The Calamari Kid

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Among his visitors was a little girl named Joy. Joy marveled at the Calamari Kid's multitude of wonderful arms.

Then she asked him, "Don't your feet ever get cold?"

The Calamari Kid thought about the question. He wasn't aware that he had feet. It seemed like kind of a silly question.

But he didn't want to hurt Joy's feelings. After all, the children of the sky had answered all of his questions seriously. He had no doubt that some of those questions had seemed silly to the children.

As he thought about how to reply, Joy said, "I'll be right back", and she swam away. She looked like she had decided something.

Later, when Joy came back. she was hugging four pairs of cotton crew socks.

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The Calamari Kid didn't know what to expect, but he didn't expect this. He had never seen socks before.

Joy gently put one sock on the end of each tentacle.

The socks felt strange to the Calamari Kid. They were, of course, heavy with with seawater. When he moved his tentacles, they floated sluggishly behind.

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Joy began to cry. This is not easy to do when one is snorkeling. She swam to the surface so she could gasp the open air.

The Calamari Kid didn't know what to do. He felt like he had done something wrong, but he didn't know what.

It broke his heart to see Joy's disappointment. For her, he would gladly wear the sodden stockings.

The Calamari Kid wanted to go to her and talk to her, but he couldn't survive above the surface. He told his friend, Balthazar. But Balthizar didn't know what to do, either.

Now it may seem childish for Joy to be so upset about having given a gift that turned out so badly. But, you see, Joy was, in fact, a very young child with tender emotions that were easily bruised.

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Nancy did not live at the beach, but her family was vacationing nearby. She was exploring the beach when she saw a little girl come out of the sea. The little girl threw down her snorkel mask and sat down in the shallow water, sobbing uncontrollably.

From a house near the beach, she heard a boy shouting, " MOM!! I can't find my socks!".

Nancy wanted to mind her own business, but she felt sorry for the little girl. She went over to her to offer comfort.

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Nancy asked the little girl, "Are you all right?".

Joy looked at her with wide eyes. "The octopus has cold feet!", she said.

Nancy looked skeptical. "Uh huh."

Joy said, "I tried to give him a present."

"is it his birthday?"

Joy looked surprised. "I don't know," she said. She hadn't thought of that.

Nancy was a litttle older than Joy. She still didn't understand. She thought Joy was making up a story or something. And why was this boy yelling about his socks from down the beach? She decided to go back to the motel where her family was staying.

She turned to leave, but Joy took her hand. "My name is Joy," the little girl told her.

"Hi. I'm Nancy," she replied. "What's this about an octopus?"

Joy pointed at the ocean. "He wears a red hat," she explained.

There was more yelling from a distance about the missing socks. "Uh Oh," said Joy. "I think my brother is mad at me."

Although Nancy was hesitant to spend any more time with this strange child, she was, in fact, a stranger in town. It might be nice to have a friend to play with during this vacation.

She waded into the sea with Joy.