The Undersea Cleaning Spree

The sea is such a wondrous place with forests, reefs and caves.
There are countless creatures living in a world beneath
the waves.

The water is their haven; it’s the only home they know,
While ‘The Up’ is somewhere unexplored, where most
will never go.
One night, when Blub the octopus
was sleeping in her bed,
She was woken by a stranger, who
had landed on her head.
“Hello,” said Blub. “You must be
new. I’ve not seen you around.”
But the fish refused to answer her
– it didn’t make a sound.
As days went by, more strangers
came who also didn’t talk.
They were drifting down but didn’t
seem to scuttle, swim or walk.
It wasn’t long before they started
getting in the way,
Causing harm to all the creatures as
they tried to swim and play.

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 The Undersea Cleaning Spree

Blub wanted to be friendly so she greeted those she found,

But a manta ray called Manti swam up next to her
and frowned.

“Whoever are you talking to?” she asked. “There’s no one there.”
“It’s these fish,” said Blub. “They’re new here but they only sit
and stare.”
“These things aren’t fish,” said Manti. “They’ve just fallen
from The Up.
They are human things with silly names like ‘bottle’, ‘bag’
and ‘cup’.”
“But don’t the humans need them?” wondered Blub, a
bit confused,
And they hatched a plan to send them back to where they
could be used.
The Up was quite a scary place but Blub was feeling brave,
So she swam towards the surface, where she bobbed
upon a wave.
She then began to throw things,
first with one arm, then with eight.
Having lots of arms for throwing
was a really useful trait!

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 The Undersea Cleaning Spree

“Let’s dive back down,” said Manti,

“and collect up even more.”
So they gathered lots of objects
and returned them to the shore.

It wasn’t long till other creatures

started cleaning too,
From across the seas and oceans;
from the Arctic to Peru.
The creatures threw some items…
...then some others…
...then some more,
And created many massive piles
of rubbish on the shore.
The humans moaned and grumbled
as the clutter clogged their space.
“We should throw it back to sea,”
said one. “This mess is a disgrace!”
A little boy saw Blub and all the
creatures in the bay,
“It’s not fair,” he said. “If we
don’t want this rubbish, why
would they?”

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 The Undersea Cleaning Spree

He stood upon a rock and then began

to make a speech.
“We should really find a better way
to tidy up the beach!”
The people soon took action as his
plea was understood,
And they sorted all the rubbish to
reuse the bits they could.

They quickly worked together till

the beach was litter-free,
So the things no longer needed
wouldn’t end up in the sea.
When all the waste had gone, the
humans gathered by the shore,
And they promised that the
things they used would harm the
sea no more.
They tried to use less plastic and,
instead, did all they could
To use eco-friendly objects made
from glass, bamboo and wood.

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 The Undersea Cleaning Spree

The creatures smiled and cheered because the ocean was

now clean.
It was safer and much nicer when their home was so pristine.
The water is their haven, it’s the only home they know,
And The Up’s now full of people who protect what’s
down below.

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 The Undersea Cleaning Spree

Questions
1. What type of animal is Blub? Tick one.
octopus
turtle
manta ray

2. Where does Blub live? Tick one.

the forest
the zoo
the sea

3. What does Blub throw? Tick one.

fish
rubbish
plants

4. The humans tidy up the…

garden
house
beach

5. What do the sea creatures do when the ocean is clean? Tick one.
They smile and cheer.
They cry.
They sigh.

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 The Undersea Cleaning Spree

Answers
1. What type of animal is Blub? Tick one.
octopus
turtle
manta ray

2. Where does Blub live? Tick one.

the forest
the zoo
the sea

3. What does Blub throw? Tick one.

fish
rubbish
plants

4. The humans tidy up the…

garden
house
beach

5. What do the sea creatures do when the ocean is clean? Tick one.
They smile and cheer.
They cry.
They sigh.

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 The Undersea Cleaning Spree

Questions
1. Who is the main character in this story? Tick one.
Blub
Manti
the boy

2. Fill in the missing word.

“These things aren’t ,” said Manti. “They’ve

just fallen from The Up.”

3. What is Blub’s plan? Tick one.

to eat the rubbish
to send the rubbish back to the humans
to use the rubbish to play games

4. Which of these events happens first? Tick one.

The humans clean up the beach.
Blub spots lots of rubbish in the ocean.
Blub throws the rubbish onto the beach.

5. How do you think the sea creatures feel at the end of the story?


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 The Undersea Cleaning Spree

Answers
1. Who is the main character in this story? Tick one.
Blub
Manti
the boy

2. Fill in the missing word.

“These things aren’t fish ,” said Manti. “They’ve just fallen from The Up.”

3. What is Blub’s plan? Tick one.

to eat the rubbish
to send the rubbish back to the humans
to use the rubbish to play games

4. Which of these events happens first? Tick one.

The humans clean up the beach.
Blub spots lots of rubbish in the ocean.
Blub throws the rubbish onto the beach.

5. How do you think the sea creatures feel at the end of the story?
Accept any answers that make sense, e.g. happy, safe, relieved.

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 The Undersea Cleaning Spree

Questions
1. Who is the main character in this story?


2. Where is this story set?



3. What is causing harm to the the animals?



4. Number the events from 1–4 to show the order that they happen in. The
first one has been done for you.
The humans are unhappy about the rubbish.
1 Blub spots lots of rubbish in the ocean.
Blub throws the rubbish onto the beach.
The humans clean up the beach.

5. Draw three lines and match each word to its meaning.

haven clean or unspoilt

clogged blocked or very full

pristine a safe place

6. Why do you think the humans decide to tidy up the beach?




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 The Undersea Cleaning Spree

Answers
1. Who is the main character in this story?
Blub

2. Where is this story set?

in the ocean/under the sea

3. What is causing harm to the the animals?

Accept any of the following: plastic/rubbish/litter/human things/
bottles, bags and cups.

4. Number the events from 1–4 to show the order that they happen in. The
first one has been done for you.
3 The humans are unhappy about the rubbish.
1 Blub spots lots of rubbish in the ocean.
2 Blub throws the rubbish onto the beach.
4 The humans clean up the beach.

5. Draw three lines and match each word to its meaning.

haven clean or unspoilt

clogged blocked or very full

pristine a safe place

6. Why do you think the humans decide to tidy up the beach?

Children’s own responses, such as ‘The humans wanted a clean beach
to enjoy’ or ‘The humans realised that the plastic rubbish was harming
the animals/the environment.’

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