The Magic Eyes of Little Crab
Little Crab had magic eyes. He could make his eyes pop out of his head and go flying over the ocean and then fly back and pop into his head again.
He would call, “Little Eyes, Little Eyes, Sail out over the Deep Blue Sea.”
Little Crab’s eyes would pop out of his head and sail out over the Deep Blue Sea. Little Crab’s eyes could see and sandy bottoms near the shore and dark waters far out. They could see colorful fish swimming around coral reefs and more. Then Little Crab would call out, “Little Eyes, Little Eyes, Sail back over the Deep Blue Sea.” His eyes would sail back and pop into his head again. It was a good game.
One day when Little Crab was playing, Jaguar walked up behind him. Little Crab called, “Little Eyes, Little Eyes, Sail out over the Deep Blue Sea.” Little Crab’s eyes popped out of his head and sailed out of the Deep Blue Sea. Jaguar heard Little Crab say, “Ooh, how pretty!”
Little Crab said, “Little Eyes, Little Eyes, Sail back over the Deep Blue Sea.” His eyes sailed back again and popped back into his head again. Jaguar watched in amazement. The eyes sailed back and popped into Little Crab’s head again!
Jaguar asked, “Little Crab, What are you doing?
“I am playing my eye sailing game,” answered Little Crab. “I can make my eyes pop out of my head and sail out over the deep blue sea and come back again. I see beautiful things when I do this.”
“Little Crab, please let me see you do it again,” begged the Jaguar.
So Little Crab said, “Little Eyes, Little Eyes, Sail out over the Deep Blue Sea.” His eyes went POP and popped out of his head and flew away.
“Tell me what you see,” said Jaguar.
“I see sandy bottoms near the shore and dark waters far out. I see colorful fish swimming around the coral reef,” said Little Crab.
“Bring your eyes back again,” said Jaguar.
Little Crab said, “Little Eyes, Little Eyes, Sail back over the Deep Blue Sea.” His eyes sailed back and popped back into his head again.
“That looks like fun,” said Jaguar. “Little Crab, do it to me!”
“I could,” said Little Crab, “But I won’t. It’s too dangerous! Out in the sea there lives a big fish called the Oonhaloonka fish. The Oonhaloonka fish might jump out of the water and swallow your eyes.
“I’m not afraid of a silly fish,” said Jaguar. “You make my eyes go sailing, or you’ll be
S-O-R-R-Y!” said the Jaguar.
So Little Crab called out, “Jaguars Eyes, Jaguar’s Eyes, Sail out Over the Deep Blue Sea.” Jaguar’s eyes popped out of his head and sailed out over the Deep Blue Sea.
“It’s beautiful,” said Jaguar. I can see the sandy bottoms near the shore and the dark waters far out and the colorful fish swimming around the coral reef.”
Then Little Crab called out, “Jaguar’s Eyes, Jaguar’s Eyes, Sail back over the Deep Blue Sea.” The eyes sailed back and popped back into Jaguar’s head again.
“That was wonderful,” said Jaguar. “Do it again!”
“I could, but I won’t,” said Little Crab. “It’s too dangerous. The Oonhaloonka fish might jump out of the water and swallow your eyes.
“I’m not afraid of a silly fish,” said Jaguar. “You make my eyes go sailing, or you’ll be
S-O-R-R-Y!” said the Jaguar.
So Little Crab called out, “Jaguars Eyes, Jaguar’s Eyes, Sail out Over the Deep Blue Sea.” Jaguar’s eyes popped out of his head and sailed out over the Deep Blue Sea.
But just then the Oonhaloonka fish jumped out of the water and swallowed Jaguar’s eyes.
“Little Crab, I can’t see. Everything is dark. What happened? Bring back my eyes!” said Jaguar.
“I can’t,” said Little Crab. “They must have been swallowed by the Oonhaloonka fish.
“Bring back my eyes, or you will be sorry!” yelled Jaguar. But Little Crab backed under a rock and hid.
Jaguar began to run around bumping into things and crying in anger. Vulture saw him and flew down and asked, “Jaguar, why are you crying?”
“I am crying because Little Crab took my eyes away, and he will not bring them back!”
Vulture said, “I will bring you new eyes if you promise to always help me find food.”
The Jaguar agreed right away, and the Vulture flew away to find two colorful blueberries. He popped the berries into Jaguar’s eyes, and Jaguar could see like before.
“Thank you vulture,” said the Jaguar. “From now on, whenever I, or any member of my family, kill an animal for food, we will leave part of the meat and bones and the carcass for you and your family to eat.”
To this day, Jaguars still leave part of their food for the vultures, and to this day, crabs still hide under rocks along the beaches of the world.
Note: Gratitude is expressed to Margaret Read MacDonald for allowing me to share her earlier version of “Little Crab and His Magic Eyes” from Twenty Tellable Tales, 1986.