Walking fish story
A fish had been in the river for a long time and felt very stifled.
“I wish I had a pair of legs to walk on the shore like humans, to look around,” it said, blowing bubbles in the water to a crab lying on a rock.
“I do have legs, but they are used to walking sideways, not like humans. So, you might want to talk to the weeping willow by the river,” the crab lazily suggested.
The fish indeed swam over to the willow tree.
“If you don’t mind, my branches could help you. You know, not every fish has such an amazing idea as you do,” the willow not only listened attentively but also gave the fish two branches.
The willow branches couldn’t become legs for the fish, but they served as crutches. The fish used them to get onto the shore. However, fish gills are only suitable for breathing underwater, so it quickly realized it needed something else.
“I need a nose. Can you lend me one?” the fish, now walking on the grass, encountered a well-dressed dog.
“A nose? I don’t need it like stray dogs do to find food, so you can have it,” said the dog, lending a black little nose to the fish.
“I need a mouth with teeth. Can you lend me one?” the fish, now equipped with crutches and a nose, asked some children by a big road.
“We need our mouths for talking and eating, but we still have the teeth we lost recently. You can have them,” the children generously gave the fish their teeth.
“Alright, if I had a bright outfit, it would be perfect,” the fish said seriously to some rose bushes.
“Dear fish, take it. If one flower loses its color, no one will mind, and neither will I,” the bright red rose generously offered.
The fish soon had many things it never dared to dream of in the water—a nose, teeth, a bright red rose outfit, and hair made of foxtail grass. Notably, it also gained a pair of real legs, which a centipede painfully gave up.
“Now, I’m truly happy!” the fish, walking freely on land, shouted joyfully. It sniffed with the dog’s nose, walked with the centipede’s legs, boasted to the butterflies about its bright outfit, and flaunted its flowing hair to the wind.
“You know, it’s really a joy to bid farewell to the past,” the fish told an old frog squatting by a well.
“Honestly, I totally agree with you. But before I share my thoughts, can you tell me who you are?” The old frog tilted its head and looked at the fish for a long time but couldn’t recognize it as a fish.
“My goodness, are you as nearsighted as a mole and can’t see that I’m a fish?” the fish asked in surprise. However, the one truly surprised was the old frog, whose cheeks puffed up high.
“Are you sure you are really a fish and not something else? If you can still say you’re a fish after seeing your reflection in the well, I’ll admit you’re really a fish!” The old frog gave up its spot for the fish.
The fish leaned over and looked into the well. It was silent for a while and then suddenly left without looking back at the old frog still waiting for an answer.
“I am indeed a fish! If not a fish, what could I be?” the fish muttered to itself. The more it muttered, the more confused it became. Sometimes it felt like a fish, and sometimes it felt like something else.
It was troubled and thought long and hard.
“Sorry, I don’t know what I am anymore. It seems like I’ve lost myself,” it returned to the well and told the old frog.
“My goodness, nothing is sadder than not knowing who you are. I suggest you go back and ask your mother. As long as she can recognize you, you have a chance to find yourself,” the old frog said and then jumped into the well with a splash.
The next morning, the fish came to the river.
“Mom, mom, mom…” it kept calling into the water. Its calls were relayed by the swimming fish and soon reached far away to the ears of its mother. The mother fish swam and swam until she finally reached her child, but what she saw was a strange creature.
“Who are you?” the mother asked.
“Mom, I am your child!”
“If that’s the case, you might need to throw away the nose, and maybe I’ll recognize if you’re my baby,” the mother said.
Hearing this, the fish threw away the dog’s nose without hesitation. Of course, the nose returned to the rich dog’s face.
“No, you might also need to discard those shiny teeth,” the mother said again. This time, the teeth didn’t return to the children’s mouths but were collected by a small mouse in the bushes by the shore.
Then, the fish took off its red outfit and shook off the foxtail grass hair.
Finally, it resolutely abandoned the centipede’s legs.
“Ah, you really are my baby!” the mother happily exclaimed, blowing countless beautiful bubbles in the water. Hearing this, the fish joyfully leaped back into the water. It swam freely, breathing deeply.
“I think only as a fish can I be so happy in the water,” it told its mother and itself.
“Although I lost the joy of walking on land, I now know who I really am. Such a price is worth it,” the fish wrote in its diary that day. I believe those diary entries written on the stones are still preserved at the bottom of the water. If you have a chance, you must find and read them!
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
