Storytelling for Week 4: The Life of a Fish

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Once upon a time deep in the lake there lived a little fish named Frank. The lake was filled with hundreds and hundreds of exciting and interesting fish of all shapes and colors. All of the fish were very friends and Frank had many friends. He lived alone and loved to swim around the lake and do a lot of exploring. He was a very adventurous fish, and was always trying to experience new things.

One day as Frank was taking a casual swim about the lake he noticed a weird shadow come about in the water. As he looked up to the surface he knew it was coming from the outside. Since he is a very curious fish he knew he had to investigate so he quickly swam up to the surface and looked out. To his surprise is a was a man, and then suddenly that man chucked an object into his lake. Frank stared at the man and when the man finally noticed Frank, he smiled and nodded. Frank took this gesture as the man saying he would not harm him and that he was a friend.

Frank had never experienced this form of kindness from a human before. Usually they only visit the lake to pollute it or to cause raucous that disturbs all of the fish in the lake. Frank immediately decided to investigate the object the man threw into the lake. He came upon the object with hesitation. It was a large, tan, and round object that smelt delicious. He eventually found the courage to taste this object and found it to be delicious bread! Frank had eaten bread before but none so delicious and he had never seen so much of it. He was so amazed and thankful for the man and his kindness, and to Frank he would forever now be known as the baker because of the delicious bread he made.

Frank bought the bread back to the rest of the fish in the lake and he was seen as a hero. Everyone was in awe when he told them the tale of the nice baker. Then, to his surprise the baker returned every single day and discarded another loaf of bread. Frank and the baker had truly become friends and they saw each other every as it became tradition that Frank would need him and retrieve the bread.

However, one day the baker seemed very distraught and Frank was concerned about his friend. He knew something was wrong so he stayed close to the surface for the rest of the day in case anything happened to the baker. Soon he saw the baker on top of a cliff over looking the lake. He stood there for a very long time and Frank was very confused about what he was doing. He quickly went and got the rest of the fish in the lake to get their opinion. When they returned to the surface the baker was still on the cliff, but now he was on the edge above the lake. Then all of a sudden he leaped off the cliff. Frank didn’t know why he was doing this but he knew he had to help! On his order he and the rest of the fish formed a raft and actually caught the baker and let his go to safety on the other side of the lake. The baker looked at Frank in amazement, and their friendship was stronger than ever. They and found a great friend in each other.

Authors Note: I wrote this story, The Life of a Fish, in the perspective of the fish. It shows his side of the story and how him and his friends saved the bakers life.

Bibliography: This story is based on The Story of the Baker and the Grateful Fish. It is part of the Persian Tales unit. Story source: Persian Tales, translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919).