The Coral Tree Switcheroo — Between two ticklish sea fans, Rilla tied ribbons to a coral tree and invented Switcheroo Splash: she would hang a shell, a star, or a spiral, then the fish would guess what had moved while she blew three bubbles. Read the full story →
Between two ticklish sea fans, Rilla tied ribbons to a coral tree and invented Switcheroo Splash: she would hang a shell, a star, or a spiral, then the fish would guess what had moved while she blew three bubbles. The water smelled like salt and peppermint algae from her striped cap, and every ornament clicked softly against the coral. “No peeking, Pip!” she called, and a round fish blinked with the face of someone absolutely peeking.
The game grew sillier. Rilla swapped a scallop with a curly cone, hid a tiny star behind her hair, and let one shell dangle upside down like it had fainted from excitement. The fish guessed by wiggling left for shells, right for stars, and in circles for “Rilla, that is not where it was.” Their fins made fizzy little shush-shush sounds.
Then Pip nudged a bubble into place while Rilla’s eyes were closed. When she opened them, the bubbles themselves had become clues, circling the real switch like a giggling crown. Rilla laughed so hard her hat pom-pom bounced. Next time you spot the dangling shells, can you tell which switch the fish made first between two ticklish sea fans?
