Page 159 - The Book of Rumi

than pretending to be dead. So she rolled onto her back and, with her belly
facing up toward the sky, fl oated on the surface of the water weightlessly.
The compliant water carried the seemingly dead fi sh gently on its ripples,
up and down and around the pond. When the men saw the dead fi sh, they
comforted each other that, although it was a shame to lose one, they should be
grateful that they’d been spared dealing with a sick fi sh that was going to die
anyway as soon as caught. One of the men grabbed the tail of the apparently

dead fi sh as she floated on her back in front of him and threw her onto dry
land. Without delay, the suddenly resurgent fi sh gathered all her might and

flipped over and over behind the men’s backs until she fi nally found her way
to the fast-moving stream that eventually took her to the salty sea. Free at last,
she swam with all her strength to get as far away as possible from the shore,
hoping to never again lay eyes on another human being.

The third fi sh, however, was stupid. In a frenzy, he flopped around and
around in circles, hoping to evade his captors as they watched from the bank.
He proved easy to catch, however; the men simply threw their net over him
and in no time had him roasting on a fi re. Unbeknown to the men, while
burning inside out, the fi sh kept repeating to himself, knowing well that it was
much too late for regrets: “If I could have a next time, I’d pay closer attention
to my wise friends and aim for the sea, which I’d make my home and forsake
this lonesome pond forever.”

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