Unit 3 Nature Connections
My Octopus Teacher
I returned to the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, where I had spent my childhood, after over 20 years of ____.
I went diving in the cold ____ off the coast of the Cape, and it was among the dense seaweed 5 forests where I met an octopus.
First ____
I saw a fish peacefully swimming ____ a heap of shells.
Suddenly, an ____ sprang from the heap and grabbed the fish.
Amazed at the cleverness of the ____, I swam a little closer, but it disappeared.
In fact, it had lifted a piece of seaweed, wrapped it around itself, and was staring at me out of a little ____.
What an ____ creature!
I wondered what would ____ if I kept watching it.
To see the world from the octopus’s perspective, I left a camera near the den and ____ visiting regularly.
I even ____ the environment around the den.
Expecting some drama to come, I ____.
Making Friends
The octopus became less scared as I ____ more often.
____ about a month, it came near me.
I put my hand out, and it reached ____ to me.
After another ____, it started to wave like a human friend saying, “Hi, I’m excited to see you.”
I kept still, and it covered my ____ hand.
Since I had to take a breath, I swam ____ the surface.
To my surprise, it rode on my ____ all the way to the top.
There I was, just staring ____ the eyes of this incredible creature.
It sparked my curiosity in a way that I ____ not experienced before.
____ I gained its trust?
I ____ reading books about octopuses, but I wanted to learn more about this marvelous creature.
The first ____ I learned was that “it” was a “she.”
Getting Closer
Danger in the form of ____ sharks, the area’s biggest predators, came with little warning in the sea.
The octopus was ____ around near the edge of the seaweed forest, and I saw a shark tracking her.
In an instant, she swam into a ____ to escape, but the shark was faster.
The ____ had taken a bite of one of her arms and was waiting for her.
I ____ to save my friend, but in this environment, I could only observe.
She managed to get deeper ____ the crack, but she was bleeding.
After a while, the shark lost interest, and the octopus used the opportunity to get back to her den, ____ one of her arms.
She was in serious danger because her arms function like the hands, legs, ____, and eyes of humans.
The next day, I was relieved to see that she had ____.
She was weak, and her ____ were not as bright.
I checked on her every day, ____ if that day would be the last.
It was emotionally painful to witness these things ____ to her.
Recovery, Growth, and Sacrifice
A short while ____, I saw that the wound had healed.
To my amazement, a little arm started to grow back, and she started to become ____ again.
I started to compare my life to life in the ____ sea.
I thought of ____ was valuable in life.
I ____ to spend more time with my family and friends, and I even started to dive with my young son.
He became ____ as interested in her as I was.
As the octopus’s arm became more functional, I ____ things in my life were improving too.
An octopus’s average life is ____ a year, which ends after reproducing.
One day, eight ____ after meeting her, I found her with another octopus.
It was bittersweet knowing her final days were approaching even ____ she would bear young.
After ____, she didn’t come out of her den.
____ would be no feeding or hunting.
She was timing her final moments for the hatching of her ____.
After the eggs hatched, she ____.
A few months later, my son ____ a little octopus.
We ____ her story continues on.
I fell in love with an octopus and the amazing ____ she represented.
I built a relationship with her and witnessed her life up to the final ____.
I ____ her from a perspective that I could not have had without this experience.
She was smart, sensitive, and strong, often going through rough and tough days just like ____ do.
Eventually, she committed herself to protecting the ____ of her young before she died.
As a ____ being, I found something noble in that sacrifice.
She was not simply an octopus; she was a part of this ____ just as I am a part of it now, and in that sense, we all have our own stories to tell.