Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Death of a fish

A little while ago, I wrote about the little bird we found and Bethany's difficulty in dealing with its likely death. [Incidentally, I found another bird from the same nest a few days later in the corner of the yard, next to the very dead first bird. I didn't share with the children.]
Today Ryan went to feed the fish with a comment that he hadn't fed them for three days. Then I heard 'uh oh, I think something's wrong with a fish', and sure enough, Ryan's goldfish was lying very dead on the filter. The water bubbling through the filter was making it bob up and down a little so Ryan was sure it was still alive. After school we checked again, and it was still in the same place. Ryan and his friend Nik retrieved the fish, buried it, created a headstone and decorated the grave with flowers. The headstone says something along the lines of 'Amphiby [yes apparently that was the fish's name, although this is the first I've heard it.] We love you and will always be with you.' Very poignant.
All was fine until bedtime, when he suddenly got very sad about the fish 'I just want my Amphiby back'. How he could say that so sadly and still keep a straight face I don't know. He wanted to know why it died and why we didn't take it to the vet. How do you explain that a fish costs $2 and there are plenty more where that one came from without cheapening life? Perhaps I succeeded. Although he did cry himself to sleep.

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