…fish. This was pure excitement, it was nirvana and he was euphoric. His friends, including Theodora, immediately came to his rescue and they tried to pump his stomach. They thought he would be deathly ill. But no, he was fine and no one could understand why. No one could understand his sublime demeanor, since this was usually poisonous food for Fishetarians.
But nothing happened to Barabbas. 

Nothing…yet.

This was too much excitement for one day so they called it quits and went home. Barabbas couldn’t sleep at all that night. He knew this was going to be trouble. He couldn’t get the memory out of his mind or stomach of how good that red greasy burger was. “No, No! It can’t be. They’ll all find out. They’ll know. They’ll know that I secretly think of greasy, beefy burgers.” Fishetarians will absolutely know you don’t behave like this from eating fish. What would they think of him? And it got worse.

Barabbas lost his taste for fish completely. It just couldn’t compare. He couldn’t hide it any more. He would rather starve than eat those bland neighbors of his again. He knew he would have to leave the community before he was found out. He would be an outcast for sure and that would be too humiliating. So he made his plans and one day, he just left everything behind. Who could blame him? We all know how fish can be so boring, and you know how they just don’t satisfy. In about an hour you’re hungry again.
Barabbas couldn’t eat even one more clam. 

That day Barabbas packed up and left the pond. It was nothing personal. He just needed a good meal. He headed out for the main land and the big city lights, he would just follow the aroma until he reached his new nirvana, the Big Beefy Burger Hut, two blocks north and on the right. The Fishetarians never did hear from Barabbas again. But there were rumors that the restaurant right above the edge of the the pond, the Really Tasty Sea Shack, had a special that night. A rare strange and colorful fish was caught and the customers are still remarking about how good it was. We tend to think that it could be…nah…nah. Was it? Nooo! It couldn’t be, could it? Maybe.

But everyone seems to think, on that fateful day, Barabbas swallowed something that would eventually kill him, although ironically, make him taste really good. 

But we’ll never know for sure.

You can get the whole sad but crazy story in a greeting card as well as Fish That Got Away t-shirts, ornaments, buttons and more gifts at Zazzle.