500 Words 2023: read a finalist's story from the 5-7 category

< 500 Words< Finalists< 5-7

This story was chosen as a top 50 finalist for 500 Words 2023.

Remember, spelling, punctuation and grammar are not taken into account for a 500 Words story, therefore all the top 50 stories have been published how they were submitted.

The Octopus and the Electric Eel by Oscar S.

One day, a little boy called Jack went to the aquarium with his family. He had a great day, looking at lots of different fish and sea creatures. But his favourite animals were an octopus and an electric eel. He chose them because they were playing Sea Tag together and looked like they were having lots of fun, just like Jack and his friends. But actually, although they are friends now, they used to be sworn enemies…

Before the octopus and the eel lived in the aquarium, they lived in the sea. Every day, the eel would say "I am the greatest creature in the sea, because I can zap my prey with a beam of electricity". And the octopus would say "No-way, I am 8 times better than you…I can catch my prey with just one tentacle and STILL do 7 other jobs with my other tentacles. HA!" All the other creatures were so bored of listening to this argument everyday.

Then one day, there was a war on top of the sea. Noisy ships and submarines were moving through the water, bombs exploded and the sea became rough with giant waves. The creatures of the sea were very scared. Lots of war junk fell through the sea and was extremely dangerous, so all the fish had a meeting and decided they would leave that part of the sea at midnight.

When it was midnight, the fish started escaping. Little fish went first with their mummies. The daddies went behind to protect them. The octopus and the electric eel started their usual argument about who was the best when disaster happened. The war started up again in the night by surprise. Metal from bombs started sinking down from the sea top and explosions made huge vibrations so that the baby fish couldn't swim . They started to get separated from their parents and were very afraid. The octopus thought quickly and called the other octopi of the sea. "Quickly, each of you grab 8 baby fish and keep them with their mummies". Off the octopi went and each saved 8 baby fish which was enough to save all of them. PHEW! The eel also had a helpful thought. He yelled at all the other electric eels "Come on, let's ELECTRO-BLAAAAAST this bomb junk into SMITHEREENS! We need to make a safe path for us to escape this war".

And that's what they did. They worked together to help all the creatures of the sea. And they didn't stop until they reached the coast, where an aquarium manager spotted the group and gave them shelter. The creatures still live in the aquarium today. And the octopus and the electric eel are best friends, because now they know that no one is "The Best". We all have our own talents we are proud of. And, if we use our talents together, we can help others which is even better!

Need more inspiration?