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 through 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 til 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 to see where the stream ends. You know
Mother, for months I have 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’s the time to swim not talk.”
“No
Mother, I’m tired of this swimming. I want to sit out
and see what’s happening elsewhere. Maybe you think
someone gave 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 is
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: “Neighbour, what are you
arguing about with your child? Aren’t you planning to
go swimming today?”
Hearing
her neighbour’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 neighbour.
“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 neighbour. “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 as dumb as I
am now.”
“Oh,
what talk!” exclaimed the neighbour.
“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 reasoning and intelligence and understanding. I
have eyes and I can see.”
“Sister,” said the neighbour 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 such a thing!”
“And
I have never heard of a fish and a snail being enemies,” replied the little
fish. “But you all drowned that poor fellow.”
“Let’s
not bring up the past,” said the neighbour.
“You
brought up the subject yourself,” said the little fish.
“It
served him right to be killed,” said the mother. “You
have 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
one of them said, “Madam, if you don’t raise your child correctly, you must
expect it to be punished.”
The
neighbour 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 youthful fantasies. 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 listen to reason 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 little 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 hadn’t 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 circle 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 yet another.
The
fish said, “I never imagined you would be so conceited. That’s
alright. 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 appearance. 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 til evening, but except for ourselves and our
father and mother, we see no one. Of course, there are
the tiny worms, but they don’t count.”
“You
can’t even leave the pond,” said the fish. “How can
you talk about travelling around the world?”
“What! Do you think there is 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’ve
never seen outside of the water! Ha ha… ha ha…You’re crazy!”
The
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 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 the Little Black Fish. The
fish flipped quickly and fled like lightning, 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 of
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. C’mon!”
“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 of 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
"maa maa" 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. But
careful he doesn’t trick you and catch you in his pouch.”
"What
pouch?”
"Under
his throat,” explained the lizard, “the pelican heart 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 with 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 thorn 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 wakened."
The
lizard went into the crack in the rock. The black fish
had no choice but to set out again. But all the while
here were many questions on the fish's mind. Is it true
hat the stream flows to the sea? If only the pelican doesn't
catch me! Is it true the sword fish 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 rumour spread among all the fish that a little black fish had come from
faraway and wanted to find the end of 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 til 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 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. One 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. Ha ha. Truly, my heart bleeds for you. I
don't want to swallow you! Ha ha. 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, "arc 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 cry baby?" 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
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!
An other…" 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 out
for the heron who isn't afraid of anyone these days. She
doesn't stop bothering us til 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. Oh 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 give 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 ever 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 grandchildren, "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….