The Little Black Fish
By Samad Behrangi
It was
the coldest night of the winter. At the bottom of the sea an
old fish gathered together 12,000 of her children and
grandchildren and began to tell them a story: Once upon a
time a little black fish lived with its mother in a stream
which rose out of the rocky walls of a mountain and flowed
into a valley. Their home was behind a black, moss-covered
rock, under which both of them slept at night. The little
fish longed to see the moonlight in their home just once.
From morning till evening, the mother and child swam after
each other. Sometimes they joined other fish and rapidly
darted in and out of small places. The little fish was an
only child, for of the 10,000 eggs which the mother had laid,
only this one had survived. For several days the little fish
had been deep in thought and said very little, but swam
lazily and indifferently back and forth from the near to the
far bank. Mostly, the fish lagged behind the mother who
thought her child was sick and soon would be well. In fact,
the black fish's "sickness" was really something else! Early
one morning before the sun had risen, the little fish woke
the mother and said, "Mother, I want to talk to you." Half-asleep,
the mother responded, "My dear child, this isn't the time to
talk. Save your words for later. Wouldn't it be better to go
swimming?" "No, Mother! I can't go swimming anymore. I must
leave here." "Do you really have to leave?" "Yes, Mother, I
must go." "Just a minute! Where do you want to go at this
hour of the morning?" "I want to go see where the stream
ends. You know, Mother, I've been wondering where the end of
the stream is...I haven't been able to think about anything
else. I didn't sleep a wink all night. At last, I decided to
go and find where the stream ends. I want to know what's
happening in other places." The mother laughed. "When I was
a child, I used to think a lot like that. But, my dear, a
stream has no beginning and no end. That's the way it is.
The stream just flows and never goes anywhere." "But mother
dear, isn't it true that everything comes to an end? Nights
end, days end, weeks, months, years..." "Forget this
pretentious talk," interrupted the mother. "Let's go
swimming. Now is the time to swim, not talk. "No, Mother,
I'm tired of this swimming, I want to set out and see what's
happening elsewhere. Maybe you think someone taught me these
ideas but believe me, I've had these thoughts for a long
time. Of course, I've learned many things here and there.
For instance, I know that when most fish get old, they
complain about everything. I want to know if life is simply
for circling around in a small place until you become old
and nothing else, or is there another way to live in the
world?" When the little fish finished the mother exclaimed:
"My dear child, are you crazy? World!... World! What is this
other world! The world is right here where we are. Life is
just as we have it..." Just then, a large fish approached
their home and said: "Neighbor, what are you arguing about
with your child? Aren't you planning to go swimming today?"
Hearing her neighbor's voice, the mother came out of the
house and said, "What's the world coming to! Now children
even want to teach their mothers something! "How so?" asked
the neighbor. "Listen to the places this half-pint wants to
go!" replied the mother. "Saying over and over again I want
to go see what's happening in the world. What pretentious
talk!" "Little one," said the neighbor, "let's see. Since
when have you become a scholar and philosopher and not told
us?" "Madam," answered the little fish, "I don't know what
you mean by 'scholar' and 'philosopher,' I've just gotten
tired of these swims. I don't want to continue this boring
stuff and be happy as a fool until one day I wake up and see
that like all of you, I've become old, but still am as dumb
as I am now." "Oh, what talk!" exclaimed the neighbor. "I
never thought my only child would turn out this way," said
the mother. "I don't know what evil person put my sweet baby
up to this." "No one put me up to anything," said the little
fish. "I have reason, and intelligence and understanding. I
have eyes and I can see." "Sister," said the neighbor to the
little fish's mother, "do you remember that twisted-up snail?"
"Yes, you're right," said the mother. "He used to push
himself on my baby. God knows what I would do to him!" "That's
enough, Mother," said the little fish. "He was my friend." "Friendship
between a fish and a snail," said the mother, "I've never
heard of such a thing!" "And I've never heard of a fish and
a snail being enemies," replied the little fish. "But you
all drowned the poor fellow." "Let's not bring up the past,"
said the neighbor. "You brought up the subject yourself,"
said the little fish. "It served him right to be killed,"
said the mother. "Have you forgotten the things he used to
say everywhere he went?" "Then," said the little fish, "kill
me too since I'm saying the very same things." To make a
long story short, the arguing voices attracted the other
fish. The little fish's words angered everyone. One of the
old fish asked, "Did you think we'd pity you?" "That one
just needs a little box on the ears," said another. "Go away,"
said the black fish's mother. "Don't you touch my child."
Another of them said, "Madam, if you don't raise your child
correctly, you must expect it to be punished." The neighbor
said, "I'm ashamed to live next to you." Another said, "Let's
do to the little fish what we did to the old snail before it
gets into trouble." When they tried to grab the little black
fish, its friends gathered around and took the fish away
from the brawl. The black fish's mother beat her head and
chest and cried, "Oh, my baby is leaving me. What am I going
to do? What a curse has fallen upon me!" "Mother, don't cry
for me. Cry for the old fish who stay behind." "Don't get
smart, half-pint!" shouted one of the fish from afar. "If
you go away and afterwards regret it, we won't let you come
back," said a second. "These are useful fancies. Don't go,"
said a third. "What's wrong with this place?" said a fourth.
"There is no other world. The world is right here. Come back!
Said a fifth. "If you turn reasonable and come back, then
we'll believe you really are an intelligent fish," said a
sixth. "Wait, we've gotten used to having you around..."
said a seventh. The mother cried, "Have mercy on me. Don't
go! Don't go!" The little fish didn't have anything more to
say to them. Several friends of the same age accompanied the
fish as far as the waterfall. As they parted, the fish said,
"My friends, I hope to see you again. Don't forget me!" "How
would it be possible to forget you?" asked the friends. "You've
awakened us from a deep sleep. You've taught us many things
that we had not even thought about before. We hope to see
you again, learned and fearless friend." The little fish
swam down the waterfall and fell into a pond full of water.
At first the fish lost its balance but after a while began
to swim and circled around the pond. The fish had never seen
so much water collected in one place. Thousands of tadpoles
were wriggling in the water. They laughed when they saw the
little black fish, "What a funny shape! What kind of
creature are you?" The fish looked them over thoroughly and
said, "Please don't insult me. My name is Little Black Fish.
Tell me your names so that we'll get acquainted." "We call
one another tadpole," replied one of the tadpoles. "We come
from nobility," said another. "You can't find anyone
prettier than us in the whole world," said another. "We
aren't shapeless and ugly-faced like you," said another one.
The fish said, "I never imagined you would be so conceited.
That's all right. I'll forgive you since you're speaking out
of ignorance." In one voice the tadpoles demanded, "Are you
saying we're stupid?" "If you weren't ignorant," replied the
fish, "you'd know that there are many others in the world
who are pleased with their appearances. You don't even have
names of your own." The tadpoles became very angry. But
since they knew the little fish spoke truthfully, they
changed their tone and said, "really, you're wasting words!
We swim around the world every day from morning till evening,
but except for ourselves and our father and mother, we see
no one. Of course, there are tiny worms, but they don't
count." "You can't even leave the pond," said the fish. "How
can you talk about traveling around the world?" "What! Do
you think there's a world other than the pond?" exclaimed
the tadpoles. "At least," responded the fish, "you must
wonder where this water comes from and what things are
outside of it." "Outside the water!" exclaimed the tadpoles,
"Where is that? We're never seen outside of the water! Haha
.. haha ...You're crazy!" Little Black Fish also started to
laugh. The fish thought it would be better to leave the
tadpoles to themselves and go away, but then changed its
mind and decided to speak to their mother. "Where is your
mother?" asked the fish. Suddenly, the deep voice of a frog
made the fish jump. The frog was sitting on a rock at the
edge of the pond. She jumped into the water, came up to the
fish and said: "I'm right here. What do you want?" "Hello,
Great Lady," said the fish. The frog responded "Worthless
creature, now is not the time to show off. You've found some
children to listen to you and are talking pretentiously.
I've lived long enough to know that the world is this pond.
Mind your own business and don't lead my children astray." "If
you lived a hundred years," said the little fish, "you'd
still be nothing more than an ignorant and helpless frog."
The frog got angry and jumped at Little Black Fish. The fish
flipped quickly and fled like lightening, stirring up
sediment and worms at the bottom of the pond. The valley
twisted and curved. The stream became deeper and wider. But
if you looked down at the valley from the top of the
mountains, the stream would seem like a white thread. In one
place, a piece of large rock had broken off from the
mountain, fallen to the bottom of the valley, and split the
water into two branches. A large lizard the size of a hand,
lay on her stomach on the rock. She was enjoying the sun's
warmth and watching a large, round crab resting on the sand
at the bottom or the water in a shallow place and eating a
frog he had snared. The little fish suddenly saw the crab,
became frightened, and greeted him from afar. The crab
glanced sideways at the fish and said, "What a polite fish!
Come closer, little one. Come on!" "I'm off to see the world,"
said the little fish, "and I never want to be caught by you,
sir!" "Little fish, why are you so pessimistic and scared?"
asked the crab. "I'm neither pessimistic nor afraid,"
answered the fish. "I speak about everything I see and
understand." "Well, then," said the crab, "please tell me
what you've seen and understood that makes you think I want
to capture you?" "Don't try to trick me!" responded the fish.
"Are you referring to the frog?" queried the crab. "How
childish you are! I have a grudge against frogs; that's the
reason I hunt them. Do you know, they think they're the only
creatures in the world and that they're very lucky. I want
to make them understand who is really master in the world!
So you don't have to be afraid, my dear. Come here. Come
on." As the crab talked, he was walking backwards towards
the little fish. His gait was so funny that the fish
couldn't help laughing and said, "Poor thing! You don't even
know how to walk. How did you ever learn who runs the world?"
The black fish drew back from the crab. A shadow fell upon
the water and suddenly a heavy blow pushed the crab into the
sand. The lizard laughed so hard at the crab's expression
that she slipped and almost fell into the water. The crab
couldn't get up. The little fish saw that a young shepherd
was standing at the edge or the water watching the fish and
the crab. A flock of sheep and goats came up to the water
and thrust their mouths in. The valley filled with the
sounds of "meh meh" and "bah bah." The little black fish
waited until the sheep and goats had drunk their water and
left, then called the lizard, "Dear lizard, I'm a little
black fish who's going to search for the end of the stream.
I think you're wise, so, I'd like to ask you something."
"Ask anything you want." "All along the way, they've been
frightening me a great deal about the pelican, the swordfish
and the heron. Do you know anything about them? "The
swordfish and the heron," said the lizard, "aren't found in
this area, especially the swordfish who lives in the sea.
But it's possible that the pelican is farther down. Be
careful he doesn't trick you and catch you in his pouch." "What
pouch?" "Under his throat," explained the lizard, "the
pelican has a pouch which holds a lot of water. When the
pelican's swimming, fish, without realizing it, sometimes
enter his pouch and then go straight into his stomach. But
if the pelican isn't hungry, he stores the fish in his pouch
to eat later." "If a fish enters the pouch, is there any way
of getting out?" asked the fish. "There's no way unless the
fish rips open the pouch," answered the lizard. "I'm going
to give you a dagger so that if you get caught by the
pelican, you can do just that." Then the lizard crawled into
a crack in the rock and returned wit a very sharp dagger.
The little fish took the dagger and said, "Dear lizard, you
are so kind! I don't know how to thank you." "It's not
necessary to thank me, my dear. I have many of these daggers.
When I have nothing to do, I sit down and make daggers from
blades of grass and give them to smart fish like you." "What?"
asked the fish, "Have other fish passed here before me?" "Many
have passed by," the lizard replied. "They've formed
themselves into a school and they give the fisherman a hard
time." "Excuse me for talking so much," said the black fish,
"but if you don't think me meddlesome, tell me how they give
the fisherman a hard time." "Well," answered the lizard, "they
stick together. Whenever the fisherman throws his net, they
get inside, pull the net with them, and drag it to the
bottom of the sea." The lizard placed her ear on the crack,
listened and said, "I must excuse myself now. My children
have awakened." The lizard went into the crack in the rock.
The black fish had no choice but to set out again. But all
the while there were many questions on the fish's mind. "Is
it true that the stream flows to the sea? If only the
pelican doesn't catch me! Is it true the swordfish enjoys
killing and eating its own kind? Why is the heron our enemy?"
The little fish continued swimming and thinking, In every
stretch of the way the fish saw and learned new things. How
the fish liked turning somersaults, tumbling down waterfalls,
and swimming again. The fish felt the warmth of the sun and
grew strong. At one place a deer was hastily drinking some
water. The little fish greeted her. "Pretty deer, why are
you in such a hurry?" "A hunter is following me," replied
the deer. "I've been hit by a bullet. . . . right here!" The
little fish didn't see the bullet hole, but from the deer's
limping gait knew she was telling the truth. At one place
turtles were napping in the sun's warmth. At another place
the boisterous noise of partridges twisted through the
valley. The fragrance of mountain grass floated through the
air and mixed with the water. In the afternoon the fish
reached a spot where the valley widened and the water passed
through the center of a grove of trees. There was so much
water that the little black fish had a really good time.
Later on the fish came upon a school of fish. The little
fish had not seen any other fish since leaving home. Several
tiny fish surrounded Little Black Fish and said, "You must
be a stranger here!" "Yes," responded the black fish, "I'm a
stranger. I've come from far away." "Where do you want to go?"
asked the tiny fish. "I'm going to find the end of the
stream," replied the black fish. "Which stream?" "This very
stream we're swimming in," answered the black fish. "We call
this a river," stated the tiny fish. The black fish didn't
say anything. "Don't you know that the pelican lives along
the way?" inquired one of the tiny fish. "Yes, I know,"
answered the black fish. "Do you know what a big wide pouch
the pelican has?" asked another. "I know that too," replied
the black fish. "In spite of all this, you still want to go?"
exclaimed the tiny fish. "Yes," said the black fish, "whatever
happens, I must go." Soon a rumor spread among all the fish
that a little black fish had come from far away and wanted
to find the end or the river. And the fish wasn't even
afraid of the pelican! Several tiny fish were tempted to go
with the black fish but didn't because they were afraid of
the grown-ups. Others said, "If there weren't a pelican, we
would come with you. We're afraid of the pelican's pouch." A
village was on the edge of the river. Village women and
girls were washing dishes and clothes in the river. The
little fish listened to their chatter for a while and
watched the children bathing, then set off. The fish went on
and on and on, still farther on, until night fell, then lay
down under a rock to sleep. The fish woke in the middle of
the night and saw the moon shining into the water and
lighting up everything. The little black fish liked the moon
very much. On nights when the moon shone into the water, the
fish longed to creep out from under the moss and speak with
her. But Mother would always wake up, pull the fish under
the moss, and make it go to sleep again. The little fish
looked up at the moon "Hello, my lovely moon!" "Hello,
Little Black Fish. What brings you here?" "I'm traveling
around the world." "The world is very big," said the moon. "You
can't travel everywhere." "That's okay," said the fish. "I'll
go everywhere I can." "I'd like to stay with you till
morning," said the moon, "but a big black cloud is coming
toward me to block out my light." "Beautiful moon! I like
your light so much. I wish you'd always shine on me." "My
dear fish, the truth is, I don't have any light of my own.
The sun gives me light and I reflect it to the earth. Tell
me, have you heard that humans want to fly up and land on me
in a few years?" "That's impossible," exclaimed the fish. "It's
a difficult task," said the moon, "but whatever they want,
humans can. . . ." The moon couldn't finish her sentence.
The dark cloud approached and covered her face. The night
became dark again, and the black fish was alone. The fish
looked at the darkness in surprise and amazement for several
seconds, then crept under a rock and fell asleep. The fish
woke up early in the morning and saw overhead several tiny
fish chattering. When they saw that the black fish was awake,
they said in one voice, "Good morning!" The black fish
recognized them right away and said, "Good morning! You
followed me after all!" "Yes," answered one of the tiny fish,
"but we're still afraid." "The thought of the pelican just
won't go away," said another. "You worry too much," said the
black fish. "One shouldn't worry all the time. Let's start
out and our fears will vanish completely." But as they were
about to set out, they felt the water all around them rise
up and a lid was placed over them. It was dark everywhere
and there was no way to escape. The black fish immediately
realized that they had been caught in the pelican's pouch. "My
friends," said the little black fish, "we've been caught in
the pelican's pouch, but there's a chance to escape." All
the tiny fish began to cry. On of them said, "There's no way
to escape! It's your fault since you influenced us and led
us astray." "Now he's going to swallow us all, and then
we'll die," said another. Suddenly the sound of frightening
laughter twisted through the water. It was the pelican. He
kept on laughing and said, "What tiny fish I've caught! Ha.
Ha. Truly, my heart bleeds for you. I don't want to swallow
you! Ha, Ha . . ." The tiny fish began pleading, "Your
Excellency, Mr. Pelican! We've been hearing about you for a
long time. If you'd be so kind as to open your distinguished
beak a little so that we might go out, we'll always be
grateful to you." "I don't want to swallow you right now,"
said the pelican. "I've some fish stored. Look below."
Several large and tiny fish were scattered on the bottom of
the pouch. "Your Excellency, Mr. Pelican!" cried the tiny
fish, "we haven't done anything. We're innocent. This little
black fish led us astray . . ." "Cowards!" exclaimed the
little black fish, "are you crying like this because you
think this dishonest bird is merciful?" "You don't know what
you're saying," said the tiny fish. "Just wait and see . . .
His Excellency, Mr. Pelican, will pardon us and swallow you!"
"Of course I'll pardon you," said the pelican. "But on one
condition." "Your condition, please, sir!" begged the tiny
fish. "Strangle that meddlesome fish, and then you'll get
your freedom." The little black fish moved aside and said to
the tiny fish, "Don't agree! This deceitful bird wants to
turn us against each other. I have a plan . . ." But the
tiny fish were so intent on saving themselves that they
couldn't think of anything else. They advanced towards the
little black fish who was sitting near the back of the pouch
and talking slowly. "Cowards! Whatever happens, you've been
caught and don't have a way to escape. And you're not strong
enough to hurt me." "We must strangle you," said the tiny
fish. "We want freedom!" "You've lost your senses," said the
black fish. "Even if you strangle me, you won't escape.
Don't fall for his tricks . . ." "You're talking like this
just to save yourself," said the tiny fish. "Otherwise you
wouldn't think of us at all." "Just listen," said the black
fish, "and I'll explain. I'll pretend I'm dead. Then, we'll
see whether or not the pelican will free you. If you don't
agree to this, I'll kill all of you with this dagger or rip
open the pouch and escape while you . . ." "Enough!"
interrupted one of the fish. "I can't stand this talk. Oh,
wee . . .oh, wee . . .oh wee . . ." "Why did you ever bring
along this crybaby?" demanded the black fish upon seeing him
cry. Then the fish took out the dagger and held it in front
of the tiny fish. Helpless, they agreed to the little fish's
suggestion. They pretended to be fighting together. The
black fish pretended to be dead. The others went forward and
said, "Your Excellency, Mr. Pelican, we strangled the
meddlesome black fish . . ." "Good work!" laughed the
pelican. "Now, as a reward, I'm going to swallow all of you
alive so that you can have a nice stroll in my stomach!" The
tiny fish never had a chance. Quick as lightening they
passed through the pelican's throat and were gone. But, at
that very instant, the black fish drew the dagger, split
open the wall of the pouch with one blow and fled. The
pelican cried out in pain and smashed his head on the water
but he couldn't follow after the little fish. The black fish
went on and on and still farther on until it was noon. The
river had passed through the mountains and valleys and now
was flowing across a level plain. Several other smaller
rivers had joined it from the right and the left, increasing
its water greatly. The black fish was enjoying the immensity
of the water. Soon the fish realized the water had no bottom.
The fish swam this way and that way and didn't touch
anywhere. There was so much water that the little fish got
lost in it! No matter how far the fish swam, still the water
was endless. Suddenly, the fish noticed a large, long
creature charging forward like lightening. There was a two-edged
sword in front of its mouth. The little fish thought, "The
swordfish! He's going to cut me to pieces this very instant!"
Quickly the fish jumped out of the way and swam to the
surface. After a while the fish went under the water again
to look for the bottom. On the way the fish met a school of
fish-thousands and thousands of fish. "Friend," said the
fish to one of them, "I'm a stranger. I've come from far
away. Where is this place?" The fish called his friends and
said, "Look! Another . . ." Then replied to the black fish,
"Friend, welcome to the sea." Another said, "All rivers and
streams flow here, except some which flow into swamps." "You
can join our group anytime you wish," said one of the fish.
The little black fish was happy to have reached the sea and
said, "I'd like to travel around first, then I'll come join
your group. I'd like to be with you the next time you pull
down the fisherman's net." "You'll get your wish soon,"
answered one of the fish. "Now go explore. But if you swim
to the surface, watch our for the heron who isn't afraid of
anyone these days. She doesn't stop bothering us till she's
caught four or five fish a day." The black fish then left
the group of sea fish and began swimming. A little later the
fish came to the surface of the sea. A warm sun was shining.
The little black fish enjoyed feeling the sun's bright rays
on its back. Calm and happy, the fish was swimming on the
surface of the sea and thinking, "Death could come upon me
very easily now. But as long as I'm able to live, I
shouldn't go out to meet death. Of course, if someday I
should be forced to face death-as I shall-it doesn't matter.
What does matter is the influence that my life or death will
have on the lives of others . . ." The little black fish
wasn't able to pursue these thoughts. A heron dived down,
swooped up the fish, and carried it off. Caught in the
heron's long beak, the little fish kicked and waved but
couldn't get free. The heron had grabbed the fish's waist so
tightly that its life was ebbing away. After all, how long
can a little fish stay alive out of water? "If only the
heron would swallow me this very instant," thought the fish,
"then the water and moisture inside her stomach would
prevent my death at least for a few minutes." The fish
addressed the heron with this thought in mind. "Why don't
you swallow me alive? I'm one of those fish whose body
becomes full of poison after death." The heron didn't reply.
She thought, "Oh, a tricky one! What are you up to? You want
to get me talking so you can escape!" Dry land was visible
in the distance. It got closer and closer. "If we reach dry
land," thought the fish, "all is finished." "I know you want
to take me to your children," said the fish, "but by the
time we reach land, I'll be dead, and my body will become a
sack full of poison. Why don't you have pity for your
children?" "Precaution is also a virtue!" thought the heron.
"I can eat you myself and catch another fish for my children.
. . but let's see . . . could this be a trick? No, you can't
do anything." As the heron thought she noticed that the
black fish's body was limp and motionless. "Does this mean
you're dead," thought the heron. "Now I can't even eat you!
I've ruined such a soft and delicate fish for no reason at
all!" "Hey little one!" she called to the black fish. "Are
you still half alive so that I can eat you?" But she didn't
finish speaking because the moment she opened her beak, the
black fish jumped and fell down. The heron realized how
badly she'd been tricked and dived after the little black
fish. The fish streaked through the air like lightening. The
fish had lost its senses from thirst for sea water and
thrust its dry mouth into the moist wind of the sea. But as
soon as the fish splashed into the water and took a new
breath, the heron caught up and this time swallowed the fish
so fast that the fish didn't understand what had happened.
The fish only sensed that everywhere was wet and dark. There
was no way out. The sound of crying could be heard. When the
fish's eyes had become accustomed to the dark, it saw a tiny
fish crouched in a corner, crying. He wanted his mother. The
black fish approached and said: "Little one! . . .Get up!
Think about what we should do. What are you crying for? Why
do you want your mother?" "You there . . .Who are you?"
responded the tiny fish. "Can't you see? . . .I'm . . .dy...ing.
O, me . . . oh, my . . .oh, oh . . . mama . . . I . . . I
can't come with you to pull the fisherman's net to the
bottom of the sea any more . . . oh, oh . . . oh, oh!" "Enough,
there!" said the little fish. "You'll disgrace all fish."
After the tiny fish had controlled his crying, the little
fish continued, "I want to kill the heron and five peace of
mind to all fish. But first, I must send you outside so that
you don't ruin everything." "You're dying yourself," replied
the tiny fish. "How can you kill the heron?" The little fish
showed the dagger. "From right inside here, I'm going to rip
open her stomach. Now listen to what I say. I'm going to
start tossing back and forth in order to tickle the heron.
As soon as she opens her mouth and begins to laugh, you jump
out." "Then what about you?" asked the tiny fish. "Don't
worry about me. I'm not coming out until I've killed this
good-for-nothing." The black fish stopped talking and began
tossing back and forth and tickling the heron's stomach. The
tiny fish was standing ready at the entrance of the heron's
stomach. As soon as the heron opened her mouth and began to
laugh, the tiny fish jumped out and fell into the water. But
no matter how long he waited, there wasn't any sign of the
black fish. Suddenly, he saw the heron twist and turn and
cry out. Then she began to beat her wings and fell down. She
splashed into the water. She beat her wings again, then all
movement stopped. But there was no sign of Little Black Fish,
and since that time, nothing has been heard. The old fish
finished her tale and said to her 12,000 children and
grandchildren, "Now it's time to sleep, children. Go to bed."
"Grandmother!" exclaimed the children and grand-children, "You
didn't say what happened to that tiny fish." "We'll leave
that for tomorrow night," said the old fish. "Now, it's time
for bed. Goodnight." Eleven thousand, nine hundred and
ninety-nine little fish said goodnight and went to sleep.
The grandmother fell asleep too. But try as she might, a
little red fish couldn't get to sleep. All night long she
thought about the sea .....
