A long time ago, sharks didn't eat seagulls. But because of a pair of sharks and another pair of seagulls, nowadays sharks eat seagulls.
Once, there were two sharks named Sharky and Sharko. They were brothers, and they lived in the Pacific Ocean. Sharky was a curious shark - he always wanted to know new things. Sharko, on the other hand, was very impatient. Despite the differences, the two sharks shared a couple of similarities: both were adventurous and had especially hot tempers. Also, being sharks, they were always in search of food. They were particularly infamous to other species, and the creatures of the deep blue sea knew better than to get on the wrong side of them.
As a result of them being adventurous, Sharky and Sharko had been to many, many places. Them staying in Pacific Ocean meant that they could use smaller rivers and seas to get from one place to another. They have been to the Atlantic Ocean, an ocean slightly smaller than their hometown; the Indian Ocean, an ocean located near the equator; and even the Arctic Ocean, where it was so cold it had nearly frozen their fins off. They were so experienced in going on adventures down underwater, but they haven't been to the surface before. Their kind had never given a thought about it before, as nobody would bother going to the surface because there were many sea creatures living not too near the surface of the water.
One day, after returning from a particularly tiring adventure from the Mississippi River, Sharky asked his brother, "Are we going to go to another place again?"
Tired out from the journey, Sharko said, "No, not now, I'm far too tired. And the food supply in the Mississippi River wasn't too good. I might as well need a hearty meal before we go on."
However, Sharko forgot to lower his voice as he spoke. The surrounding creatures heard their conversation and swam away to hide. The ocean became instantly deserted.
"You and your big mouth! Now what?" Sharky scolded, as he had wanted to get a good meal as well. He scanned the area, and in doing so, he accidentally saw the surface of the water, with some creatures on it. "Hey," he said enthusiastically, forgetting to be angry, "let's try going to the surface!"
Sharko just goggled at him. "Are you mad? None of our kind has ever been to the surface. That's like another adventure! I know we love travelling, but as I have told you before, I'm tired, worn out, and ravenous."
"Well, it's your own fault in the first place that there aren't any fish left," Sharky retorted. "Besides, I think I saw something on the surface. They could be edible! And it's only a little swim upwards, unlike the journey from here to Mississippi River."
"Uh, huh," Sharko said, thinking about it. "Okay, but woe betide you if there isn't anything good." And he followed his brother up to the surface.
The surface was much better than they had expected. It was already dusk, and for the first time, the brothers saw the sky, the waves, and the beautiful setting sun. The view was breathtaking.
"Wow," Sharko breathed, "it's amazing!"
"Told you," Sharky said, in a tone of maddening superiority although he had never seen them before either, and was also looking around in amazement.
Just then, Sharko saw two creatures sitting on the surface of the water. "Hey Sharky, what kind of animals do you think are over there?" He beckoned to the dark silhouettes of the strange creatures." I do hope they taste good."
Up close, Sharky noticed that the creatures were animals with white feathers, two huge wings, and a big orange beak. Sharko whispered excitedly, "They look delicious. Oh, let's eat them now!" But Sharky merely shook his his head and splashed water on Sharko to shut him up.
"Hello," Sharky greeted, "who are you?"
The creatures turned to see who had spoken, and saw Sharky and Sharko. "Hi," one of them said, "we're seagulls. I'm Sean and he's Shane. Who are you?"
"We're sharks. I'm Sharky, and he's my brother Sharko. We saw you sitting on the water, and we came to ask you how you manage to sit on the water like that." Sharky replied. To his surprise, the seagulls laughed.
"Excuse me, but what was funny?" Sharky said, trying to keep his voice calm, although his temper was rising. He was not used to being laughed at.
"Well," Shane said, "we don't sit, we float."
Sharko, growing impatient, whispered, "This is wasting our time."
Sharky said, "Be quiet, idiot," under his breath, hoping that the seagulls wouldn't notice. Then, in a much louder voice, he said, "Oh. Right. Could you tell us what are you floating for?"
"Well, we eat fish. Floating on the water makes it easier to catch them," Sean answered. "Say, what do you do, under the surface of the water down there?"
"We're predators. We eat any smaller sea creatures, and sometimes, we even eat bigger ones," Sharky replied.
"Oh, so you only swim then?" Sean said, while Shane smirked. "We seagulls are different. We follow a regulation to fly in the sky and to float on the water. This regulation was made by our elders in the past."
While Sean was talking, out of the corner of his mouth, Sharky said, "They're starting to get on my nerves."
"Told you," Sharko whispered back, his face looking incredibly smug. "Let's get them when we have a chance."
"Lie low for a couple of minutes. I know what to do. I'll call you when it's time," Sharky answered in a whisper.
Meanwhile, Sean was promoting his life as a seagull. Shane didn't talk much but was smirking worse than ever. "We use this big beak here to scoop up fishes from the water," Sean said, clearly under the impression that he was fascinating the sharks with his life. "These wings are very precious to us, for we use them to fly. I notice that you don't have wings. By the way, where's your brother gone to?"
Sharky forced a very painful smile. "He's gone underwater to find some food," he lied, hoping to lure the two seagulls into the wrong track.
"OK then," Sean said simply, buying the story. "As I was saying, I notice that you don't have wings. Maybe because you, unlike us, don't fly."
It was enough for Sharky. He raised his voice and said, "You, unlike us, are gits!"
And without hesitation, Sharky yelled, "Now!"
The word 'now' was obviously the signal. Sharko came shooting like a bullet out of nowhere, opened a big mouth, and swallowed the still smirking Shane whole. Sean, who was confused at first, at last managed to understand. He tried to fly away - but he was too late. Sharky caught up with him just as he was going to take off, and ate him up as well.
"Well, what do you know, they taste good." Sharko said. "I'm officially catching more of them for dinner next time."
"I don't know how they came to be so boastful about their lives. I mean, we're on top of the food chain, they aren't. It's so aggravating to listen to that Sean blowing his trumpet and that Shane smirking like crazy," Sharky said, looking thoughtful. "But they do taste delicious," he added brightly.
"They were so boastful, they deserved what they got. Come on, let's tell the others about them!" Sharko said. He was as good to his word. The both of them went back home and told their friends and family about the seagulls, and how they tasted delicious. They all swam up to the surface, tried the seagulls, and agreed that they were indeed delicious. Soon, seagulls became a popular meal for sharks, and even newborn sharks are taught to eat seagulls.
And that is why sharks still eat seagulls until this very day.
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