fishy

The Happy Electronic Fish Whose Happiness Was In Part the Result of Having Retractable Wheels.

The electronic fish was happy, happy in his happy electronic world. The electronic fish had never wanted to be a real fish, he was perfectly happy being electronic. See, this fish was no ordinary plastic fish. He was a new-age, electronic, interactive, and highly intelligent fish. Most humans called the fish a �toy�, but, although the electronic fish had no real concept of what a �toy� was, he knew better. The other �toys� that the fish could see were boring, just sitting still all day, not talking, not thinking, not even moving. The electronic fish knew that he was different, he knew that he was the only one that could think for himself, and more importantly, he was the only one with retractable wheels.

This electronic fish was happy because he had wheels. He knew that other fish didn�t have transportation devices of such an excellent quality, and so he didn�t want to be like them. Although the electronic fish was happy that he had wheels, he would often think of how much more useful the wheels would be outside of his glass dome. This thinking process would sometimes upset him, and so the fish would repeat in his mind, over and over to himself, �I can do anything I set my mind to....I can do anything I set my mind to....I can do anything I set my mind to....�. Once the fish was so determined to get out of his dome and use his wheels in the outside world that he became quite angry indeed. He extended his wheels and drove full speed ahead into the side of his dome. VROOM VAAROOM VVAAAARRROOOOMMM. Little did the electronic fish realise that his anger would be the very key to achieving everything he set his mind to. Yes, anger, anger was his secret to success. See, the electronic fish hit the side of his dome with such a force that the whole thing fell off of the table. With a mighty SMASH the glass dome broke into many pieces and the fish was free, free to use his wheels as he liked, free to do whatever he set his mind to.

Unfortunately the electronic fish was not prepared for what existed in the world outside of his dome. He had been so busy imagining the wonders that would surround him if he ever managed to leave his dome, that he had forgotten to consider that there could be a bad side to a life outside. So anyway, the electronic fish was free, he could extend his wheels, he could do whatever he set his mind to, or so he thought. He had not realised that things outside of his dome were quite so big, so strange, and so daunting. One particular object seemed to show quite an interest in the fish. The electronic fish was quite intimidated by the large, hairy creature and so, retracted his wheels and sat completely motionless whilst the creature proceeded to pick the fish up between its sharp teeth and pierce the fish�s eye with his claw. Luckily for the electronic fish, cats don�t really like the taste of alkaline batteries, and so the fish�s life was spared and his wheels were extended once again.

So the (some what damaged) electronic fish had been exposed to some of the harsher realities of life outside of his dome. The electronic fish was still happy, happy because he had wheels, and happy because he believed he could do anything he set his mind to, but mostly happy because of his wheels. Although he had been quite disheartened by his experience with the cat, the electronic fish was determined to enjoy his life outside oh his dome. It was what he had always hoped for, it was everything he had set his mind to, and he planned to make it last.

The electronic fish spent the greater part of a day wheeling himself around the new world which he had almost become accustomed to. And oh what a marvellous time he had! He did things real fish could only dream of, that other �toys� wouldn�t even think of, that only an electronic fish such as himself could possibly imagine. The electronic fish did everything he set his mind to, and began to think that, so long as he could stay away from that big creature, the world outside of his dome would be so much better than he had ever imagined. He was very happy indeed, and for once it was not just his wheels that were making him happy (although he didn�t forget about them at all). Unfortunately this state of happiness was not to last much longer.

Now, it must be understood that the electronic fish�s one downfall was his inability to hear things. As one of his eyes had been severely damaged by the cat incident, the fish�s eyesight was also quite poor at the time. He never heard the footsteps of the eighty kilogram human coming towards him, he never saw the bottom of the shoe as it came from behind and broke his dorsal fin, his tail, and more importantly, his retractable wheels.

Without his retractable wheels, the electronic fish was no longer happy. �I can do anything I set my mind to....I can do anything I set my mind to....I can do anything I set my mind to....�. The electronic fish with the retractable wheels was thrown out that day. That was not something he had set his mind to, nor was it his intention when he escaped the safe haven of his glass dome. The retractable wheels which the electronic fish had once seen as what made him better than real fish where no longer retractable. They were feeble, they were broken, they were useless. �I can do anything I set my mind to....I can do anything I set my mind to....I can do anything I set my mind to....�. It was on that day that the electronic fish realised that no matter what he wanted in life there would always be something that would ruin it, something that would interfere with whatever he set his mind to. And it was on that day that the electronic fish began to wish he was a real fish. A real fish without retractable wheels. �I can be anything I set my mind to....I can be anything I set my mind to....�. Thinking this made the electronic fish happy. Happy, even with broken retractable wheels. written by the neon avenger.