Sandestin

July 27, 2025

The Squirrel and the Dragon: A Fantasy Short Story

Once upon a time, in a little cottage atop a tall tree in a little forest, there lived a little squirrel named Chestnut. Every morning, Chestnut loved to take her little basket and go on nature walks to collect little colorful flowers in the meadows. She would make bouquets and flower wreaths and sell them at the market square. But one day, when Chestnut went on a walk to collect more flowers, she found a big black hill blocking her way. The big black hill was very strange, because instead of being covered with green grass, it was covered in black scales that shimmered in the sunlight. Another strange thing about the big black hill was that it moved up and down, almost as if it were breathing. “I don’t know how this strange hill got here,” Chestnut said to herself. “But I’ll just climb over it.” Chestnut clambered up the big black hill. It was a little difficult, since it kept moving up and down, but thanks to her determination, Chestnut managed to reach the very top. “I did it!” Chest...

My family and I had gone to Sandestin to go to the beach. While we were in Sandestin, we had started to feel a bit weird, as I believe we were coughing and our throats felt somewhat dry or itchy, and our eyes watered a little. My mom had asked a lady at the desk of the hotel we were staying in what was happening and she said that it was red tide, which is a “higher-than-normal concentration of a microscopic alga” (Florida Red Tide FAQs). When we went to the beach, we found some dead fish washed up on the shore. After doing some research, I found out that these fish may have died from the red tide. This is because the red tide can produce toxins that can affect the central nervous system of fish, which can cause them to die (Florida Red Tide FAQs). Though the red tide caused us some irritation, our time at the beach was still enjoyable overall, as it was fun to be at the beach. I also managed to get some beautiful shots of the ocean waves, which was one thing I really enjoyed at the beach.

Sources

“Florida Red Tide FAQs” MOTE Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, https://mote.org/news/florida-red-tide. Accessed 1 June 2020.