On a pleasant morning off the coasts of South Africa, where the open sea was, there was a warship docked with some soldiers on board. The winds were gentle, but the heat coming from the desert made you feel severe heat with increasing humidity. Before sunset of this day, the ship’s captain came and informed everyone that it was time for swimming. He requested everyone to enjoy the beautiful seawater to rid themselves of the heat of the weather.
The sailors jumped into the water, and the sun began to set while they all awaited that moment. There were two small boys on that ship accompanied by their parents. Both jumped into the water, and they kept playing and having fun in the open sea. Everyone on the ship was cheering for the boys because they were racing in swimming. Each group of soldiers was encouraging one boy over the other to surpass him in swimming.
The atmosphere was extremely joyful and happy. Suddenly, a person on the deck of the ship shouted: The shark, the shark, it’s there! Confusion and extreme panic occurred among everyone. Everyone in the water hurried to the ship except the two boys. They did not hear the call to return to the ship. At that time, the shark was moving toward the children, and they did not realize that. The gunner Michael, who was standing on the ship’s cannon, shouted at the top of his voice: Return, oh children, there is a shark fish in the water.
One of the two boys was his son, and for the first time in his life, Michael did not know what to do? He could not think clearly. Everyone on the ship’s deck screamed hysterically, calling out to the children. But the children, in the midst of their fun, could not hear them and continued playing and swimming, completely unaware of the shark’s danger approaching them quickly. The gunner Michael’s face became completely white from the severity of his fear for his son, and he could hardly feel the ground under his feet.
Until some sailors began lowering a small boat into the water to head toward the children in an attempt to rescue them. While they were like this, one of the children looked back and saw the large shark. He screamed in fear, and the other boy heard his screaming and turned to see the shark. Only then did panic seize them, and they began swimming in different directions. At that moment, the gunner Michael regained his consciousness and hurried toward his cannon. He placed a cannonball in it and decided to fire it at the shark. But he knew the matter did not tolerate attempting, for the shot must be very precise so as not to hit the small children.
Immediately, Michael lit the fuse of the cannonball, and it launched out thundering, and Michael fell to the ground. Silence prevailed throughout the ship, and no one could know what happened to the shark or to the children from the severity of the smoke that had risen in the air. But after several minutes, Michael began to hear the voices of sailors talking happily.
He stood and looked at the sea. There, he saw the shark fish covered in blood and floating on the waves. He found the children in the small boat heading to the ship. A large smile filled with inner joy appeared on his face for the salvation of his son and the boy with him. He knew he had made the right decision at the right time, and this was the cause of saving his son from death.
Moral Value Learned: There is always a suitable time for everything, but we must realize it and not let it pass without benefit. In one of the times, this may cause us to lose important things in our lives. Therefore, we must choose correct decisions at the appropriate time so that we do not cry in regret over what has passed.
The story is translated from: The Shark