Once upon a time, the Great Kaleidoscope Reef was the most colourful place in the whole ocean.
Orange. Purple. Yellow. Pink.
Every single colour, all at once, all the time.
Fish came from far away just to look at it.
Then, slowly, the colours began to go.
Pale.
Then white.
Then grey.
The reef was fading.
A young parrotfish named Coral pressed her face close to a branch of grey coral and whispered: “What’s happening to you?”
The coral didn’t answer. But it needed help. 🪸
🌊 One Fish Can’t Do It Alone
Coral called a meeting.
Every creature on the reef came.
The sea urchins. The cleaner shrimp. The surgeon fish. The parrotfish. The tiny gobies. Even the grumpy moray eel, who said he didn’t care but came anyway.
“The reef is choking,” said Coral. “There’s a film of algae blocking its light. We have to clean it off.”
“How much algae?” asked a small goby.
“A lot,” said Coral.
“Can one of us do it?”
“No,” said Coral. “But all of us can.”
Some creatures said it was hopeless.
Some turned to go.
But Coral started cleaning anyway.
And one by one — slowly, then all at once — everyone else did too.
🧹 Everyone Has a Part
The urchins scraped with their spines.
Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.
The surgeon fish nibbled.
Nibble. Nibble. Nibble.
The parrotfish crunched the dead sections clean.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The shrimp worked in tiny busy armies.
The gobies fanned their fins to push the water through.
Even the grumpy moray eel helped.
He didn’t admit it. But he helped.
🌈 James Sees the Colour Come Back
James went snorkelling every weekend that month.
Week one: still grey.
Week two: still grey.
Week three: James almost gave up.
But week four —
“Look!” James shouted into the snorkel, which sounded a bit silly, but it didn’t matter.
Because there — right where the gobies had fanned longest — a blush of pale pink was coming back.
Then orange.
Then gold.
The reef remembered its colours. And it never forgot them again. 🪸