Guppy Mouth
One day, the school day was drawing to a close.
"Have a great day, you guys!" said Mr. Grouper as the students left. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
As the other kids went their separate ways, Gil and Goby went home together, and Goby saw some empty Coca-Cola bottles on the ground.
"Hey, look!" said Goby.
Gil saw it, too.
"Don't people know how to take care of the planet?" asked Gil. "Come on, let's pick them up."
With that, the boys gathered the bottles and put them in a nearby recycling bin just as Officer Miranda walked by.
"Good job, boys." said Officer Miranda with a smile.
"Thanks." said Goby.
Officer Miranda then left, and Gil saw Goby looking at some grafitti on a dumpster.
"Hey, Gil, come look at this!" said Goby.
Gil approached Goby and together they looked at the graffiti on the dumpster.
"Long Live Elvis!" Goby read. "Wait. Who's Elvis?"
"I think they mean the famous rock singer Elvis Presley." said Gil.
"Oh, gotcha." said Goby. "What else is there?"
"Yo mama's so stupid she returned a donut because it had a hole in it!" Goby read.
The two laughed.
"Ooh! Here's one more!" said Gil. "Mr. Grouper is a (duck quack)."
A passerby snail heard what Gil said and walked up to him and Goby.
"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" asked the snail.
"Um, no?" said Gil.
The snail went along his way, and Gil turned to Goby.
"What do you think this word means?" asked Gil.
"I've heard it's something called a sentence enhancer." said Goby. "You add it to any sentence and it makes it fancier."
"Oh, nice." said Gil. "Let's try it!"
Gil then cleared his throat.
"Nice (duck quack) day we're having, isnt it?" Gil asked.
"Why, yes it is, Gil." said Goby. "This (duck quack) day is particularly (duck quack) lovely!"
"How (duck quack) right you are, Goby!" said Gil.
The two said the word a couple of more times.
"Man, my mouth is getting tired from saying it." said Gil.
"Mine, too." said Goby.
The two laughed and went home. The next day, Gil came into the school.
"Hello, guys, nice (duck quack) day we're having, huh?" asked Gil.
The other Guppies stared at Gil in shock.
"Did he just say what I think he said?" Molly whispered in Oona's ear.
"I think he did." Oona whispered back.
Gil then went over to Goby.
"Hey, Goby." said Gil. "How the (duck quack) are you?"
"Pretty (duck quack) good." said Goby.
Nonny couldn't believe what he was saying.
"I thought this was a schoolhouse, not a gutter mouth convention." Nonny said to himself.
Later, at recess, Gil and Goby were on the merry-go-round.
"Yahoo!" Gil cheered. "This is (duck quack) fun!"
"You (duck quack) said it!" said Goby.
Molly, Deema, Oona, and Nonny were shocked at what they heard.
"Come on, guys." said Molly. "Let's get outta here."
The girls went back inside just as Mr. Grouper came outside.
"What the?" said Mr. Grouper. "Where the heck is everyone?"
"Apparently, Gil and Goby learned a new word and said it out loud." said Nonny.
"I see." said Mr. Grouper. "What was this word, exactly?"
Nonny whispered the word in Mr. Grouper's ear. Mr. Grouper was shocked.
"Well, I never." said Mr. Grouper. "Gil, Goby, come over here, please."
"Yes, Mr. Grouper?" asked Gil as he and Goby went over to him while Nonny went back inside.
"I heard you boys were using some colorful language." said Mr. Grouper. "I'm quite surprised at you both."
"But we were only using our fancy sentence enhancers." said Gil.
"There's nothing fancy about that word." said Mr. Grouper.
"You mean (duck quack)?" asked Goby.
"Yes, that one." said Mr. Grouper. "Now, please stop saying that. It's a bad word."
"Bad word?!" Gil and Goby gasped.
The two then started to wipe their tongues.
"Indeed." said Mr. Grouper. "And that's only Number 11. There's 13 bad words you two should never use."
"Don't you mean there's only 7?" Nonny asked.
"Not if you're a fish." said Mr. Grouper with a laugh.
"Wow, 13." said Gil.
"Okay, you two, listen up." said Mr. Grouper. "I want you two to promise me you'll never say that word again."
"We promise." said Gil.
"Good." said Mr. Grouper. "Now, how about you join the others for story time?"
Later, Gil and Goby were at Gil's house watching TV in his room.
"Gee, I'm so glad Mr. Grouper told us we were using a bad word!" said Gil.
"Me too." said Goby. "Otherwise, we would've said it right in front of our parents."
"Yeah." said Gil. "Hey, wanna play Battleship?"
"Sure." said Goby.
With that being said, Gil got the game out of his closet, set it up, and the game soon began.
"B-3." said Gil.
"Miss." said Goby. "G-6."
"Oh!" Gil said. "You hit my patrol boat!"
Goby laughed.
"G-7." said Goby.
"Ah, (duck quack)!" Gil shouted.
Gil then covered his mouth when he realized his mistake.
"Oooooh!" said Goby. "You said Number 11!"
Gil was so shocked by what he just said that he started babbling.
"I didn't mean... you gotta understand, Goby... I was trying... what I meant to say was... some things just slip out. You gotta understand!" said Gil.
"Don't worry, Gil." said Goby. "I understand."
There was a pause.
"Mr. Grouper!" Goby shouted.
Goby then ran outside.
"Mr. Grouper! Mr. Grouper! Mr. Grouper!" Goby shouted as he swam toward the school, followed by Gil.
"No, wait, Goby!" Gil shouted as he swam after his friend.
Gil eventually caught up to Goby.
"Goby, no, please don't tell!" Gil cried.
"But, you said (duck quack)!" Goby said.
Goby then covered his mouth.
"Aha!" Gil said. "Now I'm gonna tell Mr. Grouper on you!"
"Not if I tell first!" said Goby.
"I can swim faster than you!" laughed Gil.
But Gil then saw Goby riding in an ice cream truck.
"See you at school!" Goby said with a laugh.
But the truck then went the wrong way, much to Goby's dismay.
"Oh, no!" Goby cried.
Gil laughed, and soon reached the school.
"Mr. Grouper, Mr. Grouper, Mr. Grouper!" Gil said.
"What, what, what?" asked Mr. Grouper.
"Goby, Goby, Goby!" said Gil.
"Yes, yes, yes?" asked Mr. Grouper.
"He said, he said, he said!" said Gil.
"Out with it, Gil!" said Mr. Grouper.
Gil spoke fast.
"Me and Goby were playing Battleship and he sank my PT boat and then we ran and Goby, he said some things." said Gil.
"What kind of things?" asked Mr. Grouper.
"Well, he said... " said Gil.
"Yes?!" asked Mr. Grouper.
"Well, uh, let's just say he said a certain word you said we shouldn't say, and this particular word happens to be Number 11 in the 13 words you said shouldn't be said." said Gil.
"Uh...Right." said Mr. Grouper. "Now what was that part about the, um... Who now?"
Just then, Goby came in eating a fudge bar. After eating it, he threw away the stick.
"Mr. Grouper, Mr. Grouper, Mr. Grouper!" Goby said.
Mr. Grouper sighed.
"He said that word you said we shouldn't say!" said Gil and Goby at the same time.
"Number thirteen." said Gil.
The two then babbled on about the word while Mr. Grouper stared on disapprovingly. The two then just pointed at each other yelling "Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah!". Finally, Mr. Grouper had had enough of this nonsense and he grabbed their lips to quiet them down.
"Mmm-mmm!" the two shouted.
"Now, I'm gonna let go of your lips, and when I do, I want you to calmly tell me what you need to tell me, understand?" asked Mr. Grouper.
"Mmm-hmm." said Gil and Goby.
Mr. Grouper then let go of the boys' lips, which deflated, then reinflated. Then they pointed at each other again.
"He said (duck quack)!" the boys shouted.
Mr. Grouper gasped.
"Do my ears deceive me?!" Mr. Grouper asked. "You two should be ashamed! Time to take out the trash."
Mr. Grouper then took them outside.
"You two need to be taught a lesson." said Mr. Grouper. "I thought I made it clear. Never, and I mean, never use number 11 or any of the 13 bad words! Now the both of you wait right here."
Mr. Grouper then went inside.
"What's gonna happen to us?" asked Goby.
"Maybe we're gonna get spanked!" said Gil.
"Oh, no!" Goby cried.
"I'm sorry, Goby." said Gil. "Mr. Grouper was right. There's no need for words like that."
"I'm sorry, too, Gil." said Goby.
"Let's make a vow, Goby." said Gil. "From this day onwards, a foul word shall never pass our lips! We'll be good citizens, just like Mr. Grouper!"
"Agreed!" said Goby as he shook hands with Gil.
Mr. Grouper then came out with a ladder, cans of paint, and paint rollers.
"Alright, you two foul mouths." said Mr. Grouper. "As punishment for using that word over and over despite me telling you not too, you're going to give the school a fresh coat of paint from top to bottom."
Mr. Grouper then hit his tail on a rock.
"Ow, Ooh! Ow!" Mr. Grouper shouted. "My (duck quack) tail! What (duck quack) genius put a (duck quack) rock in a (duck quack) path?! Can't you see I got a (Ten Cents' whistle from TUGS) tail here?!"
Mr. Grouper continued to rant, and Gil counted all the bad words on a tally counter. When Mr. Grouper was done, the boys realized something.
"That's all thirteen, Gil!" Goby cried.
Gil gasped.
"We're gonna tell your mom, Mr. Grouper!" said Gil.
"No, please, not my mommy!" mr. Grouper cried.
Gil and Goby then swam off, laughing, followed by Mr. Grouper.
"Wait, please don't tell my mother!" Mr. Grouper shouted. "I don't think her little old heart can take it!"
Soon, they reached Mr. Grouper's mother's house and Gil and Goby repeatedly banged on the door.
"Mama Grouper, Mama Grouper!" they both said.
The door opened, and Mama Grouper, who looked almost like Mr. Grouper, except she had horn-rimmed glasses and wore a purple shawl and had curly gray hair, came outside.
"Why, hello there!" said Mama Grouper.
Gil, Goby, and Mr. Grouper then explained to Mama Grouper the situation at the same time, swearing numerous times as they did so.
"Mama Grouper, he said (duck quack), then then he said (duck quack) again and said (duck quack) and then he screamed at the top of his voice (air horn)!" said Gil. "And he-(acme whistle)-Mrs. Grouper, he didn't care! Such a stream of (frog croaks, air horn, and alarm clock ringing) I have never heard in my days!"
Mama Grouper was shocked.
"Oh, dear! My poor old heart." said Mama Grouper.
Mama Grouper then fainted. Mr. Grouper gasped.
"Oh, dear Mother!" said Mr. Grouper. "What have these foul-mouthed heathens done to you? You two should be ashamed! Making an old lady faint with your sailor talk!"
Mama Grouper woke up.
"You should all be ashamed." said Mama Grouper. "And if you're gonna talk like sailors, then you're gonna work like sailors."
The scene then transfered to show Gil, Goby, and Mr. Grouper painting the house while Mama Grouper watched.
"I guess you three naughty boys have earned a glass of lemonade." said Mama Grouper.
Mama Grouper chuckled and went inside, but she stubbed her tail fin on a rock.
"Yeeeoww!" Mama Grouper shouted. "My (truck horn) tail!"
Gil and Goby gasped.
"Mother!" Mr. Grouper cried.
"What?" asked Mama Grouper. "It's just the garbage truck."
The watched as the garbage truck drove by.
"Howdy, Mrs. G!" the driver shouted.
Gil, Goby, Mr. Grouper, and Mama Grouper all laughed, and Gil and Goby learned their lesson about using foul language, and they went home after they finished painting the house.
"You know, Gil, I guess we learned something else today." said Goby.
"What?" asked Gil.
"If you can't do the time, don't do the crime." said Goby.
"Yeah." said Gil.
The two friends continued swimming home just as the scene irised out.
THE END