Once upon a time there was a fish who lived in a pond. She swam about each day, doing the things that fish do when they live in a pond, and was quite happy. She had a family, friends and other fish who loved her, and all of the other things that fish, or anyone for that matter, needs. But after a time, she became unhappy, and although she tried not to show it, soon her friends and family started to sense that something was wrong. But they thought, "She'll get over it", and didn't say anything to her. Even she herself thought, "Maybe I'm just bored." And she swam further away from the part of the pond that was her home, searching for something different, something that would take away the feelings she had. Feelings she knew were not good feelings, but she just couldn't make them go away.
The fish tried all the different parts of the pond, searching, searching. But nowhere could she find anything that would make her unhappy feelings go away. Then finally the thought came to her: "I'm not happy being a fish in this pond. I need to be free. I'm sick of being a fish!" But she knew that it wasn't right for a fish to leave the pond. In fact, no fish had ever done that. So she tried to put those thoughts away, and went on about her life as a fish. But as she swam around the pond, she looked up at the sky more and more. She saw the clouds, and the sunshine, and the other animals on the shore of the pond. And the more she watched them, the more she wondered what it would be like to be one of them, to be free to walk wherever she wanted, and to play with the other animals. "Surely, that must more fun than being stuck here in this pond where there are only other fish to play with", she thought. So, she made up her mind that she would leave the pond, and join the other animals on the land. She swam down deep, deep into the water, then turned and swam up as fast as she could. Up, up, she flew , up out of the water, up into the warm sunshine. She was free!
The little fish landed in the soft grass next to the pond. "This is great", she thought. "Now I'll be able to play with all the other animals, and go exploring, and......." But something was wrong. "Why am I having trouble breathing?" she wondered. She couldn't seem to catch her breath. "Well, maybe it will pass. I'm probably just tired from all that swimming." She looked around some more. She tried to move, but couldn't. Her fins couldn't get a grip on the ground, and she could only flop from side to side. And it was getting harder and harder to breath! "No", she cried. "This can't be happening. I thought things would be better when I was free from the pond. But now I'm trapped here and can't move at all."
The fish had finally come to the realization that she hadn't been trapped in the pond at all, and that she had been so much better off there than she was now, just flopping back and forth in the grass, trying to move, trying to breath, trying to live. For you see, God had created her to be a fish, and had given her everything she could ever need in order to be a fish: gills to breath in the water, fins to swim all around, other fish to love her and take care of her, and a huge pond to live, work and play in. "I've got to get back to the water!", she cried. It was so hard to breath now, and she could barely move. She flopped over once more, then lay still. It was over. And as she gasped her last breath, a bear came that had come down to the grassy shore of the pond had a tasty fish for his breakfast.
The Moral: Get back in the water while you still can!
(for Lisa)