Christine finished her seafood snack and looked around for Old Ben. How did an octopus that big hide in a coral reef? That's right. Camouflage! He wasn't really hiding, Old Ben had simply changed is rubbery skin color to match the bright neon colors of the reef. Easy! Hmmm, Christine thought to herself, Maybe the orange octopus wasn't really missing after all. Maybe the orange octopus was hiding from someone or something and had camouflaged itself in an attempt to escape. Christine decided to ask Old Ben if he knew of a missing Orange Octopus. "Do you know of an Orange Octopus Old Ben? I'm looking for my friend Evangeline and an Orange Octopus was supposed to help me find her in time for our afternoon tea party, but I can't find either one!" "An Orange Octopus you say? Let me think. A long time ago I knew an Orange Octopus that lived near a wind-swept tide pool somewhere along Northern California's rocky shoreline. If you go to the place where the Monarch butterflies live in the winter, you will find her hiding in a crevice near urchins, anemones, and mussels, her favorite seafood. If Evangeline is looking for the Orange Octopus, you will surely find her there. Good luck Christine!" The bright purple octopus waved goodbye with all eight of his rubbery arms.
Christine took one last bite of her silvery seafood snack and turned to thank Neptune and Salacia for their hospitality. "Thank you for the delicious snack Neptune! I'm glad I had the chance to meet you, Salacia and Old Ben. Now maybe I will find my friend Evangeline!" "Goodbye Christine!" Neptune and Salacia were also waving goodbye to their little mermaid friend. "We hope you find Evangeline! Be sure to head north with the evening tide and you should arrive at the tidepools by morning." Christine grabbed a few silver fish for an evening snack, flipped her tail and swam away. She found the current and headed north, looking for the rocky shoreline the Orange Octopus called home. Christine swam and swam until she found a little girl tiptoeing her way carefully through mussels, anemones, and sea urchins. Christine looked around for an Orange Octopus that might be hiding from her or Evangeline. Just then she saw a small, rubbery brown tentacle in a crevice not too far from the ocean's surface and Christine gave it a quick tug to see if it was sticky like Old Ben's. "Aaack! It's the Orange Octopus! Don't attack me! I'm just a mermaid looking for my friend Evangeline!" Christine jumped back in fright, but the Orange Octopus sat there in its crevice. Just then, Christine saw the blurry face of a little girl above the water, her finger pointing towards the Orange Octopus. "Evangeline!" Christine shrieked and a thin trail of bubbles floated above her head in the ocean waves. Christine saw Evangeline's small face smiling at her and she started waving her arms wildly in greeting. "Christine! I finally found you and the Orange Octopus! The Orange Octopus didn't go missing, she was camouflaged against the rocky shoreline here at Natural Bridges State Beach! Now maybe we can have our underwater tea party!" Evangeline dove into the water and the two mermaids invited their Orange Octopus friend to show her "true colors" and join them for a silvery seafood snack at their most famous underwater tea party yet.
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