The Lost and Found Manatee

Manatee news story

This was in the news a week or so ago... A manatee was heading north up the Mississippi River... Which, of course, got me to thinking...What was that manatee thinking? What was that manatee hoping to find? So I wrote a lil' fable...and it goes something like this...

"Well something's lost, but something's gained/In living every day..."--Joni Mitchell, "Both Sides, Now"





And so it came to pass that the Manatee awoke one day, drifting in a gentle swell, and feeling not so-swell. He had just had a strange dream filled with strange waters and creatures he had never seen. It filled him with sadness when he looked around him and realized that he was in his familiar waters and not the strange ones. He missed the creatures in his dream.

But dreams fade as you awaken and the sun on the waves sparkled and danced with a trio of dolphins. He poked his head up and began to paddle with his strong tail, headed for the sparkling horizon where the dolphins played. He was a swift swimmer and he quickly caught up with the dolphins who were leaping out of the water and into the air. He laughed and made a honking noise.

“Can I play with you?” the Manatee asked.

The three dolphins, however, were solidly engaged in an elaborate trick that involved two of them leaping in a circular formation, while the third jumped through the ring that they had just made. And during this extraordinarily entertaining trick, one dolphin began singing, while the other two hummed in accompaniment.

“Swimming, swimming, dolphins three… This way and that in Unity… If you ask where we long to be… We’ll tell you we belong to the sea!”

After this, the Manatee clapped his flippers and honked in appreciation. “Bravo, dolphins three!”

One of the dolphins turned and smiled. “Thank you, Manatee.”

“Can I swim with you?” the Manatee asked again.

“Come sister!” the other dolphin cried and the dolphins grouped together and began to swim away.

“Wait!” the Manatee cried.
The friendly dolphin answered. “Silly, you are not a dolphin.”

They disappeared into the rays of the sun and the Manatee turned away. He was sad, but it was true. He looked at his fins and his massive body. Nobody would ever mistake him for a dolphin! His sadness made him feel very heavy and he suddenly had an idea.

“I know!” he said to the water and sky, who were listening. “I will swim. This place is sad and it’s making me heavy. I will swim away from the sadness and find that strange place in my dream!”

The wind rose up against the Manatee’s back and he began to swim with the current. He felt lighter already! From here on out he would leave his troubles behind!

The next few days the Manatee swam, stopping to sleep and nibble grasses and algae. Sometimes the current was too strong and pushed him back. Other times, he caught a swiftly flowing eddy and bounced forward with glee. His dreams were full of hope and promise. And as long as he kept on swimming, the sadness could not take hold. Then, after much swimming, he spotted the river. He had seen the river before and heard the tales of the strange creatures that lived in it, but he had never experienced any of it himself.

Even though he was exhausted, he felt a new-found energy surge through his aching body and he pushed forward to the mouth of the river. It would be tough going at first, but he knew he could do it. He slapped his tail down defiantly and swam.

The day began to fade and so did the Manatee. As twilight loomed, he spotted some tasty looking grasses at the banks of the river and he swam over to them. He tasted them. They were different, but good! He felt happy and proud. He let out a contented sigh.

“Who dat?” a voice called out from the weeds on shore.

The Manatee looked around, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

“I know you out dere.”

The Manatee squinted and he saw a small lobster-like creature crawl towards him. “Hey, aren’t you a—“

“I’m a crawdaddy, what of it?” the crayfish snapped.

The Manatee clapped his flippers in delight. “I’ve heard of crawdaddies, but I’ve never seen one!”

“And you’re one of them…manatees, right? We don’t see a lot of your kind, you know. Shoot you sure are big.” Crawdaddy backed up. “Sayyy, you aren’t thinking of making me your dinner, now?”

The Manatee snorted air through his nostril. “What? Nooo. I like grasses. Algae is really good. Besides, you look really hard. I bet it’d be like eating a rock.”

Crawdaddy crawled back. “Yeah, break your teeth. You got teeth, don’t ya?”

The Manatee opened his mouth and said “Aahhhh!” There were teeth, but they were back inside of his mouth. They were hard to see.

“Okay, okay, I get it. You a grass-eater. That a load off my mind.” Crawdaddy looked at Manatee quizzically. “Sayy, boy, what are you doing in these parts, anyways? You don’t look like you belong here.”

As the Manatee considered the question, a pang of doubt shot through him and he felt that distant sadness catching up to him. Oh no! It was following him. And he had slowed down enough that it would soon be here! He turned away from Crawdaddy.

“I guess I don’t belong here.” He looked at the trees that were indeed strange. He bobbed in the water and the water was different from what he knew. The grasses tasted different than the grasses before. And YET, one thing had not changed. He had not changed. He was still the same ol’ Manatee and he didn’t fit in here anymore than anywhere else. He blinked away tears and submerged himself.

“Hey! Where you goin’?” Crawdaddy complained. “Sheee---ooot. That boy’s in a heap o’ trouble.”

And he was. For the next three days the trees shook and the wind howled. When Manatee was too tired and his heart got too heavy he lifted his head to the black, black sky and do you know what that sorrowful Manatee did? He howled too. He found the wind and he howled right along with it. The rains came down thick and heavy. The waves became fierce and choppy. And every now and then loud thunder cracked the sky. The Manatee did not flinch. He kept swimming upstream into the eye of the storm. Tree branches and wood flung towards him and Manatee ducked and bobbed and howled in protest.

“I DON’T BELONG!” he sobbed and his tears were heavier than the droplets of rain. He bellowed into the storm and then…the storm bellowed back. Whaaat? He heard a shout back, but it was a sound he had never heard before. It sounded like…Mom…

A chunk of wood flew past him, nearly hitting him in the head. He heard the sound again and then he saw the soaked, battered creature coming toward him, clinging to a piece of wood. It looked terrified and wild and it was howling too. It was a boy. And then that howling boy let go of the wood and the mighty river swallowed him up.

Manatee couldn’t breathe. That thing…that weak thing cried like him. And now that weak thing was gone. He had to do something. He dived underneath and desperately scanned the waters. There was nothing but chunks of rocks and wood tumbling past him, pelting him. No. He can’t be lost. He can’t. Manatee thought about the boy. He doesn’t belong here. This isn’t where he belongs. He turned and then he saw him! The boy! He was tangled up in vines, but the vines were keeping him from being carried further down by the current. Manatee thumped his tail and pushed with his flippers. “Oh, what a fragile creature,” he thought with worry. Manatee used his jaws to grab the boy by the arm and he pulled him free of the vines. Paddling desperately, he swam to the surface. He had to get him to land. This was a land creature, not a water creature. “I’m a water creature,” Manatee thought. “Don’t let this land creature die in the water,” he prayed.

The Manatee felt tired, as if he could no longer swim. “I-I can’t do it…” He felt himself sinking again. Just then the wind sung in his ears. And out of the black, black sky, the brightest light burst through, blinding him. “This way,” the wind sang. With a final surge of energy he rose up, blindly going into the light. A protective calm enveloped him and he felt as fluid as water. All his troubles seemed very small and Manatee pictured all the bad feelings floating away from him down the river. He didn’t think. He just was. He was alive. The boy was alive.

“Paul!” a voice cried. “Paul!” He had reached the shore, but was too tired to move. People came and took the boy. He felt the drops of grateful tears. “This manatee saved him. He saved him.” The voice sounded as tired as he felt. “He saved me,” Manatee thought. Then, he closed his eyes and slept a long, long while.

While he slept, he had the most amazing dreams. He dreamt of his old waters and the dolphins and the old grasses. He dreamt of the new waters he had seen and the Crawdaddy too. He dreamt of the boy, happy, smiling, playing. And still he dreamt on NEW places that only existed in his imagination. And in this dream he belonged not to just one place, but to all places, even the ones that he had never seen.

He woke up. He was in the old waters again. He looked around. He was alone. And yet…he wasn’t. He heard the wind whispering in his ears, the same wind that had always been there. But now, he listened closely. “Manatee…it is I, Sister Wind, who has brought you here.”

The sun glistened in the sky. “Manatee, it is I, Father Sun, who has shown you the way.”

The ocean twirled around and hugged him. “Manatee, it is I, Mother Ocean…And I…have missed you so much.”

Manatee began to weep and his manatee heart swelled with love. And as the wind blew and the sun rose and the ocean swirled, he heard their voices… “You belong. You belong.”

And he did.