– А если нет? – выкрикнул с места Скумбик.

– Ну, тогда в нашей школе появится новое наглядное пособие по теме «Хищники и их зубы».

– Remember, minnows! Sharks are different.

–Blue and red, – Jocky sneered softly, so that only his classmate Mackerel could hear him.

Meanwhile, the teacher continued:

– There are very big sharks and small ones. And surprisingly, the larger they are…

– The scarier, – Jocky cried out from his place, – My dad told me that in warm seas there live enormous sharks, they are also called tiger sharks. They have such huge mouths that even one huge fish can swallow a whole school of fish at a time!

– Jocky, don’t shout! I have an excellent hearing. By the way, most fish can hear very well. Of course, unlike bipeds and quadrupeds walking around on the land, we don’t have ears. But fish have a built-in inner ear. We use it to perceive water fluctuations, including your chatter! – at these words, the teacher tapped her tail three times on the rocky bottom, calling the students to attention, shortly afterwards she continued:

– Needle, did you invite Mister Octopus to today’s lesson?

– Yes, of course. He is sitting in the corner, hiding.

– My friend, do me a favour, let out some ink, we need to write something down, – Miss Swallow turned to the guest, – and you children, dip your fins into ink clouds and write down: tiger sharks are not dangerous for fish, because they feed on plankton, which consists of small organisms that float freely in the water. Have you put it down? Then let’s continue.

Another feature of all sharks is replaceable teeth. They grow all the time, then fall out, but new ones appear instead of the old ones. Therefore, the bottom of the seas and oceans in their habitats is littered with used shark teeth…

The teacher did not finish the explanation because at that moment a big head of a fish appeared in the narrow crack which served as a door and snapped its mouth. Without delay all the gudgeons hid under the stone desks.

Only the calm teacher remained in her place.

– Kids, you can swim out safely and have no fear: believe me, it’s just an oxye. Big two-legged humans gave it this name. By the way, it’s not the name of the fish, but its structure. See for yourselves, – she picked up a stick from the bottom and began poking it at the uninvited guest.

– You see, the head is larger than the body and if it gets stuck, it will not be able to move any farther.

– And what is going to happen to this bull now? – the monitor asked, – can it swim backwards?

Miss Swallow once again tapped the stupid fish’s muzzle with the stick, – If it can swim in reverse, then it will gladly leave us and will keep in mind that you can’t swim into a place where you can’t get out!

– What if it fails to do it? Mackerel shouted from his place.

– Well, then our school will have a new visual aid on the topic «Predators and their teeth».