The bright sun and the gentle wind had made the little fish
almost bold that summer day, enough so that they were swimming all
over the pond, from their home in the reeds at one end to the rocky
beach at the other. Or at least they swam very near to the rocky
beach--as near as they dared--for all the older fish constantly
warned them to stay away. Some of the dangers were clear enough,
such as the wading birds who stepped into the shallow water, hoping
to pluck out a little fish and swallow him right down, and the
foxes, whose gigantic teeth were too awful even to think about. But
there were other evils that were not so distinct. Hideous and
unimaginable these were, with tales of fish swimming into the area
and never to be heard from again, vague reports of sudden
disappearances, and some hysterical tales, impossible to make sense
of, of leaping shadows, wild splashings, worms flying through the
water, and such like.
The dangers of the rocky beach could not quite be isolated in
the minds of the little fish, so that they felt a general sense of
impending doom whenever they swam more than a few feet from home.
That is why, one day when three little fish met each other suddenly
among the reeds, they were all momentarily startled. But soon they
began talking and relaxed a little. "This is a wonderful pond,"
said one. "It's so big. But I've never been this far away from
home before."
"Me either," said another. "I just hope we're safe here
in these reeds."
"I do too," agreed the third. "You never know where an enemy
may come from."
"And you can't be too careful," added the first.
"By the way," said one, "my name is Swimmy Fish. What's yours?"
"Finny Fish," said another.
"I'm Chirpy Bird," said the third.
Swimmy Fish and Finny Fish gave a start, looked at each other
with surprise and terror, and then swam off in opposite directions
as fast as they could. "Wait!" cried Chirpy Bird. "What's wrong?
Come back!" He looked around anxiously, himself frightened by their
fright, though he could see no sign of danger anywhere. But their
fear hung over the area, so he decided to swim toward home, at more
than his usual speed.
He had not gone very far when he saw several adult fish swimming
toward him with serious and half-frightened expressions on their faces.
When they saw him, they stopped at a distance. "Stop there," one of
them demanded, so Chirpy Bird stopped. The big fish seemed to be
engaged in a solemn discussion. Every once in awhile one of them
waved a fin or glanced in his direction. Finally, two of the largest
fish approached a little nearer. "Don't make any sudden moves," the
largest one, whose name was Glubber Fish, said with a mixture of
command and pleading.
"I don't understand," the little fish said, bewildered.
"Are you Chirpy Bird?" asked Glubber Fish.
"Yes. I--"
"You must leave the pond." It was a tone of finality.
"But why?" asked Chirpy Bird.
"Because you'll soon be eating us and our children. Besides,
birds don't live under water."
"But I'm not a bird," Chirpy Bird protested.
"What's your name?" demanded the other, who was called Spotted Fish.
"Chirpy Bird. But--"
"There you are," he said, with a tone of satisfaction.
"My name is Chirpy Bird," said the little one, "but I'm a fish."
"Nonsense," grumped Spotted Fish. "Whoever heard of a fish
named Chirpy Bird?"
"Whether you've heard of me or not, here I am," said Chirpy
Bird, not knowing what else to say.
"Totally illogical," interrupted Whisker Fish, who had just come near.
"As well as disrespectful and impudent," added Glubber fish.
"You must listen to reason," said Whisker Fish, self-importantly
brushing himself in preparation. "And here it is: You are Chirpy
Bird; granted. Birds eat fish; granted. Therefore, you eat fish."
"But--" Chirpy Bird tried to explain.
"There is no 'but.' It's a syllogism, and cannot be answered.
The conclusion follows necessarily," said Whisker Fish. "It's
pure logic."
"And it also follows," said Glubber fish, "that you must leave
the pond."
"I'll die if I leave the pond," said Chirpy Bird.
"That's not our problem," said Glubber Fish.
"And it's an irrelevant objection," added Whisker Fish. The
rest of the adult fish had gradually been easing forward during
this conversation and now, at the direction of Glubber Fish, the
whole group escorted Chirpy Bird down toward the rocky beach. In
a few minutes they reached a low spot near a weeping willow,
where several of the large fish grabbed Chirpy Bird and threw him
onto the shore.
"Now fly away and leave us alone," one of them said. And leave
them alone he did.