Gryphon’s Goldfish– Read and Print

By Rachel Dunstan Muller, copyright 2023

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More than anything in the world, Gryphon wanted his own special pet. A pony like his friend Abegael had would be perfect – with gentle brown eyes, and a shaggy mane, and a long shaggy tail. A pony he could ride anywhere he wanted.

And if Gryphon couldn’t have a pony, well, he’d be happy with a puppy like his friend Marco had – a leaping, licking, tail-wagging puppy. A puppy who would run beside him, and chew on his slippers, and play fetch with a stick.

And if he couldn’t have a puppy, well, he’d settle for a kitten like Letitia had – a playful kitten with a velvet nose and soft paws. A cuddly kitten who would curl up when it was tired, and fall sleep on Gryphon’s lap.

But as much as Gryphon wanted a special pet, he wasn’t allowed to have a pony, or a puppy, or even a hamster. Gryphon lived in a small apartment, and his mother was allergic to furry creatures. Which is why she brought him home a goldfish instead.

Oh, but Gryphon was disappointed. You can’t ride a goldfish! You can’t cuddle with a goldfish, or teach it to fetch or roll over. Let’s face it – when it comes to pets, a goldfish isn’t much better than a houseplant.

At least that’s what Gryphon thought at first – until that night, when he put his new goldfish on his bedside table, and turned off his lamp to go to sleep.  

But Gryphon didn’t go to sleep. He couldn’t go to sleep – not with that goldfish suddenly singing beside him. That’s right! The moment Gryphon turned off the light, the goldfish began singing in the dark – warbling, in a bubbly, off-key kind of way. But as soon as Gryphon turned the light back on again, the goldfish went silent.

“Oh, no, no, no; you can’t fool me,” Gryphon said, as the goldfish swam in circles around its bowl. “I heard you; you were singing.” The goldfish stopped circling for a moment and looked straight into Gryphon’s eyes. But it didn’t make a peep.

So, Gryphon turned off his lamp again. And again, the instant it was dark, that goldfish started warbling like a canary.

Well, this went on half the night – until finally Gryphon couldn’t stand it any more. He got up, and he carried that goldfish bowl into the bathroom, and he closed the door. Then he went back to his own room, got into bed, and fell fast asleep.

But the next morning when Gryphon woke up, the goldfish bowl was back on his bedside table – as if it had never been gone. And there was the goldfish, swimming round, and round, and round.

“Did you bring my new goldfish back into my bedroom this morning?” Gryphon asked his mother at breakfast.

But Gryphon’s mother said she hadn’t touched the goldfish bowl, and she didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Hmm,” said Gryphon.

That afternoon when Gryphon got home from school – things got even stranger. His mother was working in the kitchen with her headphones on, so she didn’t hear the goldfish singing. But Gryphon heard it the moment he came through the door. Except, the singing wasn’t coming from his bedroom, where he’d left the goldfish that morning; it was coming from the bathroom. And when Gryphon tiptoed down the hall and stood listening at the door, he could hear the goldfish in the bathtub, splishing and splashing and singing at the top of its little goldfish lungs.

“Ha! I caught you,” Gryphon said.

But the instant Gryphon came through the door, the goldfish closed its little lips, and didn’t make another peep.

That’s pretty much how things went, all week long. Gryphon’s new goldfish kept showing up in unexpected places – in the bathroom sink, in the kitchen sink, even in a glass of water. And it kept singing too – at all hours of the day and night – but only when the lights were out, or when Gryphon was in another room. And never, ever when anyone other than Gryphon was listening.

Gryphon tried to tell his mother and his friends that his new goldfish could sing – but they just laughed. No one would believe him – since they’d never heard it for themselves.

“What’s wrong with you?” Gryphon said to his goldfish one night. “Are you trying to drive me crazy? You could be famous! We could be famous together!”

The goldfish stopped swimming in circles, and instead swam backwards, as if it were trying to get away from Gryphon’s angry words. Except – there is nowhere to get away in a goldfish bowl.   

“Wait a minute,” said Gryphon. “Are you – shy?”

The goldfish looked at Gryphon, and then bobbed its little head.

“Oh,” said Gryphon. “Ohhhh… I’m sorry. I won’t ever ask you to sing for anyone else again. But I’d really like to sing with you, if you’d let me. We could even sing together in the dark, if that would be better.”

Again, the goldfish bobbed its little head.

Well, I’m happy to say that that was the beginning of a very special friendship – a very musical friendship. And if you’ve never heard a boy and a goldfish sing together – well, let me assure you – that’s a sound you would never forget. 

Gryphon still dreams of having other pets when he grows up – a dog or a cat; maybe even a pony. But he has to admit – the goldfish he has right now is pretty special too.

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