It was a quiet Saturday afternoon in Northumberland, England, when Ben Beska noticed an unusual orange shimmer in the middle of his backyard. The small, sparkly object stood out in a sea of green grass, and Beska could instantly tell something wasn’t right.
The homeowner walked over to the mysterious glimmering object and jumped. He was stunned to find a random goldfish lying in the center of his yard, seemingly unresponsive. Beska looked for signs of life, then immediately sprang into action.
“[She] was alive, I think, and [I] have absolutely no idea where [she] came from,” Beska wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “There’s no ponds anywhere near. So I took [her] inside …”
Beska didn’t plan on saving a fish that day, and as a cat dad, he didn’t have any of the necessary tools to care for her. The worried homeowner devised a temporary solution before running out to buy an emergency tank and water-regulating chemicals.
Beska filled an old freezer drawer with water, carefully placed the fish inside, and then waited for her to move. After a few painstaking moments, she finally wriggled back to life.
“[H]ere is what Alice looked like when she revived herself from the dead immediately after being saved,” Beska wrote on X.
You can watch that moment here:
I’m away from home so limited real-time fish updates but here is what Alice looked like when she revived herself from the dead immediately after being saved (feat. my freezer drawer and me tapping it because I was 90% sure she was dead) pic.twitter.com/rjhatUEGbQ
— Ben Beska (@Beska) June 3, 2024
Beska soon acquired a small tank and an array of chemicals to make the water more sustainable for the fish. He then named her Alice, inspired by a misspelled text celebrating her being alive.
The surprised rescuer wasn’t sure how Alice had landed on his lawn, or how long she’d been there waiting for someone to help. But commenters on Beska’s post have made guesses:
Beska moved Alice to her temporary tank, ensuring she was comfortable enough to regain her strength while he researched goldfish tanks. He never expected Alice to fall into his life, but he was instantly dedicated to making her a valued family member.
“[She’s] much happier in an actual and hastily bought tank,” Beska wrote on X. “Anyway, I have a fish now.”
Even Beska’s cat, Willow, welcomed Alice into the family soon after her arrival.
You can see Willow greet Alice here:
Given apparently I now need to tweet about fish exclusively, here is my cat Willow inquisitively meeting Alice (aka The Fish That Lived) for the first time this morning pic.twitter.com/eTsRy3WEaz
— Ben Beska (@Beska) June 2, 2024