"The Peril in

the Lagoon
BY: LORETO PARAS- SULIT

GRADE 7 ENGLISH LITERATURE

(SHORT STORY)

SUBMITTED BY :
ANGELICA MAE G. ALVAREZ
 The lagoon lay in a quiet
hidden sort of splendor. The
fine beach sloping gently into it
from the green hills beyond
invited the first newcomer for
“We are coming!
a dip and swim in its clear Here we come!”
waters.

gaily shouted the three boys, throwing their camping things

right and leaving their excitement.
 Uncle Sidro:
And you have to
listen to a few must’s and
must- not’s before you go
venturing in that lagoon.
“Oh Uncle!”

Uncle Sidro: “You

have to put up the
tent
“You have tofirst,”
put up
the tent first,”

chorused the three in

disappointment. What was wrong
with you uncle? He was not a killjoy,
no, not. Uncle Sidro who in the past
was always the first to push them
into adventure, hunting, fishing,
swimming, treasure-hunting. When
the three boys first learned that
Uncle Sidro had bought a house near
this lagoon, they knew that next
summer they would surely be invited
to come over. And they were.
 The summer plan was for
the boys to cook their own
meals- and be on their own.
Swiftly they put up
Tony, the eldest of the their tent and
three fatherless brothers, arranged their
was now sixteen, David was sleeping bags and
things, which out of
fourteen, and Berting was long practice and
twelve. frequent camping

they did quite well
and quickly.

”Well, boys, I guess

After the summer heat and you are all set to
begin your
closeness of the city, after vacation. You can “Oh, Uncle
do anything you Sidro
their examinations and wish but swim in
the lagoon.”
lessons, all this was indeed a
boy’s dream of paradise.
Now here was Uncle Sidro
dampening their spirits with
his must's and must not’s.

was all they could manage. The helpless glances they threw
at the shining lagoon beyond revealed more eloquently their
shattered plans and dreams.
 “Only one, but the most
vicious and murderous
man- killer, if ever
“you have to understand and help me, I am
responsible to your mother for your safety. there was one,”
She has always entrusted you to me as you
know. When I invite you here for a
vacation, I did not count on a shark slipping
driven out of
in one night into the lagoon and upsetting Unless it is killed or
can swim there
the lagoon, no one
all our plans.”
re to trust you
in safety. I don’t da
if only to wet
in that lagoon even
in the past,
your feet. And as
count on your
boys, I shall always
‘honor bright’.
Tony: Oh so it
is only a
shark,”

With that he left them.

Berting: We
may as well go
“My ‘honor bright’ will
home,”
not stand the
temptation of the
lagoon.”
 I am going out
for a walk along
the beach.”
David, always the silent
type, fingered his hunting
knife thoughtfully.
Was David’s reply. He knew
the two would tag along.
David: “I guess that shark
has to be killed. But how do
we go to it and find it
without breaking our word
to Uncle Sidro?”

Tony: Kill the shark, eh?”

“What has been your
experience along that line,
my fine sir? Perhaps you
think you are a Tarzan or a
Superman?”

They could not walk along the beach. They had to

run and jump and shout. The beach was smooth
under their feet. The wind was sharp and cool,
slapping them into life, into action, and the water,
just a stone’s throw away, was sparkling and blue.
Oh, to be this alive and bounding and yet be
helpless!

They looked at it in silence, each revolving in his

mind plans of how to remove the barrier between
them and that inviting lagoon.
Suddenly a gray fin darted out of the water,
and a flying streak sped across the lagoon.
The waters were so transparent that it was
not difficult to see what swam in them. The
Grey Killer was about!
“He seems to be about this
morning. Suppose, we try a little
deep-sea fishing. If we catch
him, we’ll haul him to the shore.
He won’t have any advantage
once stranded on land.”

David: “Don’t
forget your
knives,

With the swift plans, Tony left the other two

Perhaps not all Uncle Sidro’s repeated warnings
could have sobered them up as quickly as that
swift glimpse of the Grey Killer.
looking at each other inquiringly. They were
used to the whirlwind decision of Kuya Tony,
and like good followers, since they did not
have better plans to offer, kept quiet and
followed.

Uncle Sidro furnished them with a sturdy

sailboat. He had only forbidden them to swim
or wet their feet. Well, they would do neither.
Going into action was better than not having
to try anything. The fishing tackle was
brought out in a hurry.
The sailboat hidden in the cave below their camp was untied and so out in the quiet, shining lagoon they
sailed, their hearts beating rapidly.

The boys were well- versed in various fishing methods for Uncle Sidro had derived his wealth from the
sea and the boys, every summer, went on fishing tips with him.
Half an hour’s sailing on the smooth waters of the lagoon revealed no sign of their prey. It only made
them more determined to succeed for the hidden beauties of the lagoon, its promises for endless
fishing and for exploration were unfolded.
The sun was fast climbing overhead and its glint on the water leapt back into theoir eyes. Berting was
for giving it up and returning to the shore when a sharp tug at the end of their line startled them.
David who was at the end of the boat, peered into the waters excitedly.

There was a sharper tug and David shouted, “ He’s caught! He’s –“ The rest was lost, for he tumbled
into the water, into the very open jaws of the shark. The hook had caught at the end of the lower
jaw, but in its frantic lashing it was able to tear it away.

The lagoon darkened with blood but not before the two brothers in the boat glimpsed the infuriated
shark turning on David. David swam away, while the boat raced to rescue him.

For David had tangled up with the shark and with the two well- aimed plunges of his hunting knife
finished the Grey Killer. From the boat overhead tangled the line that first caught the shark. Swiftly
he hooked it to the line and then swam up gasping and exhausted to be pulled up into the boat.
 On the shore a grave- faced Uncle Sidro waited as the three boys breathlessly unloaded the
long shark onto the shore. They waited guiltily for the scolding, but the twinkle in Uncle Sidro’s
eyes made them sigh and relief.

Well boys, “whose name

shall appear on the medal
I’ll donate for the shark
killer?
 But the boys were solemnly measuring the shark and a long whistle came from
Tony.

dal,
h e me
mind
t that
ve r m pany et
e a co men? L
r ti n g: N e re r
Be ’t th she and
c le ,“Isn fr om fi y a gr !””
Un ks bu
shar one and city
buys s to the
hi rn
ell t retu
us s n w e
whe
gift

But is two brothers were not within hearing distance anymore.

They had plunged straight into the lagoon and were splashing and
shouting like two joyful tortoises.