Dialogue between one wild and one pet dojo ...

[Dojosmama]

Setting: Fresh waters of a Japanese river. A single wild dojo happens across a large private outdoor aquarium kept by a human resident on his patio, which opens onto a tributary of said river. Wild dojo swims up the tributary to investigate, discovers one of his fellow dojos kept in captivity inside said large aquarium.

WILD DOJO: "Oh, you poor, poor thing! Trapped in that tank day in and day out! Is there no way for you to escape?"

PET DOJO: "What? You're feeling sorry for ME? Even if I could get out, I wouldn't!"

WILD DOJO: "But, where's your sense of freedom? Of adventure? Surely, you must be bored to death in there!"

PET DOJO: "I'm not the only one here. Meet my tankmates ... these other two keep me good company. Look at this lovely lady over here ...."

WILD DOJO: "Oh, NO! THREE of you in captivity?! How can you bear it?"

PET DOJO: "Knock it off! You're just jealous because YOU can't be in here!"

WILD DOJO: "WHY would I WANT to be ???"

PET DOJO: "When did you eat last?"

WILD DOJO: "Not since two days ago. Food is scarce around here. Moreover, these fisherpeople keep trying to catch me for their markets. Apparently, we wild ones are delicacies for human consumption! I have to hide most of the time."

PET DOJO: "Well, we get fed every day! And we're pets. Our human likes to stroke us and hand feed us. I heard them say he and his family refuse to eat dojos, because we're entirely TOOO cute!"

WILD DOJO: "Really? But, what about your air supply? And doesn't your water get filthy, after a bit?"

PET DOJO: "See how that current sways our plants in here? That's a powerful filter our human uses to keep our water moving and clean as a whistle!"

WILD DOJO: "But, surely, it gets clogged up and contaminated after a while ..."

PET DOJO: "Nope! Our human changes our water regularly and cleans the filter as needed. And we get that wonderful conditioner put in here that is really soothing to our skin. Look at all our little hidey-holes!"

WILD DOJO: "I SEE! You have all those little caves inside of rocks and wood crags. I've been hard pressed to find shelter around here. I have to hide under the shallow outcroppings from the embankments, and there isn't much room as I keep growing longer."

PET DOJO: "You're not much longer than we are! Say, how would you like to come in here and live with US?"

WILD DOJO: "What if your human discovers me? Will I get eaten?"

PET DOJO: "Hell, no! You'll get adopted and live the good life like we do! There's plenty of room. We're in 300 gallons of water!"

WILD DOJO: "Well, how do I get in there? Looks like your home is sealed up tight, to keep you guys from getting out!"

PET DOJO: "I'll show you a little secret ... See this flap in the vinyl lid? It protrudes upward a little. If we push up on it with our noses, maybe you can slide underneath."

Wild dojo slithers his way up the ornamental rock wall alongside the aquarium, and extends his body from the top edge of it to the rim of the tank. Then he gradually works his way underneath the flap which is being boosted upward by the pet dojos. After several tedious moments, he plops down into the tank water.

PET DOJO: "See how easy that was?"

WILD DOJO: "Quick! Show me where to hide!"

PET DOJO: "That one hole at the far end of that crag -- we don't occupy that one. That one can be yours. But -- you don't NEED to hide! Here comes our human!"

A Japanese gentleman peers into the tank.

"Aha!" He announces. "I see the flap is loose on this strip!" He looks around to see if any of his pets have escaped. When he is certain they're all still in the tank, he disappears into his house and returns with a roll of duct tape. He tears off a length of it with his teeth and tightly secures the vinyl flap so it no longer protrudes upward. He doesn't seem to notice the new arrival, yet...

"Feeding time!" the pet dojos whisper. And instinctively, they all gather together on the substrate as the delicious morsels float down to the sand. Wild dojo forgets he's a newcomer and rushes to gobble up his fair share and more, if possible.

The Japanese gentleman watches quizzically for a few moments. Something seems different! He counts heads, and discovers the extra dojo.

"How did YOU get in here?" he asks, when he spots Mr. Wild. Then he remembers the loose flap in the lid, ponders the rock wall and the stream below it, puts two and two together, and rejoices at receiving this magnificent new pet, free of charge!

"Well, aren't YOU the lucky one!" he muses. And puts in a tad more food, which Mr. Wild instantly scarfs up.

And this is the happy story of how one less dojo became available for human consumption in Japan ...


-- Dojosmama

[kcartwright856]

Awww!

[Godblessdojos]

I loved your story my boyfriend and I had a good laugh its so cute!!!!

[Dojosmama]

Here's thanking you and glad you enjoyed their little interaction.

-- Dojosmama