'Sam, Sam, where are you?' It was his Mum calling.
'Oh no' Sam groaned. 'Not another errand.'
He quickly looked around to see where he could hide. Yes! the very place, amongst the ferns behind that big rock! Sam swam over in a flash, and squeezed into a little opening trying to make himself as small as possible. He shut his eyes tightly.
'Sam' said a stern voice beside him. Slowly Sam opened one eye. 'Oh, hello Mum' he said. 'Were you wanting me?'
Mum just looked!
Sam squeezed himself out, and waited.
'I want you to take a message to Aunty Joanna for me, Sam please.'
'Aunty Jo's' he cried. 'Great! Can I stay and play with my cousins for a while?' he asked - a big smile on his face.
'Yes' Mum smiled back at him.
'And if they ask me to stay to tea?' Sam asked hopefully.
I expect they will' Mum laughed. 'Only don't stay too long.
'Oh, I wont' he promised, eager to be off. So Mum told Sam exactly what to say to his Aunty, and, after repeating the message once or twice, he swam off as quickly as he could. Sam and his cousins were great friends, and he couldn't get to their house quick enough. Within a couple of minutes he was there, and, after giving his Aunty his Mum's message the cousins went off to play.
They had a great time swimming in and out of the ferns chasing each other, and hiding behind the rocks. Fishes love this game, and it was the cousins' favourite.
Soon they were hot and out of breath, and so they swam to the surface to rest for a while. They looked around and saw the boats bobbing up and down on the waves, and, near to the shore, they could see a few people enjoying themselves swimming. Others were on the beach playing with a ball and laughing.
'Do you remember the fun we had when we found a small ball?' asked Josh, one of Sam's cousins.
'Yes' they all laughed. 'Wasn't it super?'
'Where is the ball now?' asked Mary I haven't seen it for ages.'
'Don't you remember, it got caught in the seaweed' Josh reminded her.
'And then when the anchor was taken up into the boat all the seaweed, and the ball, went with it' added Tim.
'Oh, yes' said Mary as she remembered.
'Perhaps we can find another one, if we look' suggested Sam.
'Not right now' Josh said. 'It's tea time, I'm hungry - come on' and down he dived.
The others followed him, laughing. Now that they had been reminded, they realised how hungry they all were too!
'Come along' called their Mum as they arrived home.
'Tea is all ready. You sit here Sam. I'm sure your Mum will know you are staying' and she smiled at Sam as she put the seaweed sandwiches on the table.
The children ate until they could eat no more.
'That was a lovely tea, Aunty Jo' said Sam. 'Thank you very much, but I must be off now. I promised Mum I wouldn't be late.'
'See you at school tomorrow' the cousins called as they waved him off.
'And don't forget your lunch this time' added Josh.
They all laughed - and that's when it happened.
Sam had given the biggest laugh of all, and, as he turned away, he felt something hard go into his mouth. It was too big to swallow, and it just stuck there. It didn't hurt, it just felt very uncomfortable so Sam coughed as he swam away - but it didn't move.
'What a nuisance' he thought as he tried coughing again to get rid of whatever was there. He swam to the surface coughing and spluttering, and found he was near to the shore - near enough to hear two men talking about paying their taxes.
Sam wasn't in the least little bit interested. All he wanted was to get rid of the strange thing which was stuck in his mouth.
Then suddenly Sam felt himself lifted out of the water, and a man caught hold of him and put his finger in his mouth. He pulled a little, and out popped the nasty hard thing.
'Oh, thank you' said Sam. 'It was very uncomfortable.' He looked and was surprised to see that it was a coin.
Peter, too, looked at it in mazement. 'It's exactly what we need' Sam heard him say. 'Enough for both of us.'
The other man chuckled. 'Yes' he said. 'And thank you Sam for bringing us our taxes.'
Sam's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and his face lit up with a big beaming smile. 'Jesus' he said. 'It's you.' He was delighted.
Jesus smiled too. ' Yes, it's me, Sam.'
Then, turning to Peter, Jesus said. 'Put Sam back into the sea Peter please. I'm sure he is longing to get home to tell everyone of his adventure.'
Sam was!!
'Just wait until I tell them all' he said to himself as he sped through the water. 'Just wait until I tell them that I've met Jesus - and I gave Him the money they needed - the exact amount!' Sam felt so proud, his eyes sparkled.
'It's wonderful to know Jesus' he thought. 'But to know you have actually helped Him - Wow!' and with a flick of his tail, he disappeared into the ferns laughing merrily.
Elizabeth Aynsley ©
Matthew.17 vs. 24-27