Once upon a time, in a place called Ocean Paradise, there
lived a little fish. The little fish swam within Ocean Paradise as happy as
can be, for the Lord of the Ocean had given him everything that he could ever
want.
One day, a long, skinny friend swam up to him and said, “Did
the Lord of the Ocean really give us everything we could ever want?”
And the little fish said, “Of course! What more could we want
than this Ocean Paradise?”
The long, skinny friend asked, “Do you know what water is?”
The long, skinny friend said, “Only the Lord of the Ocean
knows. It must be something very
precious for him to keep it a secret from us.”
The little fish thought for a moment and said, “But the Lord
of the Ocean promised us everything. Why would he keep something so precious a
secret from us?”
The long, skinny friend said, “Perhaps the Lord of the Ocean
has deceived us! Perhaps he hasn’t really given us everything, and he’s keeping
the precious water for himself!"
Suddenly, the happy little fish was no longer happy.
So he said, “It’s not fair! I want water too!”
The long, skinny friend said, “I will help you find it, but
we have to hide from the Lord of the Ocean. If he finds out what we’re up to,
he will become very jealous and angry. He will destroy us!”
Terrified, the little fish swam and he swam and he swam as fast
and as far as his little fins could carry him – so fast and so far that he swam
right out of Ocean Paradise.
Marooned on dry land, he couldn’t breathe, and he couldn’t
move. Suffering terribly, he thought, “The Lord of the Ocean must have found
out my plan! He is angry with me, and he is trying to destroy me!”
The little fish flipped and flopped and wiggled, desperately trying
to save himself, until he was completely exhausted. Finally, he cried out,
“Lord of the Ocean, please have mercy on me and save me!”
Just then, a great wave engulfed the little fish, lifting him
up, and carrying him home.
At that moment, the little fish learned the secret of the
water. He learned that he had always
had this precious thing all around him. It was the breath of his life – the
very thing in which he lived and moved – he just never knew it – until now.
And that’s how the little fish became the wisest and the happiest and most serene fish
in Ocean Paradise.
The End.
Author: Joan Kistler, ISIS Class of 2013
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