The Damsel and the Sage | Page 5

brown Sparrow lived on always
the same, causing him no trouble, and custom had deadened the sense
of its want of charm."
"Then it seems to me it was rather hard upon the poor Humming Bird!"
said the Damsel.
"It is always hard upon the Humming Birds," replied the Sage, and his
voice was quite sad.
* * * * *
The rain did not cease for a long time. It was more than an hour before
the Damsel left the cave.
* * * * *
If you are a Humming Bird it is wiser for you to remain in the

possession of the Travelling Showman.
* * * * *
A long period elapsed after this before the Damsel again tapped at the
Sage's door. He looked out morning and evening, and attributed his
lack of enthusiasm for his devotions to an attack of rheumatism from
the damp of his cave. At last, one morning he spied her sauntering
slowly up the hill, and he retired into the back of his cell, and the
Damsel had to knock twice before he opened the window shutter. She
was in a gay mood, and demanded a story, so the Sage began:
"There was once upon a time a Fish with glittering scales who swam
about in a deep river. It had been tempted by the flies of many
Fishermen, but had laughed at them all and swam away, just under the
surface of the water, so that the sun might shine on its glittering scales
to please the eyes of the Fishermen and to excite their desire to secure it.
It was a Fish who laughed a good deal at life. But one fine day a new
Angler came along; he was young and beautiful, and seemed lazy and
happy, and not particularly anxious to throw the line. The Fish peeped
at him from the sheltering shadow of a rock. 'This is the most perfect
specimen of a Fisherman I have ever seen,' it said to itself. 'I could
almost believe it would be agreeable to swallow the fly and let him
land me and put me in his basket.' The young Fisherman threw the line,
and the sun caught the glittering scales of the Fish at that moment. The
laziness vanished from the Fisherman, and he began to have a strong
desire to secure the Fish.
"He fished for some time, and the Fish swam backward and forward,
making up its mind. It saw the hook under the fly, but the attraction of
the Angler growing stronger and stronger, at last it deliberately decided
to come up and bite. 'I know all the emotions of swimming on the
surface and letting my scales shine in the sun,' it mused, 'but I know
nothing about the bank and the basket, and perhaps the tales that are
drilled into the heads of us Fish from infancy about suffocation and
exhaustion are not true.' And it mused again: 'He is a perfectly beautiful
Fisherman and looks kind, and I want to be closer to him and let him
touch my glittering scales. After all, one ought to know everything

before one dies.'
"So, its heart beating and its eyes melting, the Fish deliberately rose to
the surface and swallowed the fly. The hook caught in a gristly place
and did not hurt much, and the novel experience of being pulled onto
the green meadow delighted the Fish. It saw the Fisherman close, and
felt his hands as he tenderly disengaged the hook. He was full of joy
and pride at securing the difficult Fish and admired its scales. He talked
aloud and told it how bright he found it, and he was altogether
charming and delightful, and the Fish adored him and was glad it had
been caught.
"Then after some time of this admiration and dalliance, the Fisherman
put it in the basket among the cool rushes. The Fish lay quiet, still
content. It had not yet begun to pant. For an hour almost the Fisherman
gloried in his catch. He opened the lid frequently and smiled at the
Fish.
"Then he lay down on the bank beside the basket and let his rod float
idly in the stream. The sun was warm and pleasant.
"'I wish,' he said to himself, 'after all, I had not secured the Fish yet; the
throwing of the fly and the excitement of trying to catch the creature
are better fun than having it safely landed and lying in the basket,' and
he yawned, and his eyes gradually closed and he slept.
"Now the Fish heard very plainly what he had said. Tell me,
Damsel--you who ask questions and answer them finally yourself--tell
me, What did the Fish do?"
The Damsel mused a moment. She stirred with