The Tiny Fish

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."