PROLOGUE

In the warm tropical waters off the coast of Australia, two clownfish swam at the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. Here the ocean was a place of brightly colored anemones, towering corals, and delicate sea plants. But just beyond the reef was the vast open sea.

'Yes, honey. It's beautiful,' a clownfish named Coral said nervously to her husband, Marlin. 'When you said you wanted an ocean view, you didn't think you were gonna get the whole ocean, did you?' 'Oh, yeah. A fish can breathe out here,' Marlin boasted.

He grinned. The edge of the Great Barrier Reef! He couldn't think of a better spot to make their new home.

'I know that the Drop-off is desirable, with the great schools and the amazing view and all that. But do we really need so much space?' Although Coral loved her new anemone home, she was a bit cautious about the location near the open sea, with its unpredictable dangers.

'Coral, honey. Our kids deserve the best,' Marlin said. 'They'll wake up, poke their little heads out of the window, and they'll see a whale passing right by.'

'Shhh! You're gonna wake the kids,' Coral whispered. They gazed inside the cozy cave just below the anemone, where hundreds of tiny fish eggs nestled close together—Marlin and Coral's children.

Marlin couldn't wait for their babies to hatch. He wanted to show his children all the sights of the glorious ocean.

'We still have to name them,' Coral said. Marlin puffed up with pride and drew an imaginary line down the center of the group of eggs with his fin. 'We'll name this half Marlin junior and this half Marlene.'

'I like Nemo,' Coral said.

'Nemo?' Marlin repeated. 'Well, we'll name one Nemo.'

Coral looked over at Marlin wistfully. 'Just think,' she said. 'In a couple of days we're going to be parents.'

'What if they don't like me?' Marlin said.

'There's over four hundred eggs. Odds are one of them is bound to like you,' Coral teased.

Marlin stared at her and shyly asked: 'You remember how we met?'

'Well, I try not to,' Coral replied.

Marlin playfully chased his wife in and out of the anemone. 'I remember.' he said. ' ‘Excuse me, miss. Could you check and see if I have a hook in my lip? Oh, you gotta look closer.' '

Coral laughed and swam out of the anemone to avoid getting caught by her husband. Marlin poked his head out of the anemone and was startled to find that the neighborhood was eerily quiet. He spotted Coral, who was motionless, staring into the water at a hungry barracuda.

'Get inside the house, Coral,' he whispered. But Coral didn't want to leave her babies exposed. She darted for the grotto, but was too slow—the barracuda reached her as she entered the cave.

Marlin slammed against the barracuda, trying desperately to save his wife. But with a quick swish of its tail, the barracuda batted Marlin against some rocks. Dazed, Marlin floated down into the protective fronds of an anemone.

After the sand had settled, Marlin came to with a start and bolted out of the anemone.

'Coral?' he called.

There was no answer. He peered inside the grotto. Empty. He squinted into the vast blue water.

Nothing.

Coral was gone. The eggs were gone.

Marlin couldn't believe this was happening! In the space of a few minutes, his life had been changed forever. His family was gone. He shook his head. He felt like it was his fault. He shouldn't have insisted they live by the Drop-off. As he sadly turned away, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

Lying on a small ledge not far away was one tiny egg. It was damaged with a small scratch. But the egg was alive. Alive!

Marlin cradled the egg in his fin. 'There, there. Daddy's here. And I promise, I will never let anything happen to you . . .' He paused a moment, then called the egg by name.

'Nemo.'

序　幕

在澳大利亚海岸温暖的热带海域中，两条小丑鱼在大堡礁的边缘游来游去。这片海里有鲜艳的海葵，高耸的珊瑚和纤细的海草。但是，在大堡礁的另一面，则是广阔无垠的公海。

“是的，亲爱的，真的很美，”小丑鱼珊珊紧张地跟丈夫马林说道，“你说想要海景房的时候，可没想到能拥有整个大海，是不是?”“哦，没错。这里可是鱼的自由天地。”马林自我吹嘘着。

他咧着嘴笑了。大堡礁的边缘！把他们的新家安在这里，再好不过了。

“我知道住在峭壁这里会很舒服，学校很棒，风景也很美，等等。但是我们真的需要这么大的房子吗?”虽然珊珊也喜欢自己崭新的海葵屋，但是这位置靠近公海，危险难以预料，她不免有点小心翼翼。

“珊珊，亲爱的，我们的孩子应该拥有最好的东西，”马林说，“当他们醒来，把小脑袋探出窗口，就可以看见鲸鱼恰好游过。”

“嘘！你会吵醒孩子们的。”珊珊轻声地说。他们凝视着海葵下面温暖舒适的洞穴，几百颗小小的鱼卵紧紧地偎依在一起——他们是马林和珊珊的孩子。

马林巴不得他们的宝宝们快点出来。他想把一切壮丽的海景都展现给孩子们。

“我们还得给他们起名字呢。”珊珊说。马林得意扬扬，用自己的鳍在鱼卵的中心点画了一条想象出来的线。“这一半叫小马林，这一半叫小玛琳。”

“我喜欢尼莫。”珊珊说。

“尼莫?”马林重复了一遍，“好吧，有一个叫尼莫吧。”

珊珊用期待的眼神注视着马林。“想想吧，”她说，“过不了几天，我们就要当爸爸妈妈了。”

“他们要是不喜欢我怎么办?”马林说。

“这里有四百多个卵呢。按概率来算，总有一个会喜欢你的。”珊珊取笑道。

马林瞪了她一眼，害羞地问：“你还记得我们是怎么认识的吗?”

“嗯，我正想忘了呢。”珊珊回答。

马林调皮地追着自己的妻子，在海葵里钻进钻出。“我记得。”他说道，“‘打搅了，小姐。你能帮我看看我嘴唇上是不是有个鱼钩吗？哦，你得靠近一点’。”

珊珊大笑起来，钻出了海葵，免得被丈夫抓住。马林把脑袋探出海葵，吃惊地发现周围安静得让人害怕。他看到珊珊一动不动地注视着这片水域里一条饥肠辘辘的梭鱼。

“快进屋，珊珊。”他悄悄地说。但是珊珊不想暴露她的宝宝们。她飞速向岩洞冲去，但是太慢了——她进洞时被梭鱼抓住了。

马林狠狠地撞击梭鱼，想不顾一切地拯救自己的妻子。但是，梭鱼用尾巴迅速一甩，就把马林摔到了礁石上。马林晕晕乎乎地往下漂，一直漂到海葵的保护触手里。

等沙子沉淀下来，马林才猛然苏醒，急匆匆地冲出海葵。

“珊珊?”他大叫道。

无人应答。他往岩洞里面张望，空空的。他眯起眼睛注视着这片浩瀚的蓝色海水。

什么也没有。

珊珊不见了。鱼卵不见了。

马林无法相信刚刚发生的这一切！不过短短的几分钟，他的生活就永远地改变了。他的家没了。他摇了摇头。他觉得这都是他的错。他原本就不该坚持住在峭壁。正当他伤心地转身离开时，眼角的余光瞟到了某个东西。

不远处有个小小的暗礁，上面躺着一颗小小的鱼卵。鱼卵上有条小小的划痕。但是鱼卵还活着。还活着！

马林用他的鳍轻轻地捧起这颗鱼卵。“好了，好了。爸爸在这儿。我保证，不会让你再出任何意外了……”他停顿了一会儿，然后开始呼唤这颗鱼卵的名字。

“尼莫。”