What about the fishes? ...

Marlene Terry

Kids look at life in such an amazing way. They're faithful, loyal and quick to believe what you, as an adult, tell them as long as it seems right. And if it doesn't seem right they are even more prompt to question it. That's when you're treated to their straight-forward, 'tell it like it is, 'reasoning.

Take the time I filled in as a Sunday School teacher for a bunch of 5-year-olds.

Heaven knows I love to tell a good story, especially when kids are the audience. I also enjoy complimenting the tale with sound effects when possible, loud exclamations and drama ... plenty of it.

That's why the subject matter that day "Noah and the Ark," was especially enticing.

I set the stage, as I explained the plight of Noah who didn't live anywhere near an ocean or sea. He was doing what Heavenly Father told him to do, building a huge boat ... many cubits long ... on dry land and telling everyone, who by the way were making fun of him and laughing at his attempts, that the end was near. 
... I really did expect questions about the cubits, but surprisingly none came. 

... Then there was the THUNDER! ... A sheet of thin metal rippled back and forth provided the sound. LIGHTNING flashed! ... Flipping the light switch on and off rapidly did that job. ... And the RAIN?

With their eyes shut tight as I instructed,  the kids listened to the storm and felt the raindrops falling, not from the sky as we were inside after all, but from a filled-to-the-brim Super Soaker squirt gun.

You should have seen their faces. Wrinkled brows denoting worry and concern, hands over their mouths ... to keep from screaming, of course, and there was a quietness you rarely experience with 5-year-olds. You literally, could have heard a pin drop. ... No doubt about it. I had their attention and the point of the story was understood.

Suffice it to say things were going well and as I hoped when I reach the story's very sad ending. You know. The part when the WHOLE WORLD is covered with water and every animal and person on it, except for those inside Noah's Ark are DROWNED.

We took a moment to reflect on that tragic scene and then one very thoughtful little boy raised his hand to make a comment.

"Teacher?" He said setting a respectful tone for his question. 
"What about the fishes?"

... As I said ... straight forward, 'tell it like it is,' reasoning.

♦ Hope you'll let me share YOUR stories and photos here at my residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com.