Sell Fish: A Fable

Part 4

He turned on his heel, abandoning the bucket, and rushed back to the girl's stick house. He found her outside, stirring a pot over a fire.

She looked up as she stirred, unsurprised. "How may I help you, sir?"

Her pleasant smile infuriated him. "I'll be taking this," he said, marching to the old cart.

She stopped stirring. "It is not yours to take. Would you like to join me for dinner?"

"No! You've some nerve asking me to sup with you after humiliating me." He wrapped his hands around the cart's handles and lifted it. "I'll just take your magical cart as payment."

When her brow furrowed, he set the cart down and began to gloat. "Yes, I know all about your little tricks. The fish aren't magical until they lie inside the cart. And now it's my cart." He lifted it again and began pushing it away.

"You are mistaken, sir." The girl's head tilted to one side, as if curious about this man's behavior.

He paused. "How so?"

She lifted the spoon, tasted it, and added a pinch of spice to the pot. "It is not the cart that is magical, it is I."

The cart thunked loudly as it dropped, his jaw slack as he stared at her. "You?"

"Why not me?"

"But you're just a girl."

An impish smile spread across her face. "Are you sure?"

His jaw clenched. "Coy sorceress. You don't scare me."

The girl giggled. "Sorceress? Oh no, I am not as powerful as that. I simply grant what people deserve, in the manner I am capable."

He grunted, paused in thought, and said, "Then you will grant me my fish, free of charge for my troubles."

Her bottom lip protruded in a pout. "But it is customary to exchange coin for my fish."

He straightened his spine to seem taller and more menacing. "You embarrassed me. Now you must grant me the fish I deserve in reparation."

She observed the firm set of his jaw and sighed softly. "Very well. Come with me."

He followed her to the pond's edge. "By my count, it should be the most impressive fish in all the land. I deserve as much."

She plucked the net from the ground and faced him. "Perhaps you should forgo your fish and take your leave. Let us part as friends." She extended a hand.

"Friendship? Ha!" He slapped her hand away. "I'll be getting my due, thank you very much."

She sighed again, a sad expression passing through her dark brown eyes. "And so you shall." She netted a fish from the pond, removed it, and faced him. "I believe this is what you requested."

His lips parted in anticipation as he held out his hands to accept the fish. The silvery creature rolled into his arms, and his eyes widened as he watched its scales shimmer into vibrant colors. It grew plump, and a slow grin spread across his face. This was too easy. I shall return every day to demand a marvelous fish.

He didn't notice the girl backing away as he watched the fish grow, its lustrous colors mesmerizing him. Purples melded into pink and blue hues. Pops of orange and yellow frolicked before his eyes. His muscles strained under the weight of the fish, but still his smile did not waver. This is the most wondrous fish in all the world.

The fish grew bigger still, and the layabout staggered under its impressive mass. He stumbled backwards and fell to his rump, eyes still glued to the brilliantly colored fish in his lap. No one has a fish this resplendent, and it's all mine.

Larger. Heavier. The fish did not stop growing. Too late, the hapless man's brow wrinkled as pain radiated through his legs.

He pulled at one leg first, then the other.

The massive fish firmly pinned them both.

"No," he said pushing against the wall of scales before him. "This isn't right."

He pushed again, but with no leverage, he may as well have been ramming a slimy rock.

"Fish girl!" His voice rang with panic. "Something has gone wrong."

Receiving no reply, he craned his neck in all directions, searching for her.

But she was gone.

"No," he whispered as the reality of his plight sunk his heart. "No!"

He renewed his efforts, squirming like a worm under a chicken's foot. Twisting this way and that. Wiggling and thrashing like...

Like a fish on a hook.

He shoved the irony away and screamed, "Fish girl! You must help me!"

Only birds replied.

The fish expanded over his feet, over his hips, flattening his belly until the layabout was forced to lie down.

"Fish girl," he wheezed. "You tricked me. This is not what I deserve."

He pressed feeble arms against the advancing fish flesh, but soon they, too, were trapped under its weight. The scales shimmered with increased vigor and magnificent hues—like pretty jewels—and his frantic eyes were once again captured by their splendor.

"So beautiful..." The words floated from his last breath as the ponderous fish covered his head.

And then silence.

The fish stopped growing. Birds paused mid-song to peer. Even the leaves stilled their swaying as if paying respect.

The girl emerged from her stick house, her features relaxed and thoughtful. She walked along the length of the giant fish, running a reverent hand across its smooth belly. It began to shrink, its fin reaching the top of her head, then her nose, then her chin. The scintillating colors eased their brilliance, gradually fading back to its original silver.

When the fish had dwindled back to its original size, there was no sign of the layabout. In his place, a second silver fish lay alongside the first. She gently lifted both lifeless forms into her arms and carried them to the pond. As their bodies slid into the brackish water, one of them twitched. Then the other. Both fish jerked and jiggled before reclaiming their senses and twirling through the water.

The second fish swam in circles, swishing its tail this way and that.

"Make friends, little fish," the girl said to it. With a small smile, she went to where the layabout had left her cart and rolled it back to its place by the pond, its wheels creak-creak-creaking.

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This  is my first time writing a fable. This story first came into existence simply as a title and nothing more. "A story called Sell Fish. Something about a selfish guy. And selling fish." That's all I had in my notes. It sat in my idea file for months. Then one day, as I perused my file (after scribbling a different idea in there) I came upon that entry. I'd seen that entry a few times before, but that day, an idea sparked. And grew. And became this.

If you enjoyed this, I'd be honored if you'd cast me a vote. Thank you for reading!