Forever in search of new page ideas we are delighted to feature the first of our original Parables For The New Politics, contributed by Sion Williams. Thanks Sion. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. THE LITTLE FISHES AND THE BIG FISH Once upon a time, there was a little fish that lived in a river. The little fish was very happy. He could swim where he wanted. He could do what he wanted. He had his own friends, usually the other little fishes. The little fish lived a very happy life. He didn’t worry about anything. Then, one day, a much bigger fish came to the little fish’s river. “I’m going to eat you up” said the big fish. “Oh no! Please don’t do that!” said the little fish. “Hmmm.” The big fish thought for a moment. “OK then”, said the big fish, “But from now on, you will do everything I say.” “Errrm, y-y-yes, all right” stuttered the little fish. “Only, please don’t eat me.” “Right,” said the big fish. “This is what you will do. You will recognise that from henceforth this is my river. From now on, what I say goes, both in and on this stretch of water. You will have no rights in the matter. Got that?” The little fish gasped. But he knew that he would be eaten if he did not agree. So he said, very softly, “Yes, sir.” “Good,” said the big fish. “Now, this is the deal. While I am swimming in my river, I want you to eat the little parasites that infect my scales. I must look my best in my new domain, you see. This will also provide you with your food, you understand?” The little fish nodded sadly. “What is more,” the big fish went on, “when there is any danger about, I will gladly open my mouth for you. You can then swim inside and I will protect you inside my tummy until the danger is past.” “B-b-b-ut” stammered the little fish, “t-t-that means you will be swallowing me whole!” “What a stupid, ungrateful little fish you are!” cried the big fish. “I’m only swallowing you in order to protect you from all those nasty and dangerous things outside our world, little fish. I’ve already told you – I’m not going to eat you. I’ll look after you in my tummy whilst I deal with the dangers outside. And don’t forget I’m doing this on your behalf! Noblesse oblige and all that. We are stronger together don’t you think?” The big fish was by now very angry. “Don’t you see that I’m offering you protection in my tummy and fighting your enemies for you and giving you free parasites to eat and that I would be doing all this for you?” The little fish was very sorry he’d ever doubted the big fish. He knew he was too small and too weak to stand up to dangerous and nasty bullies outside, by himself. It would be so much better if he had the big fish as a friend who could fight on his behalf – and would also protect him in his tummy and give him his parasites to eat. Meekly, the little fish apologised to the big fish and agreed to the big fish’s plans. And that’s how things turned out. The big fish went about his business, making the other inhabitants of the river very afraid, until eventually he became the most important animal in the river. The little fish was content in eating the parasites off the big fish’s scales. Whenever danger appeared, the little fish would swim into the big fish’s mouth and down into his belly. And then the big fish would fight against the danger and he would win. And because of his clean scales – thanks to the hard work of the little fish – he could swim faster and better than any of the other fish in the river. Then the big fish decided that it would be good to have more little fishes to attend to his needs. So, he made many other little fishes join the first little fish in grooming his scales. The promises were the same – the little fishes were too small and too weak to defend themselves, so he, the big fish, would give them a welcome in his tummy if there was any danger and fight their enemies for them and supply them with the parasites. All the little fishes had to do in return was to keep the scales of the big fish in perfect condition and to recognise him as the sole owner of the river. Considering that the little fishes saw themselves as too small and too weak to defend themselves from outside threats and that they thought eating the parasites on the big fish’s scales were a much more profitable venture than being eaten by the big fish himself, they agreed. Now the big fish became even greedier. One day he saw a big morsel of food, in the middle of the river. “Yummy” said the big fish, “I must have that to eat.” Now the little fishes had seen something like this before – they had, after all, lived in the river longer than the big fish. Some of them tried to warn the big fish that it was a trap, whilst others, still true to some ingrained belief of their independence before the big fish had come along, stayed quiet. They knew that whilst the big fish said he owned the river, there was in fact a two-legged animal, which never came into the water itself, which was even more powerful than the big fish – and it was even more dangerous to all the other animals in the river. This animal used all sorts of tricks, and the little fishes had been warned not to trust anything offered by the two legged animal. The big fish did not listen to the little fishes who cried out their warnings. What did they know? They were only weak-minded, small, insignificant hangers on, compared to him – the big fish, who had supported them throughout, fought their battles for them and had lovingly protected them in his belly whenever there was a sign of danger. And the food was rightly his in any case as lord of the river. Maybe the little fishes were a little jealous of only having had a diet of parasites off their lord’s scales to eat for so long, never the really good food that the big fish regularly enjoyed. And it was his right to enjoy such good food. “Envious, ungrateful, little fishes” muttered the big fish, and then his mouth seized the floating food. The little fishes looked on. As they watched, they saw their lord being taken away from them. As his mouth covered the food, the little fishes saw that the big fish was being pulled upwards and upwards, further and further from them, towards the two legged creature and out of the river, forever. Some of the little fishes were sad at losing their lord and what he had given them. “He did so much for us!” exclaimed some of them. Then they added mournfully, “What are we going to do without him?” and started to cry. The other little fishes smiled and started somersaulting with joy. These little fishes commented that they were no longer dependent on the whims of the big fish and no longer had to work unrecognised for their eating the parasites off his scales. “We are free!” they shouted jubilantly. “We can control our own destinies now! We are no longer subservient to the big fish! No more do we fear that he could turn on us at any moment and eat us! Independence at last!” The big fish was gutted that very night. ___________________________________ If any reader wishes to read all 40 parables, click on the link to the open group where they are collected. Thank you for your support. https://facebook/Parables.For.The.New.Politics
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 19:40:11 +0000
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