Marvin the Manatee was swimming in the sea, when he stopped for some air at a quarter to three. From there he could see a great length of the beach, and a crying young boy who was just out of reach.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, “Can't find your niche?”
“You're just an animal,” the boy replied. “What could you possibly teach?”
“Animal?” Marvin cried. “Prepare for a speech!”
“My brain may be small, comparatively, but it still helps me do whatever I need! Calling manatees dumb seems to be the norm, but having a small brain and large body is just to stay warm!”
“But look at your eyes!” yelled the boy. “You can hardly see!”
“That may be true, but I can see what I need. Hearing and feeling are most important to me. My whiskers detect the water’s changes in pressure, and I can hear sounds your ears couldn't measure.”
“But you have no front teeth! How do you eat? And you don't even have legs with which to take a seat!”
“Seat, my boy? But who needs a seat? Let’s compete for some seaweed— and see who get's beat!”
“You're on!” yelled the boy as he leapt into the water. “I'll beat you easy, in the name of my father!”
They sank beneath the waves and swam deeper and deeper. Unable to breath, the boy remained eager, but when he returned to the surface his bounty was meager.
“I couldn't grab an ounce,” he said. “I bet you couldn't either!”
“I ate a whole pound,” laughed Marvin, “and didn't rush either!”
“But that cannot be! You must be a cheater.”
“It's evolution, you see, why I'm the better eater. And make no mistake, I'm no cheater either. It's my features, you see, why you couldn't out eat me. But on land my friend, you would surely defeat me. We are different all over, from your hair to your feetsies, but a time long ago, ours were both the same species.
It took many many years for these changes to show, but over time, a little change can grow and grow and grow. Our ancestors crept on land, if only for moments, a skill that bested their lowly opponents.
Their descendants and the next practiced leaving the water, the best suited for the task would always get farther. Bigger lungs were a plus, so that they could breathe, and four legs of course, to stroll where they need. You'll find that each species is constantly changing, and a creature must succeed for its traits to be remaining. The traits that let a creature get what it needs, will surely be passed down to each of its seeds. Different challenges exist wherever you may be, and this is why our traits branch, much like the trees!
I have replaceable molars for grinding up seaweed, and you have your teeth for eating whatever you eat. I use feeling and hearing to get what I'm seeking, but when it comes to vision I admit I'm a weakling. But vision is a chore in such murky water, if you had to live like me, I'd say: don't bother! You are built to think and run across the sand, while I’m built to swim and will surely never stand.”
The boy bent to the sand and lifted a fruit with one hand. “Tell me” he said, “Am I related to this papaya?”
“Perhaps” said Marvin, “But our closest relative is Eomaia. She was the first of all of the placental mammals, and from there we branched into our own separate channels. Australopithecusʼs hips made you bipedal, for running and jumping. Iʼm related to elephants, now isn't that something!? My ancestors lived on land but thought the water was hipper, so sure enough my hind legs soon became flippers. You developed your brain so that you could think, while I grew heavy bones so that I could sink!”
“So what's your big point? Just skip to the end! You tell me all this just so that we’ll be friends?”
“Just because manatees reside in the sea, you and I are still cousins, like the elephants and me. It was your own feelings that I was trying to mend. And whether you like it or not we're family, not friends.”
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