Back behind the big mountains, back behind the great trees,
Is a pond, called by some, The Smallest Big Sea.
Now I only say “some” because only some know it.
And the some that do know it prefer not to show it.
But deep in the waters of The Smallest Big Sea
Live the biggest small fish you ever did see.
They are bigger than small and smaller than big,
Except the biggest of all, a fish named Cedwig.
Cedwig was slightly too big to be small.
In fact, he was two and a quarter inches too tall.
So all the biggest small fish in The Smallest Big Sea
Decided Cedwig was big. He was a “you”, not a “we”.
And since only biggest small fish can play Tug-a-lug Run
Cedwig the Fish, was left out of the fun.
... poor Cedwig, the only one.
Now far up above the sea and the fish,
Sat two fishing men, with one empty dish.
But their nets soon grew full,
With one deep down pull,
And they caught enough fish to feed a large bull.
The two men were not sure whether to taste them at all.
Who had ever seen such big fish that were small?
The biggest small fish were tasty. They were sweet!
In fact, the perfect big food that a small man could eat.
The men said to themselves, “Oh my, what a find!
We could make lots of money selling fish of this kind”
They went back to their factory and hatched a new plan
A plan to catch enough fish to feed every last man.
Then they constructed a machine called the Snatchem Up Hose,
It could snatch up fish faster than the sneezes you blow
The men made it perfect, the hose’s size was just right.
To catch the biggest small fish and then seal them up tight.
They went back over the mountains and back through the trees
To put their Snatchem Up Hose in The Smallest Big Sea.
Meanwhile, the biggest small fish were playing Tug-a-lug Run
Unaware that the Snatchem Up Hose had begun
Suddenly a sound reached their ears- a gurgle and glop
The Tug-a-lug Run was screeched to a stop.
Five biggest small fish all at once disappeared
And as five became ten, the men hooted and cheered.
Then ten turned to twenty and then twenty more.
For every fish that escaped the hose captured four.
Then from the dark shadows, from the sadness and gloom
Swam Cedwig the fish, faced with all of their doom.
Why Cedwig did what he did, well I think no one knows
But that fish swam right towards the Snatchem Up Hose
All the fish closed their eyes. All the fish wished a wish
Cedrig yelled, “I do it for ALL of us biggest small fish!”
“No matter if your size is 2 and a quarter inches too tall
We’re all biggest small fish, so I’ll swim for us all!”
Cedwig hit the front of the hose in one final charge
But wouldn’t you know it… Cedwig was half an inch too large.
The hose stopped and sputtered, the men grew nervous and paled.
Their precious Snatchem up Hose, in the end, had failed.
There was a boom and a bang as the machine was now dead
And all fish slowly came out from the places they fled.
“Cedwig!” they yelled. “You saved us all, you are great!
And no matter your size, to us, you’re first rate!”
So back behind the big mountains, back behind the great trees,
Is a pond called by some, The Smallest Big Sea.
And if you can find it because very few do,
You can’t say to the fish “Cedwig, the who?”
For the fish take their small ones and place each one on their knee
And tell the story of how Cedwig saved The Smallest Big Sea.
But if you ask Cedwig himself, he won’t say he’s the best,
He’ll tell you he’s a biggest small fish, just one of the rest.
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I am a children's librarian and I can say that this would be a super fun story to read for story hour. All you need is some exceptional illustrations. Great imagination!
