A tiny Hermit Crab named 'Lolo' lived in a tiny seashell with his Mother , and he used to call it 'Abode of Santa' . He was a great fan of Santa and used to wait for the whole year for Christmas to come. Since he had grown much bigger now , living in a small shell with his mother posed a lot of problems to them. So , thinking of future , his mother decide to buy another separate shell for Lolo.
Next morning , as early as the Seagulls begin to chirp , they went to the Octopus Mall to buy them. The Mall was a tiny cave , made up of dead Corals , and decorated with multicoloured Algae paints. In the center was a large sculpture of Sir Christopher Octopussy , the founder of the Mall. On both sides , were standing pretty Marvins to welcome their customers. Lolo and his mother entered the Mall from its front opening , and reached directly to the ASCA (Aquamarine Shell Constructors Association). They found that they didnt have enough Goldfish Fins or Pearls to buy a shell. Even the cheapest one costed five GF's or 2 Pearls. They returned back home.
Observing the despondent face of her child , the Mother decided to earn some more money than their usual livelihood of catching tiny fishes and selling them in the market. She decided to go for the much larger ones , like Tuna , which were harder to catch. She kept on working day and night. After a tall order of five weeks , she finally succeeded to earn two Pearls , and bought Lolo's favourite Shell home. Seeing this , Lolo was filled with joy and excitement , and anticipated the independent life he was going to live.
But his Mother was a bit possessive about him . So she warned him , that since he was still much younger to live on his own , he should remain as close as possible to her. But the tiny Hermit , was a vibrant , lively and ambitious being. He used to do only that which he considered right and ignore his mother's words. So one day . he decided to hire a Ray Cab from the GF's which he had kept in his piggy shell , without telling his mother. He got connected his shell to the cab through a plankton rope and hired him to have a journey around the Reef.
They roamed around at different places , the Squid Circus , where different squids presented their sea stunts , the Jellyfish Museum , which had a large collection of ancient jellyfishes , and his favourite spot , the Star Theatre , where his beloved actress , Lily Starfish performed. While returning home , the Ray just advised him that he would take him to a place , where no one had gone before. Lolo , being so much adventurous and enthusiastic , agreed instanly. It was a place called 'Evil Cave' which , according to the Ray , was rumoured to be the Adda of the bloodthirsty Piranha Dons. He had already advised Lolo to see it from the cab only and not to go near to it. But Lolo was too perverse to obey him. So he went near to the cave opening and took a peek inside. To his horror , one of the Dons who were busy collecting GF's spotted Lolo. He rushed at an alarming pace to grab him , but Lolo was too swift to get caught by them . As Lolo rushed outside , he saw the frightened Ray fly away , without thinking about him. Lolo was as helpless as a lame turtle. The piranha chased him vivaciously , while the ponderous speed of Lolo was proving to be life threatening to him. Don was about to attack this little Hermit , when with a sudden and swift tackle , a mighty Samurai Dolphin came to his rescue. With its strong frontier , it fought bravely with the Piranha , which eventually surrendered and subdued. With minor injuries , the Dolphin scolded Lolo that he should not wander anywhere alone. "Didn't you tell your mother that you were going away from home? " asked the Dolphin peacefully. Quite bedazzled by what had occured , but still holding his nerves , he answered ,"Sir , I had promised my Mother that i will always remain with her and never go out without her permission. But since you know for past three days , these El Nino waves were sweeping through my shell like thunder. And today , a major wave swept my shell alongwith me , to this remote detering cave. You can see , how a plankton made its way through my shell on its turbulent path." Lol o's words convinced the Dolphin in one way , but he was a wise Samurai. He thought for a while and then took Lolo with him on his fins and rushed through the current at godspeed.
Spiralling through the uneven pathways , crossing innumerable corals , a Band of Pomfrets , and a shawl of Jelly Fishes , he finally entered a large corridor , which was guarded by a number of Red Starfish Guards suited in a lavishly coloured feathered dead corals , a symbol of their valour and prestige. As soon as they saw the Samurai Dolphin , they backed-off .Lolo lingered on a thought that he had met someone much powerful and popular among the denizens.
After a while , he found himself being seated alongside the Dolphin , while the fishes and turtles waved and praised , and chorused only one sound - "Long Live Her Highness! The Queen Whale" .As soon as they started yelling , Queen Whale entered the Court Of Justice , as the place was popularly called. The Samurai bowed to her honouring her , and then started his conversation , "Your Highness! When I was taking a round about our territory , i found this little Hermit , swimming hurriedly as if being chased by someone. When i came near , i found it was one of those Piranha Dons chasing him. I combatted them and was able to drive them away. But when i asked Lolo , this is what his name , what drew him here , he gave me a quite reasonable explaination." Turning towards Lolo , he said ; "Lolo ! Tell Her Highness whatever you told me earlier .Don't be afraid! She will help you solve your problem. As he was told , Lolo repeated his words.
The Queen went into a horrible dilemma, Her expression was the same as that of the Samurai few hours ago. After thinking for a long time , she declared "Let this problem be solved by one of the ablest of our Minister , Count Sea Horse." Count Sea Horse was an old chap. He used to talk a lot on irrelevant things , so people used to remain away from him as far as possible. But he was damn intelligent and solved complex puzzles in seconds. He had even won the Great Pearl , an award of Excellency in Science and Logic , three times in a row. When faced with the situation , he said " Your Highness , this is a very easy problem . I have solved much complex problems than this. If you remember , how I solved the Problem of African Spoonbills who used to eat our Tunas , by offering them a much better food , the Sea Mushrooms and then the case of Papraki Crabs....." The Queen interrupted ."Count Sea Horse ! we all know about your achievements.Now can you please come to the point?" He replied "Sure ! Anything for our Lady!" He gathered a few limestones from his box and did something unusual , which was beyond the scope of anyone's imagination. Then he finally answered "Let us give our little Lolo , The Great Spring of Eddy Shark" He continued , "If that spring could keep the ferocious Shark in control for twenty long years , it could surely help this child to remain close to his Mother's shell."
And so was done. The Great Spring was ordered to the Eel Engineers to get Lolo's Hut fixed to his Mother's shell. From that day onwards , Lolo kept on praying to Santa , to let his Hut free from the curse of the Spring , because every time he wanted to go out , he had to take permission from his Mother and that too he could not go alone , he had to take his cousin , the fat , clumsy Hermit Bob , with him. When Christmas came , and Santa asked him for the gift he wished , he told his dilemma . Thoughtful Santa answered , "Its a mother's wish. No one in the world , including me can go beyond it. And you should also obey your mother." And Lolo slept in despair..........
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