4. Acknowledgements
My thanks go to those who, aware of the collections of garbage
in the oceans, have helped to make this book a reality. We
hope it may educate and entertain about the power of
recycling, love for the ocean, the values and the seven essential
principles of the influence of the ocean on our lives.
Thank you very much for these wonderful letters of support that I
will treasure forever, for the help in the dissemination and / or
grants that transmit the concern you have with the care of our
planet and future generations.
Aldo Goia (Italy)
Alejandro Dragón Soto (Chile- Claudio Antonio Sepúlveda Alfaro
Spain) (Chile)
Alessandra Silvestri (New York, Cluster Cultural (Chile)
United States)
Cristian Leiva Ruiz (Chile)
Alfonso Romón Fernández (Spain)
Javier “Beno” Gómez (Spain)
Andrés Munevar (Colombia)
Jessica Curaqueo (Chile- Spain)
Ange C (Chile)
Jesús Cáceres (Spain)
Ayudando al Planeta (Saltillo,
Jorge Carbonell García (Spain)
Mexico)
Jorge Planet San Martín (Chile)
Blue Profondo (Italy)
Julio Pino Miyar (Cuba)
Carla Gandolfo (Chile)
Laura Cremades García (Spain)
Cecil Muñoz (Chile)
~1~
5. Loreto Muñoz Schick (Chile) María Soledad Ramírez (Chile)
Madelón Lánchez (Spain) Mauricio Fondato (Italy)
Marcelo de Laurentis (Argentina) Michael Crawford- Hick (Reino
Unido)
María de los Angeles Lewin
Etcheverry (Chile) Miguel Alejandro Sepúlveda Alfaro
(Chile)
Eliana Schick (Chile)
Mónica González (Spain)
Familia Leiva Ruiz (Chile-
Venezuela) Nicolás Gutiérrez Lezaca (Chile)
Óscar Sepúlveda Alfaro (Chile)
Fresia Salazar Campos (Costa
Rica) Patricio Paredes Genskowski
(Chile)
Gloria Isabel Sepúlveda Ruiz
(Chile) Patricio Paredes Planet (Chile)
GPS Buceo (Spain) Pedro Martínez (Spain)
Rodrigo Planet Sepúlveda (Chile)
Gustavo Becerra Muzzio (Chile)
Ramón Venegas Watson (Chile-
Hugo Mejías (Chile) Australia)
Ignacio Gutiérrez Lezaca (Chile) Sachi T. Buisson (Philippine)
Isabel López Garcés (Spain) Tamara Mehsas Torrents (Chile)
Javier Zapata (Chile) Valeria Paredes Planet (Chile)
Javiera Alday (Chile) And every day more people join
this cause and organizations to be
Lucía Sepúlveda Ruiz (Chile) considered in printed books.
~2~
6. The Great Mermaid
In a tiny corner of the ocean, in an underground cave, lived
an octopus called Adrian. He was a very special animal as,
though he was an octopus like all the others, with eight
tentacles and a long head, Adrian was purple, like the
violets in a garden, he had splashes of different colors on
his tentacles, and wore a hat woven from green and sky-
blue seaweed.
Despite being only eight years old, he was a strong, hard-
working octopus. From morning till night he worked,
picking up the objects that humans lazily threw into the
sea, or the things that the waves carried off from the
beaches. There were plastic bags and bottles, glass jars,
batteries, tires, broken toys and everything you imagine,
my little friend. Adrian took them all into his cave.
However, one day the cave was full of garbage. There was
no room to put anything else, and if he left it all in the
ocean, the jellyfish and all the animals in the sea would eat
it, thinking it was food. Also, Adrian had seen turtles
caught up in plastic bags, seals wounded by the nets left
by fishermen in the sea, and so many fish sick from the
garbage they ate.
~1~
8. “If all human beings knew that the oceans and everything
in them give life to the world, they would take more care
of them, and wouldn't throw more garbage into them.
What can I do with so much garbage? Heavens! All my
friends will get sick! If only there were a solution...”
Adrian thought.
While he was thinking about how to get rid of all the
garbage, or where to put it, the dark blue sea around him
lit up, as if the moon had exploded, and a sea fairy
appeared before him, the Great Mermaid. Looking him
straight in the eyes, she said:
“Adrian, I am the Great Mermaid, and I have seen your
great efforts to keep the ocean clean. The time has come
for you to learn that the answer is not to store garbage in
your cave, but to recycle it.”
“What is recycling?” asked Adrian, excited by the
presence of the Great Mermaid.
“Recycling is using, over and over, material from garbage
or waste, to make new products,” the Great Mermaid
answered.
~3~
10. “So how can I recycle? Where?” asked the little octopus,
wide-eyed. He couldn't understand what he could do with
all the garbage in his cave, and everything that was
floating in the ocean.
“On land, there are containers of different colors, with
signs telling you what kind of garbage goes in each one,”
explained the Great Mermaid, “all the trash should be put
into those containers.”
“And what can I do? I live in the ocean. I can't go on to
the land, I can't breathe there,” responded Adrian, very
sad.
“I will mark your chest with the recycling sign, and from
thence on, you will be the Recycling Octopus. You will look
for your friends, in the sea and on land, and you will ask
them for help,” the Great Mermaid said.
“Why did you choose me, Great Mermaid?” asked Adrian,
very intrigued.
“You were chosen from the day you were born with your
bright colors. Every one of them represents the color of a
container that humans use to recycle. I have come,
because it is time for you to teach others to protect the
oceans and the whole planet, because the oceans make the
earth habitable. Without oceans, there would be no life on
~5~
11. Earth,” the Great Mermaid explained, as she swam off,
disappearing into the immense ocean.
Adrian looked up, but the Great Mermaid was already out
of sight.
At that very moment, a talkative Cockatoo, who had
camouflaged herself in the sand, lifted up her head and
said to Adrian:
“I heard everything! Now, tell me Adrian – What are you
going to do?”
“The same as ever, but this time I will look for friends to
help me, because if this task is to succeed it needs many
helpers,” exclaimed the octopus.
So saying, he swam off, laughing with glee, filled with joy
at the hope of a cleaner ocean. He swam on his back to
show the recycling sign on his chest; now everyone would
know that he was the Recycling Octopus.
~6~
12. The Friends
Some crabs ran here and there on the bottom of the sea,
disturbing the sleep of the sea slugs and the baby
octopuses whose lay on the sand. The fish and jellyfish
swam around, meeting the sharks and dolphins who swam
up and down.
“What’s that row?” shouted a turtle, passing by.
“The currents have brought a huge amount of garbage
right here. Some sinks, and others float on the surface,”
said a shark.
“And we’re afraid it might squash us!” added a frightened
sea horse.
“I’ll go and tell Adrian the Recycling Octopus. He’ll know
what to do!” said the turtle.
Adrian was in his cave, resting after a hard day's work,
when the turtle arrived and told him what had happened.
“This is very serious! I have to go and find my friends, to
help me get rid of the garbage from the ocean,” Adrian
said.
~7~
14. And, that very afternoon, Adrian the Recycling Octopus
went to look for his friend Julius the Crab, in the beautiful
white coral where he lived. He found Julius the Crab who
was cooking some food he had collected in his perfect
pincers. Yes, although you might not believe it, Julius the
Crab had sharp pincers like no other crab, and was a
marvelous chef.
“How are you, Julius?” asked Adrian, twirling his tentacles
in time with the swishing of the waves.
“Very well! I found some bananas on the beach and I am
cooking a delicious recipe. How about you, are you OK?”
Julius the Crab asked.
“Not as well as you. I am worried about all the things that
people throw away and end up in the sea. It's a big worry
for me, I am the Recycling Octopus,” Adrian answered.
“Recycli what?” Julius the Crab asked.
“Recycling Octopus, the octopus who recycles, and teaches
how to recycle; that is, to make the things people throw
away as trash, useful again,” Adrian answered.
“Hey, I've never heard of anything like that...” said Julius
the Crab, thoughtfully.
~9~
16. “The only problem, there is a lot of garbage on the bottom
of the sea, and I don't know what to do with all this
trash,” said Adrian.
“That's simple! Keep on collecting it! You have a lot of
hands. You are ideal for the job, you can grab a lot of
things at the same time,” said Julius the Crab, while
cutting up the banana with his pincers.
“You're right, but it has to be collected, taken up to the
surface, and then put in the recycling containers. I need a
lot of friends to help me, and I thought you could be one
of them,” Adrian said.
“Oh, no! Not me! I'm too busy preparing my meal. I don't
have time!” replied the crab, very serious.
“But Julius … if you don't help me, those little pieces of
plastic and glass will get mixed up with your food, and we
will all get sick – those in the ocean and out of it. Just
look at the water for a moment, see how it looks,” insisted
Adrian.
Julius the Crab looked up and saw a thick, dirty gray mass.
So much garbage in the water! Then he understood how
important it was to help Adrian in his great task.
“You can count on me, Adrian!” shouted Julius at last.
~ 11 ~
18. In the evening rush, both friends went to see Sara, the
Starfish, and invite her to help with the recycling. She
knew everything that went on in the sea. She knew every
seaweed that went floating by!
As soon as she saw Adrian she said:
“This is a disaster! Have you seen all the garbage there is
on the sea bed?”
“Yes, and that's why I'm here,” Adrian managed to say.
“What have you got on your chest? Tell me, tell me!” Sara
the Starfish interrupted.
“That's just what I want to talk to you about. That green
sign on my chest is the recycling symbol. It means that old
stuff can be used again. That way there'll be less garbage
on land and in the sea. Now you can call me Recycling
Octopus,” Adrian said.
“I have to tell my friends about this! Goodbye!” said Sara
the Starfish quickly.
“Don't go, Sara! I have to tell you something!” shouted
Adrian.
“Yes, stay, stay...” muttered Julius the Crab, in an ironic
tone, who was still not sure about the commitment he had
just taken on.
~ 13 ~
20. “Tell me, Adrian, tell me everything. What do you want to
tell me?” begged the starfish.
“I need you to help me get the garbage out of the ocean,”
said Adrian.
“But how can I do that? I can't catch anything with my
feet,” said Sara the Starfish, now very curious.
“Just look in the sand of the sea bed, and if you find
trash, tell me,” explained Adrian.
“OK, Adrian, you can count on me!” said Sara the Starfish,
“I'll tell the news to all the starfish in the sea!”
Adrian and Julius the Crab continued on their way, looking
for other friends who might want to help. They found
Silvio the Blowfish, and asked him to take charge of taking
all the stuff that didn't belong in the ocean, up to the
surface.
“Count on me, Adrian!” said Silvio the Blowfish.
Then they found Tim the shark, and Tom the dolphin,
where the waters were roughest. Adrian asked them to
look out for any garbage that fell into the ocean, and to
tell him at once. And again, Adrian heard the same thing:
“Count on me, Adrian!”
~ 15 ~
22. As they went along, Adrian and Julius the Crab found many
friends who wanted to help them, like the jellyfish,
swordfish, hammerhead sharks and the whales, among
many others.
However, they still had to find some friend who would take
the garbage to the containers on dry land.
“A bird would be ideal!” thought Adrian and asked Julius
the Crab to rise to the surface with him, to look for Felisa
the Seagull.
They swam up, and stuck their heads out of the water.
Once there, they saw Felisa the Seagull flying over the
ocean, as she had done for many years. She was a wise old
seagull. She knew the problem of the garbage in the sea
very well. She had also seen how little importance humans
gave to this tremendous problem.
And once more Adrian heard:
“Count on me, Adrian!”
From that day onward, Adrian and his friends worked
ceaselessly, but very happily, as they knew how important
it was to live in a clean ocean.
~ 17 ~
24. The lost Sock
Down a great river, Maria the bad-tempered Eel swam,
moving her long, thin body in waves. She crossed the
ocean, as she had to find her way to the Sargasso Sea, to
see her friends. She had a certain arrogance, as she knew
that the other fish, great and small, steered clear of her,
knowing of her bad temper. No-one liked getting a swipe
from that long tail of hers.
It happened that one day, while on her journey, she found
a shape, as long and thin as her, floating in the water
despite a big hole in its body. This scared Maria the Eel a
lot. With a terrific swipe of her tail, she hit out - but the
shape didn't move.
Eh! Eh! The shape shouted at Maria the Eel. But Maria,
very frightened, was no longer there. She had swum off,
shamed by the laughter from all the other fish nearby.
A starfish who saw this told Sara the Starfish what had
happened.
~ 19 ~
26. Sara, moving her legs as fast as she could, rushed to Julius
the Crab, and told him the story of the strange shape
floating in the ocean, and its meeting with Maria the bad-
tempered Eel.
“Ha! It must be something that humans threw into the
sea,” said Julius the Crab.
“I don't think so. I think it's a foreign eel, because
nothing happened to it when Maria hit it. Also, they are
very similar – long and thin,” replied Sara the Starfish.
“Tell me, Sara – which animal with a hole in its side can
survive in the ocean?” asked Julius the Crab.
“You're right, Julius. No-one! So we have to go to Adrian,
the Recycling Octopus. He'll know what to do!” Sara the
Starfish answered.
“Adrian! Adrian!” shouted Julius the Crab, outside the
little octopus's cave. “There's a strange object in the
water!”
“Coming!” said Adrian, putting on his hat.
Adrian came out of his cave and, with Julius the Crab and
Sara the Starfish, they all went to see the strange object.
“It's a sock!” cried Adrian, very serious.
~ 21 ~
28. “What's a sock?” asked Sara the Starfish.
“It is an item of clothing that humans use to keep their
feet warm,” explained Adrian.
Adrian went up to the sock that was feeling very bad, and
asked: “Why are you here, in the middle of the ocean?”
“They left me on the beach, they forgot all about me, and
a wave came and dragged me off,” said the sock.
“And why are you sad?” asked Julius the Crab.
“Because I'm wet and cold. I don't belong in the sea, like
you,” said the sock, miserably.
“Maybe the human that lost you will come along, because
now he has only one sock and he needs you to keep both his
feet warm,” interrupted Julius the Crab.
“Julius, the ocean is still unexplored. Humans know very
little about our home. Also, even if the owner of the sock
wanted to, he wouldn't find it,” added Adrian.
“Yes Adrian, the ocean is immense. It's the biggest thing
on the planet and humans know only a tiny fraction of it,”
said the sock.
“Don't worry!” said Adrian to the sock “we'll find Silvio the
Blowfish and he will take you back to the beach. From
there, Felisa the Seagull will carry you back home.”
~ 23 ~
30. “But I don't have anywhere to go, I have a hole and I'm no
good for keeping feet warm. I don't know what will
become of me!” the sock wept.
“Everyone, absolutely everyone, is good for something and
somebody, sock. Never lose hope. You'll see that you will
have a place to go and you'll be useful again,” said Adrian.
So saying, he went off to look for Silvio the Blowfish.
While Sara the Starfish, at the bottom of the sea, was
telling the clams and the other starfish what had
happened to the sock, Silvio the Blowfish was taking him
up to the surface, where Felisa the Seagull was waiting for
him, to take him far away from the sea.
The following week, Adrian went to find his friends and
told them:
“Today's the day! Let's go and see how the sock is, on dry
land.”
Adrian, Julius the Crab and Sara the Starfish swam to the
beach. From there they could see the sock, who was very
happy. He was a very important actor in a puppet theater.
The seagull had taken the sock to a girl who recycled old
socks, and turned them into beautiful actors, to delight
boys and girls.
~ 25 ~
32. “The Sock is happy!” cried Adrian.
And together with Julius the Crab and Sara the Starfish,
they went back to the depths of the ocean, where the
oysters, clams and mussels applauded the good deed of
Adrian the Recycling Octopus and his friends.
~ 27 ~
34. The Baby Whale
Once a hoarse cry alarmed the animals of the ocean. The
fish and the shellfish hid amongst the dense, beautiful
corals. Only the starfish crawled along the sand, to see
where this horrendous sound came from. As always, the
first one to be heard giving the news of what happened
was Sara the Starfish.
“Something terrible has happened!”
“Terrible! Horrible!” cried another of the starfish.
“What could be more terrible than walking through all this
garbage?” growled Julius the Crab, as he used his sharp
pincers to pick up plastic bottle caps from the sea bed.
“Eating it!” answered Sara the Starfish “The baby whale
has eaten all the trash it found in its path!”
“Go on! And where's its Mom?” asked Julius the Crab in an
ironic tone.
“Oh, Julius! Don't say that, this is very serious. Also, the
jellyfish have said that its Mom is fleeing from some
people in a big ship, who want to hunt it down,” said Sara
the Starfish.
~ 29 ~
36. “Don't you just know it all!” said Julius the Crab.
Near the corals where these sea animals were hiding, was
Adrian the Recycling Octopus. He had heard what had
happened to the baby whale, and was thinking up a solution.
“Adrian! The baby whale is crying. It has a bellyache,”
Julius the Crab told him.
“I know. I think the best thing is to call the sardines.
They will help us,” said Adrian.
“How? This is a job for big folk. Sardines are very small,
they are useless. They'll get a tail lashing, for sure!”
replied Julius the Crab.
“Often, Julius, the smallest can save the biggest. Don't
forget we are all necessary in this world. Without
exception,” answered Adrian.
“And just how will they help?” asked Julius the Crab.
“That's what I would like to know, too!” muttered Sara the
Starfish.
“I'll tell the sardines to get inside the baby whale and
tickle his insides. Then he'll throw up the garbage he has
inside,” said Adrian.
“Ugh! As well as getting a tail lashing, they'll get eaten by
the baby whale!” grumbled Julius the Crab.
~ 31 ~
38. When the sardines arrived, Adrian explained to them what
they had to do. They lined up and swam into the baby
whale's mouth.
“I don't want to watch!” said Julius the Crab, covering his
eyes.
“I do, I don't want to miss a thing!” exclaimed Sara the
Starfish.
From the sea bed, the clams and sponges saw the sardines
swim into the enormous jaws of the baby whale, to tickle
him with their tiny tails.
Suddenly, the baby whale began to shake its huge body.
The sardines were shot out, and everyone around sped off,
as far away as possible.
The baby whale sneezed, and threw up all the garbage it
had swallowed. There was a tremendous commotion, but
the baby whale began to smile. It was better.
The fish, and all the sea creatures, came up to the baby
whale again. Some of them stroked its belly, others
danced for it – up, down and sideways, like a baby's mobile,
and the baby whale laughed and laughed.
~ 33 ~
40. At the same time, Adrian and his friends picked up the
garbage and took it up to the surface, for Felisa the
Seagull to take to the containers on dry land. They came
and went until they had taken away all the trash near the
baby whale.
At that moment mommy whale arrived. She was exhausted
from her efforts to escape from the humans who wanted
to catch her.
~ 35 ~
41. “How good you have been to my baby! Thank-you!” said
mommy whale, as she swam up to the surface with him.
Adrian and Julius the Crab lay down on the yellow sand,
tired after the agitation of the day.
“Oh Julius! If only humans knew what damage they are
doing to the ocean, they wouldn't throw garbage on the
beaches. The earth has only one huge ocean, and they
don't look after it. While they chase mommy whale, her
baby gets sick from all the trash,” complained Adrian.
“You're right, Adrian! Humans know nothing about life!”
Julius the Crab, worn out, barely whispered.
“You see, Julius, how good it feels when you have done a
good deed?” asked Adrian. But Julius the Crab did not
answer. He was sleeping like a baby.
~ 36 ~
42. The Frightened Oyster
Clarita was a beautiful oyster, young and happy, a real joy
in the ocean. Her white shell, shiny and smooth, opened
and closed again and again, applauding the colorful fish who
swam around her every morning. How Clarita loved to see
the fish, like colorful lamps! However, my dear friends,
one day Clarita the Oyster did not want to open.
“Adrian! Adrian! Clarita the Oyster doesn't want to open.
Nobody knows what has happened to her. The starfish say
she is very frightened. Some say this, some say that, but
everyone is worried,” shouted Julius the Crab.
“Maybe Clarita ate some trash?” asked Adrian, very
puzzled.
“What a bother!” said Sara the Starfish, “I was asleep and
I didn't see anything.”
Adrian swam quickly over to Clarita, who was hiding among
some seaweed.
“Clarita! Clarita! It's me, Adrian the Recycling Octopus!”
“I'm not going to open. I don't want to see that black rain.
It makes me really scared,” said the oyster.
~ 37 ~
44. “What black rain?” asked Adrian.
“The rain that falls on to the ocean. I saw it. It's really
black, and has very big, thick drops,” stated Clarita.
“The ocean influences the weather of the world, but it has
nothing to do with that rain,” replied Julius the Crab.
“It's true what Julius says. It's not rain, but it is
something bad, Clarita. It is crude oil, which falls into the
sea from ships. But the currents, and the blowfish have
carried it away. Open up and show us your hidden beauty,”
begged Adrian.
“No, never. I'll stay closed up. I don't want to see how
humans are destroying my home. Also, have you seen the
black stain on my shell? I'm so ashamed,” said Clarita.
“Don't be ashamed, the most beautiful thing about you is
your inner being, the beauty of your feelings, turned into a
beautiful pearl,” said Adrian.
“You really think that?” asked Clarita.
“Indeed I do. Also, if you open you can help to get rid of
the trash that falls into the sea,” said Adrian, as he
arranged his hat.
“How can I do that?” asked Clarita.
~ 39 ~
45. “You can keep watch, and tell me when the water turns
black, or when you see garbage on the sea bed,” continued
Adrian.
“You're right, Adrian! Closed up, I'm of no use. You can
count on me,” said Clarita, enthusiastically.
And Clarita opened up. She shone as never before. She
had understood that her beauty was interior, and that
showing it to the marine world, she could help her friends.
~ 40 ~
46. Mrs. Kettle and the Tires
It was six o'clock in the evening. The sun's bright rays
gradually dimmed and darkness began to reign. In the
ocean, only a few fluorescent animals shone a little light in
the darkness of the deep.
Alone in this cold, alien and hopeless world, there was an
old, rusty kettle.
“Oh! How sad I am!” the kettle sighed.
Beneath the dull tin of the kettle, some tires piled up on
the sea bed heard her sigh. They, as old and abandoned as
her, lay there in silence. But one of them, taking pity on
their mutual misfortune, raised his voice:
“Eh! Mrs. Kettle! We're down here!”
The kettle, who was crying at that moment, looked down
and saw not one, but hundreds of tires piled up.
She wiped her tears and asked:
“How long have you been here?”
“Oohhh! A long time. I don't know how long we've been
here, but no-one has ever come to rescue us,” said a gray
tire.
~ 41 ~
48. “So, I've got no hope...” lamented the kettle even more.
“And what would you do if you were taken out of the sea?
Neither you nor we are useful for anything. We'd be left
to rot in some field, just as abandoned as we are here,”
said a black tire.
“I don't know what I would do, but I'd be dry,” answered
Mrs. Kettle.
“And how did you get here?” asked a small tire.
“In the past, I was beautiful, elegant and very useful. I
was used to boil water, to make the best tea. Men and
women rushed, when they heard my whistle. Oh, such a
wonderful time! Then along came electric kettles, they
made less noise, they were faster, and everyone forgot
about me. They threw me into the garbage, then I got to a
river and the river brought me to the sea. That is my sad
story!” answered Mrs. Kettle very sadly.
“We were thrown into the sea from a truck. We always
arrive in groups,” said the gray tire.
“The ocean is so beautiful, it has so many different plants
and animals. The bad thing for us is that we are not from
here, and we don't know how to get out,” said the oldest
tire.
~ 43 ~
49. “That tells me everything! We'll never get out of here!”
cried Mrs. Kettle, giving way to great sorrow.
“There is hope! I have heard the fish talking about Adrian,
the Recycling Octopus. An octopus that takes garbage out
of the ocean, and takes it to a dry place for recycling,”said
the black tire.
“But no-one knows we are here. The fish don't see us,
because it's so dark down here,” continued another one.
“Maybe you, Mrs. Kettle, could call Recycling Octopus with
your whistle?” said the smallest.
“No, I can't. I'm full of water! It's impossible!” Mrs.
Kettle complained.
~ 44 ~
50. “The impossible is possible, if we really want it. Try it,
Mrs. Kettle. Don't you want to get out of here?” the
biggest one insisted.
Mrs. Kettle tried and failed. Then again and nothing. She
tried for a long time, until a whistle was heard by the
whole sea bed. The shrillest and most desperate whistle in
the whole ocean.
Piiii! Piiii! Piiii! Piiii!
In one of the underwater caves, Adrian and his friends
were picking up the trash that did not belong in the ocean.
“What's that sound?” asked Adrian, when he heard Mrs.
Kettle's whistle.
“I don't know, let's go and see. The sound is coming from
the west,” exclaimed Julius the Crab.
Adrian and Julius set off, and found Mrs. Kettle and the
tires.
“Don't worry!” said Adrian, “I've taken many friends like
you out of the ocean.”
“I'll go find Felisa the Seagull and her friends the
pelicans, so they will wait for us on the surface,” added
Julius the Crab, running with his fat little legs along the
dark sand of the ocean bed.
~ 45 ~
51. Mrs. Kettle was excited, and the tires rolled around a
little, very happy.
Soon the gulls and pelicans had taken them all to a garden,
where a happy old woman was waiting for them.
This old lady recycled old tires and kettles, and made them
into lovely planters for her plants. She painted Mrs.
Kettle and made a beautiful flowerpot of her. All the tires
were made into handsome (and happy) planters, the best in
the garden.
~ 46 ~
52. The Heroes
That first day of spring was warm and bright but Adrian,
pensive and sad, sat on a rock that stuck out of the water.
He had one of his tentacles on his face, and he was
thinking, remembering and longing for the sweetness of
days past, when the ocean was a clean, healthy place. It
was dark blue, and all the sea creatures swam and crawled
around, free and happy. Now, though, they were
surrounded by an enormous garbage heap, and his big, dark
eyes had to look at all the objects there. Saddened by the
look of the dirty ocean, full of waste, he wondered to
himself, in a low voice:
“How is it possible that humans don't understand that
they are connected with the ocean? How is it possible
that they don't worry about this garbage?”
That day the work had been hard and long and Julius the
Crab was also sitting on another rock, looking in wonder at
all the trash in the water. Sara the Starfish was talking
with a limpet, under the same rock.
“What are you thinking about, Adrian?” asked Julius the
Crab, seeing him so deep in thought.
~ 47 ~
54. “I think that the ocean could go back to being like it was
before, healthy and with no trash, only if we got help from
the humans,” answered Adrian.
“But it's the humans who fill us with garbage!” cried Sara
the Starfish.
“Yes, I know, but sometimes you hear boats that come
along, and people take out the floating garbage. If only we
could find them! Those are the humans we need!”
explained Adrian, looking at the trash all around him.
“Oh Adrian! We've enough to do collecting all this
garbage. And now you want to look for kind-hearted
humans. Ha, ha! They are hard to find!” Julius the Crab,
laughing, said.
“But we have to try!” exclaimed Adrian, getting ready to
swim to the beach.
“To the beach?” asked Felisa the Seagull, who was flying
by.
“Yes, there are humans there,” said Adrian “And we have
to talk to the kindest ones of them. They will understand
our language, because they see and listen with their
hearts. The Great Mermaid, our Fairy Godmother, told me
this in dreams, a few days ago.”
~ 49 ~
55. “OK, Adrian. We have to try it!” said Julius the Crab.
So Adrian and his friends went to the beach. Once there,
they saw several humans having fun on the sand. Some
were playing ball, and some were making sand-castles, with
buckets and spades. There were bright sunshades, and
towels with colorful pictures on. Seeing them, Julius the
Crab asked:
“Why are the humans so small?”
~ 50 ~
56. “Because they are boys and girls, they are human
children,”answered Felisa the Seagull.
“Let's go and talk to them!” said Adrian.
“Are you crazy? They will eat me!” exclaimed Julius the
Crab, startled.
“Don't be afraid, Julius!” replied Adrian.
The boys and girls there saw Adrian the Recycling Octopus
and his friends in a corner of the beach, behind a rock.
They ran up to them, happy, excited and curious. The boys
and girls stood in front of them and listened with
attention to what Adrian the Recycling Octopus had to say.
“Every day we lose more sea friends, because humans are
filling the ocean with garbage. They leave trash on the
beaches, and the waves take it, and currents concentrate
it in the center of the ocean,” said Adrian.
“And the ships throw their trash into the water!” cried
Felisa the Seagull from the sky.
“Other people throw their trash into the rivers, and the
rivers take it to the sea,” added Sara the Starfish.
~ 51 ~
58. “And fishermen leave their broken nets in the water,”
explained Julius the Crab.
“Many humans simply treat the ocean like a huge garbage
dump. To solve these problems we need the help of many
boys and girls. We need them to recycle waste, and to
teach their families how to do it,” continued Adrian.
One of the children at the back shouted, very loud:
“Let's Recycle!”
And then they all began to collect the trash lying on the
beach, and took it to recycling containers.
With real commitment, they quickly ran about, bending
down again and again to pick up plastic bottles, empty
yogurt pots, and all the garbage that lay on the sand.
“It's incredible how good and kind the little humans are!”
exclaimed Julius the Crab.
“And one day they will be big, and good adult humans!” said
Adrian.
“So, they are our friends?” asked Sara the Starfish, as
she inspected the sands with her tiny but expert eyes.
~ 53 ~
60. “Yes, and they are friends of the ocean and of the whole
earth. They are the real heroes of the planet!” shouted
Adrian. Then he turned and went back to the sea, as the
jelly fish rushed towards him like flashes.
“What has happened?” asked one of them.
“We have found the heroes of the planet!” answered
Adrian, very happy.
“And that's us!” shouted a little girl.
“See you soon, little friends!” Adrian shouted, as a
goodbye.
Very happy with his new friends, Adrian the Recycling
Octopus swam off, to the depths of the ocean.
The next morning, Sara the Starfish told Adrian that the
sea echo had told her that all the girls and boys on the
earth were recycling.
“So, it's real! Between all of us, we can save the sea!”
yelled Adrian.
“And the whole earth!” added Julius the Crab.
~ 55 ~
62. Alejandra Planet
Born in Santiago de Chile, is a journalist with studies of philology. She has published
the poetry collection "The Silence of Blackbirds", "Dictionary of Rhymes" and "The
Adventures of a Curious Ladybug." She has received numerous awards in various
countries, and her poems and stories are published in anthologies of Spain,
Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
Valeria Paredes Planet
Born in Santiago de Chile, is the daughter of the author and a student. Her
drawings have won awards in Spain and Taiwan. The drawings in this book are part
of a contribution to the care of the ocean and her love for nature.
~ 57 ~
63. The various types of pollution caused by substances
and energies that do not belong to the marine
environment have made the ocean the largest
landfill in the world and has caused the extinction of
thousands of species. This book originates from the
urgent need to show children in an entertaining
way the reality of the sea on our planet, teach the
essential principles of ocean literacy, to teach us
the importance of the ocean on Earth and
stimulate awareness as to how recycling is a viable
solution for the care of the environment.
"The ocean makes Earth habitable"
~ 58 ~
