Written in protest to the continuous and futile "beach replenishment" projects at Bethany Beach, DE and published in The Wave, of Bethany Beach.

Once upon a time in a place close by, some people found a lovely place to live along the ocean's edge. They played in its waters and lay on its beaches. They liked it so much that they built a small town where they could spend all summer along the ocean's edge.

The people learned many things about the ocean, but they only remembered one -- that it was fun to play in the water and to lie on its beaches. They loved doing this so much that they built hotels, restaurants, cottages and apartment houses right on the beach. This way they could see the water and sand from their tables and beds and could charge the tourists a lot of money.

Now, the beaches are the ocean's skin. The ocean squirms and stretches and its skin stretches with it. At first the ocean didn't notice the peoples' buildings and bulkheads. It only felt a little pinprick on its skin. But, one day the ocean noticed the little town and the little stick buildings on its beaches.

"What manner of animal has done this?" wondered the ocean. "In, along and over my waters live thousands of species of fish, birds and animals, some with brains smaller than the smallest grain of sand on my beaches. Even they know that they must live by my nature, must follow my tides and currents. This animal thinks it can defy my nature."

And the more the ocean thought about the foolish animal who built on its beaches, the funnier it seemed. And the ocean began to laugh. When the ocean laughed its waters roiled and its winds blew. The ocean laughed and laughed, and the waves and wind came up on its beaches and swept away the hotels and restaurants and cottages and apartments.

After that the ocean became too busy with other things to notice what had happened to the little town, but the people of the town were angry.

"Why has this happened to us?" they asked. They met in the town council to decide what to do about it.

Some men who studied the ocean and its nature came and told them that building on the ocean's skin was a really bad idea. But the people said, "What do we care of science? If we wanted science we'd be a university! We are a resort. What we want are tourists." And they sent the scientists away.

Then the people who "owned" the "land" on the ocean's skin came and said, "We own the places that were damaged, not the ocean. If you want people to come and spend money in our hotels and shops, you will have to put a beach in front of our new buildings. Build a new beach out into the ocean and everything will be good again."

The people of the town listened and thought, "How wise these people are! They are so wise that they are right now building walls of sticks to hold the ocean away from its beach. We'll do as they say."

Then the people went back to their cottages and thought, "Surely we are the smartest of people, and people are the smartest of all the creatures on earth."

(Please don't read this last part anywhere near the ocean. We'd hate to have it start to laugh!)