The Prince and the Goldfish

 Once upon a time, there lived a handsome prince. He was surrounded by all things beautiful and wonderful, and never wanted for anything. His every need was attended, his every whim granted. He was an exceedingly spoiled prince.

                He was prone to tantrums, and would blame his own short-comings on the people around him. If he missed a target in archery practice, he blamed the god of the winds. If he read a word of which he didn’t know the meaning, he had his tutor flogged.

                Once, he had his rooms redecorated, and before the work was done, he lost interest in the scheme. To compensate for this, he had the decorator and all of his assistants put to death. He started redecorating as the executions were taking place, having no stomach for such spectacles.

                The only creature he had any warm feelings for was his pet goldfish. He admonished the slaves taking care of his precious fish that if anything happened to it, something bad would happen to all of them.

                The prince’s little pet eventually died, goldfish not being especially long-lived creatures. The young man threw a royal tantrum and, of course, made good on his promise. Not only did he have the caretakers of his little fish put to death, he also had their families punished.

                That night, still distraught over the death of his pet, the prince went to bed. He lay awake for what seemed a very long time, mourning his dead and only friend.

                Finally, he drifted off to sleep. A few minutes later he began to hear a voice calling his name. It was a voice he didn’t recognize, but it was familiar all the same.

“Prince,” the voice called from the splendid room in which he’d kept his precious goldfish. “Prince, what have you done to my friends?”

                The prince awoke in a sweat. He called a slave to him, and told her to go to the room from which the voice had emanated. He told her to tell him everything she saw there, or else.

                The little slave did what she was told. She searched the room, and found nothing amiss, save for a large puddle of water for which she could find no reasonable explanation. She returned to the prince.

                “Well?” demanded the Prince. “What did you see?”

                The little slave, whose name was Mara, could see the prince was very upset. She didn’t want to see him throw a fit like he had the day before, so she told him that all was well, and made no mention of the puddle of water.

                In a few moments, the prince calmed down. He went about his day just as he always had. His mood was even more foul than usual, but there were no executions that day.

                Night came, and the prince settled down into his bed. This time he slept almost immediately, worn out from the day’s bad temper.

                Again, he heard the voice from the goldfish’s room: “Prince, what have you done to my friends?” The prince covered his head with his blanket, but still the voice came. Over and over it said those same words: “What have you done to my friends?”

                Finally, with a great cry, the prince woke. He again called Mara to check the goldfish’s room. Though the puddle of water was now much larger, she returned to the prince with the same story: all was well.

                This day, the prince’s mood was even worse than the previous day. He had a slave flogged for not rinsing his sponge properly after washing a pot. Another slave was beaten for making the prince’s bed with the wrong color sheets.

                Again, night fell. As the prince was preparing for bed, he called Mara to him. He told her to stay in the goldfish’s room and to report to him what she saw there. He admonished her not to sleep, or the consequences would be dire.

                The prince went to sleep. Again, he heard the voice: “What have you done to my friends?” He called to Mara, but the girl didn’t come. He called again, but still she didn’t show.

                Anger at the slave’s disobedience drove all fear of the voice from his head, and he rose from his bed, and strode into the hallway between the rooms. When he arrived at the room, however, fear once again overtook him.

                Again, the voice came, more loudly than ever: Prince, what have you done to my friends?”

                Mustering all of his meager courage, the prince pushed open the door and stepped in. Mara was nowhere to be seen, but in the middle of the room, as if it were full of water, floated a giant goldfish. It took up almost the entire room, and it was looking right at the prince.

                Exceedingly frightened, the prince turned to flee, only to be met by a locked door. He pounded on the door, crying for someone to let him out, but no one came. Finally, he turned back to the fish.

                “Prince,” boomed the massive voice of the giant, “what have you done to my friends? Did you kill my friends, prince?”

                “Th- they let you die,” the prince stammered.

                “I was old,” the fish replied. “It was my time.”

                “But, you were my fish,” the prince squeaked.

                “One creature does not own another,” the fish replied, and swam closer to the prince.

                Panicked, the prince tried the door again, and this time it gave way.

                He woke up screaming. He called all of his slaves and attendants together, and told them they were all free. Then, as the newly freed people stood there stunned, he turned away from them and fled his palace, through the town outside, and into the forest.

                Once he was gone, Mara emerged from her hiding place behind the prince’s bed, and said the words once more to herself: “Prince, what have you done to my friends?” and laughed.

                For many years after, people would tell the story of the Old Man of the Forest, who lived in a cave in a remote place, and cared for and communed with the animals.