Fish Story
by Zvi A.
Sesling
I had not
slept well in three nights, rolling around in my
bed like a balloon full of water. Then on the
fourth night I dreamed I was out fishing and
caught a flounder. It gave me a bit of a battle
until I finally hauled it into the motor boat. I
managed to get the hook out with little damage,
but the fish wriggled out of my hands and flopped
around the bottom of the boat like a jumping bean.
Suddenly it stopped flopping and looked up at me.
“Why are
you doing this? I was out trying to get dinner
for my family and you yank me out of my natural
environment and threaten me with death.”
I was
astonished, but responded, “I’m looking
to feed my family too and you seem to be the best
candidate for the honor.”
The fish
flopped a bit, stopped and said, “A dubious
honor it is. Do you have children?”
It flopped
again and waited for my answer.
“I have
two young ones who particularly like fried fish.”
Again the fish
flopped a few times when I said fried fish and
then told me, “I have young ones too they
happen to be in a school at the moment, but
tonight they will want supper and it won’t
be there. They’ll starve today and tomorrow
and then they’ll go out looking for a meal
and end up being one instead. And what about my
wife? She’ll have to find another fish.”
That made me
think how I would feel if my children were
starving and my wife found someone new.
“You’re
just playing on my sympathy,” I said. “Perhaps,
everything you say is true. So what should I do,
throw you back?”
The fish
opened its mouth, it was breathing hard, “I
suppose that would be too much to ask, but you
could put me in that bucket of water and share
some seaweed with me while we discuss this
further.”
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