The Legend of Carpie
By
Kenny Miller
He could see the golden glow on the top of the water.
Dawn was coming to the lake and it wouldn’t be long until he got his early
morning marching orders.
Even
though he was just a little minnow size fish, he had little time for play.
There were some predator fish out there looking for breakfast and if he wasn’t
careful, he might be on the menu.
“Get
going in there,” came the first call from his mother. She was a big fish. Most
carp are. She was already stirring up the bottom of the lake to make it easy
for him to get a good nourishing breakfast of plants and other stuff on the
lake floor.
Carpie
flipped his tail and started to move around under the overhang near the bank.
It was safe there. The bank and the overhang offered protection from the
predators but his mom knew they were close by and there was not a minute to
waste. The sun changed from the morning softness and gold to a bright yellow and
along with it, the water became lighter. That meant danger. The lighter the
water got, the easier it would be for hungry eyes to see movement.
Carpie
looked out from under the muddy ledge and looked at his mom. She had sure
stirred things up! Breakfast was plentiful and Carpie made the best of it. He
zoomed around and picked off some of his favorite bottom foods. He attacked
them like a prize fighter shadow boxing. It wasn’t long before he was full and
nose-to-nose with his mom.
“Enough
of this buster,” she scolded. “We need to get to deeper water and find some
good cover or a hungry bass of walleye is going to be licking his chops over
you!”
“Awe
Mom,” Carpie protested, I can out-run and out-turn any minnows in the lake.
“You’re
dreaming young man,” she said as she pointed a flipper down toward the deep.
“Now get.”
“But
Mom, I want to swim with the other guys today.”
“The
only way that is going to happen is if you find yourself in the middle of a big
school and you are the little one,” she said. “I repeat, git!”
Carpie
did as he was told and swam down to the deep. Even though dark water offered
protection, it was also scary for a little guy. He was still developing and his
eyesight and reaction times were not what they needed to be. That was also true
of his other young friends. At this stage of the game, there wasn’t much
difference between his friends. They bodies were almost transparent and their
features were not all that different. He felt safe with all his friends even
though his mom had told him that some of those friends would turn on him as
they became adult fish.
His
survival would depend on putting a lot of weight and size and not eating any of
those tempting treats like corn, worms, and balls of some kind of stuff others
told him about that might be found on the lake bottom. There were too many
stories going around about carp who took a bite and suddenly zoomed toward the
surface, never to be seen again.
Finally,
he arrived in the safety of total darkness. The bottom of the lake was nothing
more than mud and lots of garbage. There were rotting skeletons of the dead.
There were old logs that finally got too water-logged to float.
Carpie
killed time waiting for his friends to show up. As he waited in stillness, he
could sense something close by. He turned just in time to miss the open jaws of
a monster walleye who had his eye on Carpie for breakfast. Carpie dove for the
closest log. He needed some cover because the monster walleye could turn on a
mini bobber and be right on him. He could slip under the log and be safe.
Just as
sudden, the log moved. Carpie could see a big eye open and look through the
stirred-up bottom at him. A long spear like object whipped through the water as
the big object moved.
“Pretty
close call there youngster,” the blue catfish said as he turned and slowly
zig-zagged his way across the bottom. This cat was one of the biggest fish in the lake—a real rod bender.
But he was also one of the smartest. You don’t get to be a fish or this size
without being smart.
“Hey Carpie!”
a voice called out from a school of minnows. The crowd had arrived and they
were ready for a little fun. They all looked about the same at this stage and
they were all still friends. Someday, some would hunt the others but not today.
Today
they hunted for fun.
Life
changed for this bunch. The bass boy’s bodies stretched out into sleek swimming
machines with large mouths and sharp teeth. They, like their walleye friend,
would evolve into expert sneak attackers. They would break the lake surface and
catch a fly or moth. Minnows didn't stand a chance. So much for the promise of
youth that they would never attack and eat a minnow friend.
The
catfish developed into monsters. They had a mouth full of teeth but the bigger
they became, the bigger the prey. Even birds were on the menu of these big
guys.
Fish,
unlike humans, didn't start their day in front of a mirror so it was difficult
for them to observe the changes going on.
Carpie became a monster in his own right but he had no idea. He was just
a fish who lived under the bank during the night and grazed the junk on the
bottom during the rest of the day.
His
mouth, unlike his sport fish friends, did not push out in an almost submarine
look. His mouth turned down. It was round. There were no big sharp killing
teeth like some of the other fish. He didn't need much of a mouth to sort out
and eat the garbage on the lake bottom. It was starting to take a mental toll
on him.
“Is this
it?” he wondered. “Is this all I am going to be known for?” He took notice of
how the other fish respected the bass brothers and his walleye friend. They
moved aside when the catfish cruised by. They darted with fear when northern
pike came to call. But Carpie? They paid him no mind and in some cases, he
could see the snicker bubbles rising toward the surface.
The
other carp felt the same way. They all were depressed. They needed a
champion—someone who would do something so unusual and bold that the rest of
the fish would raise a fin when he swam by.
But what
could a toothless carp with big lips do to impress anyone?
The
opportunity presented itself on the surface one nice warm summer day. A young
girl was getting set to water ski when Carpie put his plan into action. Carpie
put his fears behind him and swam into action as the stunned fish community
watched. He left the murky bottom and like a sub-launched torpedo and took aim
at the unsuspecting young girl.
Just as
she was getting ready to ski, something splashed up between her legs and kissed
her on the butt. She screamed. She jumped out of the water and tried to stand
on the skis. It was too late. The water was calm and Carpie was gone.
It
wouldn't be the last time Carpie ruled the lake. Other skiers got kissed and
terrified. The sport fish bowed as Carpie swam by. Even the biggest of the
catfish had a big smile for him.
Some of
the smaller carp tagged along with the lake hero. They stayed close like those
little fish that stay close to the big sharks. They didn't want to miss a
minute of the action.
They
would have stories to tell their grandfish and great grandfish about their
legendary hero. The legend of Carpie.
If you liked this story. check out Kenny's kindle books. Here is his author's page:
http://amzn.to/2hHdMcI
http://amzn.to/2hHdMcI
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