The Lizard

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 "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?"