A story for kids, just for fun. It is not connected to a particular biblical text, but you can probably think of some that are well represented by this story.
Near the beginning, fish had become very progressive. They had climbed out of the water, and had learned to walk on two fins that they called “legs.”
This freed their other two fins, the ones they called “arms.” So they began to pick up and carry things that they wanted to have with them as they walked over the earth.
It was not long before the fish had their arms full of things they were carrying. And there were more things that they wished they could carry.
Some of the more aggressive fish, like the sharks and barracudas, began to force smaller fish to use their arms to carry things that belonged to the sharks and barracudas.
But when the small fish asked to use the things that they carried for the sharks and barracudas, they were told, “No! Go get your own things. If we let you use our things, you will break them and get them dirty.”
The small fish tried to point out that, since their arms were full of the things belonging to the sharks and barracudas, they could not carry their own things. But the small fish spoke with small voices. So the sharks and barracudas found them easy to ignore.
Now the big fish were very happy with how progressive they had become. “Life is much better since we’ve come up out of the water,” the big fish would say to each other. And some had ideas about other kinds of progress. “If life improved when we came up out of the water, how much more would life improve if we could get up off the ground?”
Overhearing these ideas, some smaller fish decided to get off the ground first. So they learned to race through the water and leap up into the air, like they were flying.
At first, the big fish watched these efforts with great jealousy. But then they realized, “Those silly flying fish can’t stay up in the air. They keep falling back into the water. What good is that?”
So the big fish came up with something better – a fish ladder! It was great! Fish could take great leaps, and jump up to the next level on the ladder! And they could do this, even with their arms full of things they always carried with them! Soon, they were no longer climbing the ladder, they were climbing other fish!
Big fish kept stepping on other big fish. They would push and shove, pull and pinch, kick and bite. They would do anything to get a little higher on the ladder, even push each other off to fall all the way to the ground!
Piles of fallen fish appeared around every ladder. The stink of dying, rotting fish filled the land. Disease spread. And fish big and small got sick! It was a terrible time to be a fish!
Then one day a codfish came up out of the water. He started talking to the crowds around the ladders and across the land.
“The Almighty Cod,” he said, “did not create fish to live out of water. And fish are not meant to carry things in their arms, or spends their days fighting their way up ladders. This is not the way of cod.”
Then, those who would let him, he put back into the water. “Become one with the water,” he would tell them, “and let Cod’s Spirit use it to teach you how to live.”
As you can imagine, the sharks and barracudas, ordering around their armies of small fish, did not like the codfish!
So, all the big fish began telling everyone that the codfish was “all wet” and “he swam with the small fish.” These, of course, were the worst insults that a progressive fish could imagine.
Meanwhile, the codfish went to the piles of rotting fish. He lifted the broken and fallen fish, and he carried them to the water. There he lowered them into the cleansing, wet, deeps.
Immediately, the fish were made whole and well. Even fish who stunk with several days of death, found new life in the codfish’s baptism. They dived, and raced and splashed with the joy of being alive again.
“See the water,” the codfish said to those who would listen. “The water does not climb ladders. It always seeks the lowest point. When someone disturbs the surface of the waters on one side of a pond, the whole pond feels the ripples of its effect. Water does not fight against water. Every drop in the ocean is a part of the whole ocean.”
Huge schools of fish began gathering around the codfish. But the big fish, sharks and barracudas shook with rage when they heard the codfish’s words and saw the codfish’s deeds. “If he is not stopped,” they whispered to each other, “he will put an end to all progress.” So they plotted together to kill the codfish.
It did not take long. The killing was easy. Then they tossed the codfish’s dead body into one of the piles of rotting fish.
Three days later some fish said that the codfish’s body was gone from the pile. Others reported seeing him alive, and on his way to the water. Many fish took up his message, and carried it across the land.
“See the waters,” they would say. “Water does not climb. It always seeks the lowest point. All the pond feels the ripples when a few drops are disturbed. Every drop in the ocean is part of the whole ocean.”
The codfish’s followers even began carrying other broken and dead fish to the waters. They would lovingly lower them back into the life-giving waters. They did this with the broken, the fallen, the small, and any others who would let them, all across the land.
That is what happened. But if you do not believe this story, go to any stream, river, pond, lake or ocean. See the waters. See if they really do seek the lowest point. See if ripples really are felt across the whole pond. See if every drop in the ocean is part of the whole ocean.
And if you look very closely, beneath the surface, you will see all the fish who live there in peace. They are one with the waters. It’s the way of Almighty Cod.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
