As Promised- The Loch Ness Monster

My Science Project and the Loch Ness Monster

Dear Teacher,

There is an excellent reason why my science project is gone, but you are not going to believe me.  It involves my annoying siblings and their antics, my family’s ill-timed vacation to Scotland, and… the Loch Ness Monster.  I know it sounds crazy, but for you to fully understand I must tell the whole story.

About two weeks ago, my parents randomly decided to take a week and a half long family vacation to Scotland.  I was excited for the trip of course, but I was also worried about completing my science project, which was due in two weeks, on the various microscopic organisms that resided in the lake and creeks near my home.  Collecting samples of the water in my area would not take me long at all, but I needed to analyze all of my data and create larger-than-life size models of the organisms that I identified.

When I complained about this inconvenience to my parents, they simply told me that we would be visiting Loch Ness on our trip and suggested that I turn my project into a comparison between the microscopic organisms here at home and the microscopic organisms in the Scottish Highlands.  I was going to protest further, but I realized their idea was genius!

I packed all of the supplies that I would need to work on my project during our trip.  I made sure that I had my plastic test tubes for storing samples, crafting materials for making models, and my shiny, white, microscope.  I was all ready to go.

Five days later, after touring many other Scottish attractions, our cherry red rental car pulled up to our final destination.   Urquhart Castle stood on the western shore of Loch Ness.  The castle was beautiful in the light of the setting sun!  It was situated in the rolling, lush green hills of the Scottish Highlands and had a lovely view of the dark, murky blue waters of Loch Ness.  I could see in my mind’s eye how splendid the stone castle must have been back in the mid-1200s.  Its courtyards would have been filled with people, and the gray-brown walls would have towered above the hills and water.  Now the once majestic walls were crumbling, and that day we were the only people visiting the castle.

My parents went into the main part of the castle to look around, while my two younger brothers ran off to do their own thing somewhere along the water’s edge.  While I was excited to see the castle, we would be spending a few hours there, and I was eager to get down to the water and collect my samples before it got too dark.  I had heard tales that the Loch Ness Monster came out to hunt at night.  I was almost positive that this story was only a superstition, but just in case, I was not taking any chances.

I had gotten my project out of our car, so that, while my family was finishing touring the castle, I could continue working on creating the models of organisms that I had found earlier in the week.  I perched this on the top of a crumbling wall that stood near the Loch so that I would have both hands free for collecting samples of the water.  As I was bending down to dip some water into one of my plastic vials, a fish flew past my ear and into the Loch!  My brothers were standing on the bank above me, laughing mischievously.  My youngest brother Drake complained “Freddie, you missed her!  You said you could hit her on the first try.  Let me throw one!  I won’t miss.”

While my two brothers alternately argued with each other and hurled fish at me, I was desperately planning my escape.  Suddenly I heard the sound of a slimy fish making contact with a nearby object and then the splash of something larger than a fish hitting the water.  “Finally, you hit her!”  Freddie crowed.
“No, he did not hit me!”  I informed Freddie.

“I just knocked whatever was sitting on that wall into the water,”  Drake grumbled.
I stood in stunned silence for a few seconds as it occurred to me that my brothers had knocked my science project into Loch Ness.  I screeched furiously and unwittingly dove in after it.  The water was freezing!  I remembered reading somewhere that the temperature of Loch Ness was about forty-two degrees Fahrenheit all year.  Despite the cold temperature, I was determined to get my project back.  It was now dark, but the moon was shining brightly.  I could just make out the majority of my project floating about twenty feet ahead of me.  I started swimming as fast as I could towards my damaged project.  As I neared it, I noted with dismay that it was completely covered in fish parts, and chunks of my models had broken off.

I was salvaging what I could of my project when I suddenly felt myself being propelled farther away from shore.  A few seconds later, a huge, menacing, green head appeared out of the water.  It was Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, and I was stranded on her back!  I was so terrified that when I opened my mouth to scream no sound emerged.  I sat wide-eyed and open mouthed for about a minute wondering why Nessie did nothing but regard me curiously with her big blue eyes.  I gulped and timidly inquired of her, “A-a-are you N-Nessie?”  My voice shook both from fear, and the freezing water that was dripping off my body.  In response to my question, the Loch Ness Monster grunted softly and slowly blinked her eyes.  I took that as a yes.

Because Nessie did not seem much like the fierce monster I had heard about, I decided that I would risk asking her to return me to shore.  My request was met with two rapid blinks and a grunt.  I was not sure what that meant and was about to repeat my request, when Nessie turned around and began swimming back towards the castle.

A few minutes later, Nessie had deposited me safely on shore.  As she turned to leave, I noticed my science project sitting on the bridge of her long muzzle.  “Nessie, wait!” I called, “My science project is on your nose.”  Before I could utter another word, Nessie crossed her eyes comically and realized that my fish covered science project was indeed perched on her nose.  A delighted light appeared in her eyes, and she jerked her head in a way that sent my project flying high above her.  She then proceeded to catch it in her mouth, chew slowly, and swallow.  Nessie blinked happily, blew on me with her stinky, fish scented breath, in thanks I believe, and slowly swam off into the night.

That is the story of how the Loch Ness Monster, who is not actually as monstrous as people think, ate my science project.  You may not believe me, but I know that Nessie is undeniably real and my science project is currently being digested inside of her stomach.