The little black fish - part 2

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?"

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."

A village was on the edge of the river. Village women and girls were washing dishes and clothes in the river. The little fish listened to their chatter for a while and watched the children bathing, then set off. The fish went on and on and on, still farther on, until night fell, then lay down under a rock to sleep. The fish woke in the middle of the night and saw the moon shining into the water and lighting up everything. The little black fish liked the moon very much. On nights when the moon shone into the water, the fish longed to creep out from under the moss and speak with her. But Mother would always wake up, pull the fish under the moss, and make it go to sleep again.

The little fish looked up at the moon and said
"Hello, my lovely moon!"
"Hello, Little Black Fish. What brings you here?"
"I'm traveling around the world."
"The world is very big," said the moon. "You can't travel everywhere."
"That's okay," said the fish. "I'll go everywhere I can."
"I'd like to stay with you till morning," said the moon, "but a big black cloud is coming toward me to block out my light."
"Beautiful moon! I like your light so much. I wish you'd always shine on me."
"My dear fish, the truth is, I don't have any light of my own. The sun gives me light and I reflect it to the earth. Tell me, have you heard that humans want to fly up and land on me in a few years?"
"That's impossible," exclaimed the fish.
"It's a difficult task," said the moon, "but whatever they want, humans can ..."
The moon couldn't finish her sentence. The dark cloud approached and covered her face.

The night became dark again, and the black fish was alone. The fish looked at the darkness in surprise and amazement for several seconds, then crept under a rock and fell asleep.

The fish woke up early in the morning and saw overhead several tiny fish chattering. When they
saw that the black fish was awake, they said in one voice: "Good morning!"
The black fish recognized them right away and said, "Good morning! You followed me after
all!"
"Yes," answered one of the tiny fish, "but we're still afraid."
"The thought of the pelican just won't go away," said another.
"You worry too much," said the black fish. "One shouldn't worry all the time. Let's start out and
our fears will vanish completely."
But as they were about to set out, they felt the water all around them rise up and a lid was placed
over them. It was dark everywhere and there was no way to escape. The black fish immediately
realized that they had been caught in the pelican's pouch.
"My friends," said the little black fish, "we've been caught in the pelican's pouch, but there's a
chance to escape."
All the tiny fish began to cry. One of them said, "There's no way to escape! It's your fault since
you influenced us and led us astray."
"Now he's going to swallow us all, and then we'll die," said another.
Suddenly the sound of frightening laughter twisted through the water. It was the pelican. He kept
on laughing and said, "What tiny fish I've caught! Ha. Ha. Truly, my heart bleeds for you. I don't
want to swallow you! Ha, Ha ..."
The tiny fish began pleading, "Your Excellency, Mr. Pelican! We've been hearing about you for
a long time. If you'd be so kind as to open your distinguished beak a little so that we might go
out, we'll always be grateful to you."