Dolphin History

Friday at 1:15 in the afternoon.

Mrs. Julie-Mae SeaHorse was waiting for her 5th grade history class to settle down.

"Now, now, class. Take your seats. We have a very busy schedule today and very little time. I would appreciate some cooperation."

Two more minutes pass and the class had finally settled into their seats and their teacher had their complete attention.

"Today, we are going to learn about Dolphin history. Now, Dolphins, as you know, are very kind creatures, very helpful and playful. If you have a friend who is a Dolphin, that friend will be by your side for life. But, this wasn't all the case. Dolphins were once very mean and self centered. They thought that they were better than everyone else. All the other creatures in the sea hated the Dolphins, they didn't want anything to do with them."

Jessica's hand shot up.

"Yes, Jessica?", Mrs. Julie-Mae said.

"If the Dolphins used to be so mean, then how come they're so nice now?"

"That is a very good question, Jessica. It is true that the Dolphins used to be vile and vicious creatures. However, there was a tragedy within the Dolphin community and the events leading up to and following that tragedy are the reasons why the Dolphins are so friendly today. There is a story about that tragedy which is called 'The Dolphin that Committed Suicide'."

"But why would a Dolphin commit suicide?", Aaron blurted out.

"Aaron, please raise your hand if you have something to say. You ask a very good question. Since most stories have a bit of history in them, I could tell you the story of 'The Dolphin that Committed Suicide', if you'd like to hear it. Now, show of hands, who wants to hear the story?"

All of the students raised their hands excitedly.

"Are you sure?", asked the teacher?

With their hands raised even higher the students said "Yes!" over and over again.

"All right, as long as you're sure."

The class settled down into their seats and waited for the teacher to tell the story.

"Now, this story takes place hundreds of years ago. But where do I begin?", Mrs. Julie-Mae said thoughtfully. "Oh, yes, I remember now. His name was Chuck. Chuck appeared to be like all of the other Dolphins. He loved to swim, leap out of the water, and even chase some of the other Dolphins around in a game of Dolphin Tag. Now, even though the Dolphins were horrible creatures, they have always loved to play games and Chuck loved the games more than most."

"However, Chuck had a secret. He was in love," All the girls in the class let out a sigh and giggled. "but not with the nice Dolphin girl that his parents wanted him to marry. Chuck loved Tia, a Sea Turtle, and Tia loved him back."

"Chuck knew that if anyone found out, it would destroy their lives and even the Dolphin culture as they knew it. See, it was written in the Dolphin Book of Law that Dolphins could only marry other Dolphins. If the Church of Phin found out, they would banish Chuck forever. He would never be allowed into the Great Dolphin City of Phinnigan, nor would he ever be allowed to even look upon another Dolphin for the rest of his life. If a banished Dolphin spoke to another Dolphin, it was punishable by death."

The children all gasped in horror.

"Chuck and Tia were worried about the consequences of their love, but not worried enough to stop seeing each other."

"Chuck had a difficult life and it was hard for him to make time to see Tia. He was in 'Dolphin Studies' classes all day long, four times a week. He had to learn everything about the Dolphin culture. He had to become an expert in history, philosophy, science, law and all the rules and guidelines for socializing with a different species."

"Now, Dolphins, as you may know, are closely related to the Whales. Thousands of years ago the Whales and Dolphins were family. They got along wonderfully and used to have yearly reunions. One day, something terrible happened, a Whale lost a bet to a Dolphin, and instead of taking it in stride and learning not to gamble, the Whale ate him. Ever since then if a Whale comes across a Dolphin, that Dolphin is likely to never be seen again."

Molly raised her hand.

"Molly?"

"Is that how the Dolphin committed suicide? He let a Whale eat him?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, Molly. Now, let's talk about Sea Turtles for a minute. Sea Turtles have always led very simple lives. They don't have any rules, a Church, or even cities. Sea Turtles are allowed to go wherever they please, and converse with any species that they happen to meet. There are no restrictions as to who they can marry or what kind of career path they can follow."

"Life was really easy for Tia, except for the fact that she had a forbidden love. Chuck sometimes found himself jealous of Tia's simple life. He wished that he could have been a Sea Turtle. He thought that if he was a Sea Turtle that he would finally be happy. Aside from the fact that Tia was in it, Chuck hated his life. He often wished that he could run away. Though, he thought, what kind of life would that be? Where could he go? All of the other species in the Sea hated the Dolphins because they were stuck up and selfish. If he ran away, he would have nobody, except for Tia. Chuck wasn't sure if Tia's company alone could keep him happy. He thought that he would be lonely if it was just the two of them."

"So, every day, Chuck went to school and learned what he needed to know in order to someday rule the Great City of Phinnigan. And every day, Chuck wished that he was someone else."

"A few months passed and Chuck was almost done with his schooling. Announcements had been made stating that the Dolphin Prince would soon be ready to take his throne. Chuck knew that soon, he must tell Tia his secret. Although he dreaded the conversation to come, he made a date with her for later that night. They arranged to meet out near Coral Reef Lookout, which was a safe league and a half distance from the Phinnigan"

Devon raised his hand. "Teacher? Where is the Great City of Phinnigan?"

"Nobody knows, Devon, it was lost many, many years ago. There are theories that the Dolphins destroyed it. The Dolphins no longer have cities or laws, so it could be possible that they destroyed them in order to start over. There is another possibility that it was just natural. The Ocean has changed so much over the years, that many things that once were, no longer exist. We don't even have an idea of where Coral Reef Lookout could have been. It is a mystery. But shall I continue my story?"

"Yes, please.", the class said in unison.

"All right then. Chuck arrived at Coral Reef Lookout a bit early and there was no sign of Tia anywhere. Chuck settled down in a nearby cave to wait for her. Ten minutes passed, then twenty, and then thirty, and there was still no Tia. Chuck was beginning to worry. She had never stood him up like this before. He swam out of the cave and started pacing around the coral while telling himself that she was just running late. He needed to tell her that he's the Prince. He had to warn her."

Jessica raised her hand again and Mrs Julie-Mae nodded to her, signaling that she could speak. "Mrs. Julie, what did Chuck need to warn Tia about?"

"That is a good question, and you'll have your answer soon enough, I promise. Okay, where was I? Oh, yes. Chuck was getting more and more worried. He was starting to wonder if Tia had already found out his secret. 'Did she find out?' he asked himself. 'And if so, does she hate me?' Tia was more than forty-five minutes late and Chuck couldn't wait any longer. He was already going to be late getting home.

"Chuck rushed back home as fast as he could swim. Benton, the High Phin Master of the Church of Phin was waiting for him."

"What is a High Phin Master?" Francis asked and then remembered to raise his hand. "Oops, sorry Teacher, I forgot." he said once his hand was in the air.

"That's okay, Francis, at least you remembered sooner rather than later. The High Phin Master of the Church of Phin is the leader of the Church. It is the highest rank that any Dolphin involved in the Church can achieve. Think of him as being like the Principal of our school. He controls everything. He can decide who to hire, who to fire and who to promote."

"Oh, okay, that makes sense." said Francis.

"Chuck greeted Benton as the two of them entered the palace. 'Hello, Benton. How is everything?'

'Wonderful, Chuck, just wonderful.' Benton replied jovially, and then upon closer inspection of Chuck, adds 'Are you all right, Chuck? You look as though you were swimming for your life.'

'Nah, I just went swimming around the coral, you know, I'm trying to stay fit.'

'Ah, very good, very good. Look, I'm sorry to have to bother you at such a late hour, but we've found all the sacrifices for the ceremony tomorrow. I need you to inspect them before I can give them the blessing.'

'Of course, the traditional inspection. I didn't realize it would be tonight. I thought it would be in the morning. But if you would like, I can inspect them now. Please, take me to them.'

"Now, class, it was tradition that when a new King of Phin was crowned, that many sacrifices had to be made. This, along with other such statements, can be found in the Dolphin Book of Law. There is only one remaining copy of the Dolphin Book of Law, and that copy is held in the Great Museum of the Sea, which is located in Oceanville. I will give any student 50 extra credit points if they go to the museum and look at the book before the end of the school year. Now, back to the Book of Law. The Dolphin Book of Law states that one member of every species that is smaller than the Dolphins, MUST be sacrificed immediately following the crowning ceremony. Dolphins really were a nasty and brutish species. But, back to the story."

"Benton lead Chuck into the Church of Phin, and down into the winding, labyrinth-like catacombs. It was dark down there and there was a smell that could only be described as a smell of suffering. Benton lead Chuck around many corners and turn after turn until finally they came across a giant jail cell. Inside the cell were hundreds and hundreds of creatures all waiting to die. There was a Sea Snail, Sea Cucumber, an Electric Eel, a Sea Ray, Starfish, Shrimp, all different species of fish, a small Octopus."

Little Amelia, the shyest girl in class raised her and spoke in a barely audible whisper, "Teacher, was there a Sea Horse?"

"I'm afraid there was Amelia, I'm afraid there was."

The whole class cringed and Amelia let out a whimper.

"Now, where was I?"

"You said there was a small Octopus.", James said.

"Right, there was a small Octopus, a Sea Horse, a Seal, and many, many others. Now, Chuck began to inspect them, one by one. He inspected all the fish first, then the crabs, the Sea monkeys, all down the line until he came across the one Sea Turtle. He almost didn't recognize her, but Tia was curled up in the corner, crying her eyes out. Chuck didn't know what to do. He was staring at this poor woman, the love of his life, locked up and afraid for her life. Chuck knew that if he tried to save her that Benton would arrest him and then kill Tia right before his eyes, before killing Chuck. He had to be calm and finish the inspection, then he could figure out how to save his Tia. Lucky for Chuck, Tia didn't look up, so she didn't know he was there. He finished the inspection and then went back to the palace."

"For hours he paced in his room, trying to figure out a way to save poor Tia and run away with her. He regretted not running away months ago. He kept thinking to himself. 'None of this would have happened if he had just left and taken her with him. We would have been fine. We could have managed on out own. Why was I so scared to run away? All we needed was each other, but I was scared, and now she's locked up, waiting to die. I have to do something, anything.' It was almost daylight and Chuck still didn't have a plan to save Tia. The only thing he could think of was to refuse the crown. Nobody had ever refused the crown before and there was no law in the Dolphin Book of Law saying what would happen if someone did. For all Chuck knew, they would kill him for even thinking it."

"It was the only idea he had, so he had to try. Chuck went into the Church and knocked on Benton's door until Benton finally answered.

'Oh, Chuck, what's the matter m'boy?'

'I refuse to be King. I don't want the crown. I don't even want to be a Dolphin. I'm in love with one of the creatures waiting to be sacrificed, and I couldn't bear to watch her die.'

'Are you serious? Chuck, you do realize what you're saying, don't you? How can you not want the crown. You've been taught everything about the Dolphin way of life; your whole life has been spent in preparation for you to become King. And now you just want to throw it all away over some lesser creature locked in our cages? Are you mad?!'

'Yes, I am mad. I'm mad that I have to be part of this society that excludes almost everyone. I'm tired of the rules, tired of this city, and tired of the Church of Phin. I should be able to fall in love and marry who I choose.'

'Who is this girl that you speak of? What species is she? What's her name?'

'Why do you want to know?'

'I promise, no harm will come to her from telling me. She is already sentenced to die, that will not change no matter what. Her fate has been sealed. If you tell me her name I can try to make sure that her death is as quick and painless as possible. So, please, tell me, if you really love her, tell me.'

Chuck sighs and sniffles, trying to hide his emotions. 'Okay, her name is Tia. She's a Sea Turtle. Please, I love her, is there any way that she can be spared?'

'I'm sorry Chuck, there is nothing that I can do.' Benton pushes a little button just inside the doorway. 'And I'm afraid that I have to arrest you. You will be banished, forever. Guards!'

"Three guards seized Chuck and took him down into the catacombs. They placed him in the cell with the sacrifices and left him there. Chuck frantically searched for Tia, and finally located her in the same corner she had been in the night before. She had cried herself to sleep. Chuck shook her gently and she awoke. Her eyes were all red and she had to blink them a few times before she could make out his face."

'Chuck!' She threw her flippers around him. 'I've been so worried. Thank goodness you're here. Please, can you get us out of here? We're to be sacrificed for the new King of Phin. I'm so scared, Chuck.'

'I'm sorry, Tia, I can't help. I was going to be the new King of Phin, but I refused the crown when I saw you were one of the ones to be sacrificed. The guards arrested me and threw me in here. I don't know what's going to happen to us.'

"Tia pulled away from him and looked him square in the eyes. 'Why didn't you tell me? All this time you were going have tons of people sacrificed for you and you never told me! Get away from me! This is all your fault!', she screamed.

'Tia, it's not my fault. I tried to save you. I was going to tell you last night, but you didn't make it to the Coral Reef Lookout. I'm not the one who made these laws. Don't you think I would rather not have people sacrificed for me? Don't you think that I would like to tell my family that you're the girl I want to marry? If I could change the laws, I would, trust me, but I can't. I want to be with you. I love you. I wish I could change everything and get us out of here. I should have asked you to run away with me months ago, but now it's too late. I don't know what to do, Tia. I'm scared. I can't lose you. I love you too much.'

"But Tia wouldn't even look at him. She was too mad at him for lying to her. A few hours passed and it was now almost midday. Benton came down to see Chuck and speak with him about the trouble that he had caused."

'Chuck, because you have refused to take the crown, the Dolphin King of Phin no longer has an educated and qualified successor. Your little brother Eric will be the next King when he is old enough. Since there will be no crowning ceremony today as was planned, there will also be no sacrifices. Instead, the King has ordered mass executions. He has demanded that you watch as all of these people die, one after the other, until we come to Tia. Tia will be the last one to be executed, and you will be forced to kill her yourself. After that you will be banished for life. I am sorry to have to tell you this, but you brought this upon yourself. The executions start in ten minutes. I suggest you prepare yourself.'

"Chuck swam over to Tia as fast as he could. 'Tia! Tia! You have to listen to me. I love you. They are going to kill everyone. You will be the last to die, and they are going to make me kill you, after which I am being banished. I can't do this. I can't kill you. Please speak to me, tell me what to do!'

'If they have ordered that you kill me, I don't see how you have much of a choice. I am sorry things turned out this way, Chuck, I really am. I wish that things could have been simpler. I wish that we could have been together, for all to see.'

'Do you love me, Tia? Will you still love me if i kill you? Please, Tia, I need to know!'

'Yes, I still love you. I will always love you, even if you kill me today. I know that you don't want to kill me, and I am sorry that you have to.'

"Chuck and Tia embraced and cried with each other until Benton came back, this time he brought ten guards with him. The guards opened the jail door and led the prisoners out in a single file line through the catacombs and up into the Church. Chuck and Tia were at the end of the line. Once they were all in the Church, Benton gave them a blessing, and then led them out into the Royal Courtyard. The Royal Courtyard was the traditional place to have sacrifices, executions, weddings and other parties. It was huge, and there was coral and sea anemones everywhere. All the different colors made the courtyard beautiful."

"The King ordered that the prisoners be executed in groups of ten. They were to die by having their heads chopped off by a swordfish blade. Chuck was made to watch as the first group was executed, then the second, third, fourth, etc, until he lost count. Eventually there were only six prisoners left alive. Those six were brought into the middle of the courtyard and executed. Now the only one that remained was his beloved Tia. 'How can I kill her?' He wondered to himself. He really did love her. Benton ushered both Chuck and Tia into the middle of the courtyard to face Chuck's father, the King."

'Chuck, you have disobeyed countless laws and have brought shame upon our family and the Dolphin race. As your punishment for falling in love with someone so unworthy, you must stab the swordfish blade through the Sea Turtle's neck. Then you must watch as she dies. As for refusing the crown and questioning so many of our laws and traditions, your final punishment is banishment. You have disappointed me, but I thank the Dolphin Gods that you are not my only son. Let the sentence be carried out!'

"Benton tied up poor Tia and gave Chuck the swordfish blade. 'If you refuse, I can promise you that her death will be slow and painful.' said the King. Chuck held the blade in his mouth and prepared to kill the one he loved. 'I love you, Chuck.', Tia said. Chuck could only look at her for a second, and then he drove the blade through her neck. Tia fell to the ground and gasped as blood seeped out of her wounds and mouth. Minutes passed as she lay there, bleeding to death. Chuck was weeping as he was forced to stare at her as she died. Finally, she stopped moving, stopped gasping, and stopped breathing. Tia the Sea Turtle was dead, and Chuck had been the one to kill her."

'Guards, escort my son to the city gates.' said the King.

"Chuck was still weeping uncontrollably as two guards took him out of the city, closing the gates on Chuck forever. Chuck was so distraught he didn't even care that he could never go back home. All he cared about was that his Tia was dead, and that it was all his fault. He told himself that he should have refused to kill her, but he knew, that the pain he caused her with that blade was far less than the pain she would feel if he had refused. 'Who knows what they would have done to her if I hadn't killed her first.' He said to himself."

"For many days Chuck wandered around the Ocean, trying to forget his grief. One day while swimming at the surface he spotted a golden, sandy beach. Deciding that he could never live with the fact that he killed the woman he loved, Chuck swam and swam and swam until finally he landed on that beautiful beach. He pushed himself further up the beach until there was no way he could make it back into the water. And there he lay until the sun and being out of the water finally killed him."

"Now children, that is why a Dolphin would commit suicide. But there is more to this story. After banishing his son, the King had a grief of his own. He knew he couldn't live with himself after sending his own flesh and blood into exile. The King put together a search party, to find Chuck. A week later the search party had found what they were looking for, on that beautiful, sandy beach. But it was too late. Chuck was already dead. The King knew that he was responsible, and could not live with that thought. He decided to join his son on that sandy beach, but not before destroying everything about the Dolphin culture as they knew it. The King destroyed his crown, his throne, and even tore down the Church of Phin. He destroyed all of the copies of the Dolphin Book of Law that he could. He scattered his people across the Ocean, to make sure that they could not keep the old ways alive. And then, the King found that beach, and swam and swam and swam until he was resting next to his sons body."

"Now, children, that is how the Dolphins came to be so nice. The story of 'The Dolphin that Committed Suicide' has been passed down through the generations of Dolphins, to remind themselves of what they once were and what they should never again become."

The bell rang signaling that class was over. As all the kids swam out of the classroom, happy to be going home for the weekend, one boy swam up to the teacher.

"Mrs. Julie-Mae?"

"Yes, Scotty? What is it?"

"Is that story really true, or was it made up?"

"There is no proof either way, Scott, but I believe it to be true. How else do you explain that Dolphins are so smart? Smart species build cities, and have Churches and rules. The Dolphins have none. They are just nice and carefree and very helpful. A species learns and grows from it's mistakes. A species like the Dolphins must have made terrible mistakes before they could learn to be so nice and to steer away from building cities and Churches and having laws and rules. Now you'd better run home, but if you'd like why don't you do some research this weekend on Dolphin history and see what you can come up with."

"Thanks, Mrs. Julie-Mae. That was a wonderful story, but so sad. I feel bad for the Dolphins."

"There is no need to feel bad for the Dolphins, they are finally free, Scott. They can do whatever they want, and they choose to help people instead of hurting them. Think of them as the Angels of the Sea."

Scott nodded and swam out of the classroom and all the way home as fast as he could. Scott knew that his little sister would love to hear the story about the Dolphin that committed suicide.