Once upon a time, there were two goldfish. One was Pretzel, and one was Cheddar. One day, they were swimming by a coral reef, and they found an extra cheddar goldfish, who was Cheddar’s mom. Extra Cheddar said that Pretzel and Cheddar needed to take a nap.

When they were supposed to be napping, they were whispering and talking, and Pretzel said to Cheddar, “I wish we were rulers of the sea.”
Pretzel said, “Ooh, me too. I wonder how we can become rulers.”

After their nap, Cheddar’s mother sent them out to play in the playground, which was the coral reef. When they got to the playground, they found Pizza goldfish. Then, Pretzel said, “Pizza, I wish we were all rulers.”

“I agree, I wonder how we could become rulers,” Pizza said.

Pizza, Pretzel, and Cheddar swam around the reef to try to think of a way to become rulers. They couldn’t think of anything, but then Pizza goldfish said, “I thought of something. We can go back to our house and have a snack there and think. Maybe we’re swimming around too much and can’t think about becoming rulers.”

So they went back, but they just ran into Pizza-Pretzel goldfish, Pizza and Pretzel’s mom. They asked their mom if they could go back home and have a snack, and she said, “Yes.” Then, they sat at the kitchen table and thought. Cheddar had an idea that they could go the ruler of the sea so they could ask to become assistant rulers. Pizza and Pretzel went to their mom to ask if they could go see the ruler of the sea.

She said, “No, you guys have been asking too much. When you guys are older, you can go out on your own and ask.”

Cheddar, Pretzel, and Pizza were all sad, and they had to think, think, think. Pretzel had an idea. “How about Pizza and I tell our mom that our birthday is coming up soon and if we can go then because we’ll be older.”

They asked their mom, and she decided it was okay with her, but Cheddar couldn’t go because she was younger. Cheddar felt sad because she wasn’t allowed to go, but Pizza and Pretzel were allowed to. She swam slow.

Pizza had an idea so Cheddar could come along with them. Cheddar saved just enough money to buy five pairs of sock. Each pair one size larger than the other. They went to Cheddar’s house and asked if she could measure Cheddar again to see how much bigger she’d gotten. Then, Cheddar put on all the socks to make her look taller to her mom. Her mom said, “How many pairs of socks is that.”

Then, Cheddar pulled up the largest sock to cover the smaller socks and said, “Only one.”

Her mom said, “Let me measure those socks,” and she saw that they were way too big on Cheddar’s fin, and she asked to take off the sock. Cheddar pulled them all off at the same time, and they came inside out. Then, Cheddar’s mom said “Cheddddarrrr, go into the house and have a time-out for five minutes.”

Cheddar was so upset that she started crying.

Pizza and Pretzel were having a playdate at Cheddar’s house, and they ran out and tried to see if there was any way they could become rulers and then make Cheddar a ruler too. They went to the ruler’s castle, but the drawbridge was up, so they went back to Cheddar’s house. Cheddar’s mom was in the kitchen. “We are going up to Cheddar’s room,” Pretzel said. They were really just going out the back door. They went out, and they went to the ruler’s castle. The drawbridge was down, and they went inside.

They asked the ruler, “Can we please be rulers?”

“Yes, but you need to take a test to see if you can rule properly. And it’s a very hard test, and nobody has passed it but me.”

“We’ll take the test!” they all said at once.

“Here are the questions: If another army comes, what would you do?”

Pizza, Pretzel, and Cheddar talked, and Pizza said, “Ask your army to fight back.”

“Yes. What would you do if someone came to visit?”
They talked, and then Pretzel said, “Give them your guest room and make them feel very welcome.”

“Yes. Name three good rules for the kingdom.”

Cheddar said, “Look both ways before you cross the street.” Cheddar was really frustrated because she was having lots of trouble coming up with rules. Then, she said, “Be nice to others.” Last, she said, “You have to brush your teeth every morning.”

The ruler said yes to all of them. They all became rulers, and they all got a castle. The castles had a big dining room, a huge kitchen, an amazingly large living room, lots of bathrooms, and lots of bedrooms. There was one tower where the throne was. The throne was made of red velvet. Pizza, Pretzel, and Cheddar had the castle to themselves, but their parents got to stay with them. They were very happy that they became rulers.

In their kingdom, real goldfish lived. They ate seaweed and sand. Their supermarket was a very sandy and seaweed-y place. They watched movies, read books, and played with their friends. Every day, the little fish went to a school of fish, and the houses looked like bubbles. Pizza, Pretzel, and Cheddar were the best rulers ever.

The End