Two goldfish given flaming Viking burial boat send off by Orkney primary schoolchildren https://t.co/Qde08SY7AEpic.twitter.com/uy120swxDI
— BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) March 1, 2017
Most people could only be so lucky as to receive the kind of funeral that two goldfish in the Scottish isle of Orkney were given by some elementary school kids (or primary school, as they say there) who were learning about Vikings.
The pair of classroom mascots, Bubbles and Freddy, belonged to the 3rd and 4th grade classes of the Papdale School in the town of Kirkwall, according to the BBC. The fish had been with the students for a few months, but died about a week before the kids were due to learn about the Vikings, so it was decided that they would send the pets to Valhalla with a Viking funeral.
As they shared on their classroom blog, the students created a small fleet of miniature boats to send off the deceased, fashioning coffin boats out of cereal boxes and egg crates. They also wrote and recited their favorite memories about Bubbles and Freddy. Finally, they led a funeral procession to a nearby stream where the boats were put in the water, and the lead vessel was set on fire (it’s unclear whether the actual fish bodies were aboard).
May Bubbles and Freddy forever swim in the halls of their warrior heaven.