The Fisherman's Song

Not so long ago, there lived a fisherman, his wife and their three children. Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, they lived in a small house built from mud and wood. Around the green hills ran a river that came all the way from the snow-capped mountains beyond the clouds. It was in this river that the fisherman would take his basket made of bamboo to catch fish.

One fine day, the fisherman carried his trap down to the river banks. The birds sang with joy at the spring sunshine, but the fisherman could not share their happiness. For many days he had not caught any fish. Setting the trap down between two large rocks, the fisherman sat nearby. He thought of his hungry children and his wife cooking the few vegetables they had grown. He was sad.

Reaching into his pocket, the fisherman took out a small wooden flute, which he always carried to wile away the hours. Putting the pipe to his lips, he began to play. The melody that poured out was a mournful one that echoed through the hills. It was carried within the river, deep into the depths and beyond. In a remote area of the stream, it reached the elusive creature of the Himalayan waters, the freshwater dolphin. She heard the sadness in the song and was moved. What unhappy creature could sing in this way?

With a little leap, the dolphin left the safe waters of her home and swam towards the melody. She glided swiftly through the clear waters, finding her way by sound, like all other dolphins. Her sight was weak and when she arrived at the river she did not see the fisherman or the trap that lay nearby. All she could feel was the loud, haunting sound that held her, as if by a magical spell. Suddenly, she felt hard edges that pressed into her and prevented her from moving. She had swum straight into the fisherman's trap!

The music stopped. The fisherman peered at the basket to see what was in it. He was amazed, for he had never seen such a creature. "At last!", he thought, "there is food for my family and so much too!" He made his way to the trap and stooping low, lifted his knife high into the air. Suddenly a strange voice called out to him.

" Please! Do not kill me!"

The fisherman dropped his knife, in surprise.

"Do not think of my life, but of the life of my child who is growing inside of me."

The fisherman stared at the creature, he could not believe that she was talking to him.

"What are you and how is it that you can talk?"

"I am a river dolphin." She replied. " We have always talked, but few people listened." The fisherman said, "You are a clever fish, indeed, but you must understand that my family is very hungry, they have not eaten for a long time." The dolphin beat her tail against the basket, in desperation.

"Is this all we are here for, to be food for human beings?" "Yes, now please stop talking!" replied the fisherman. But the dolphin continued, "And why are you on earth?" The fisherman opened his mouth, but could not think what to say, so he continued to listen.

"How different am I from you?" insisted the dolphin. "When I have been hurt, I feel pain. When I see the ones I love, I am happy. And when I hear sadness, I wish to comfort the person who is suffering. It was your song that brought me here."

With a deep sigh, the fisherman began to understand how like him, the dolphin was. But he pleaded with her, "My children are hungry, I must feed them."

Although she was becoming weaker with each passing moment, the dolphin argued, "And my child is longing to be born, I must protect it. Take my life and you take not only mine and my little one's, you also take away the hope that all river dolphins have of surviving. There are few of us and one day, we fear that all that will remain of us are stories of what we were and how we lived."

The fisherman bowed his head, his heart felt heavy with what he was about to do. The faces of his hungry family appeared before him. Yet he could not help but gaze at the dolphin. Her wise and gentle eyes. Her smooth, graceful body. And her strong plea for life. "A world without such animals would be a sad one" thought the fisherman.

The fisherman took up his knife and taking the basket firmly in his hands, he cut it away and freed the dolphin. The dolphin took a moment to recover her strength and when she did, a gleam came back to her eyes. Before she left him, she whispered, "You have given us the greatest gift of all.........life." Time passed, the rains came and the river grew again. The fisherman vowed never to play the flute again, for fear of luring the dolphin towards his net. But he always kept it with him, as if it were a friend. During his fishing trips his basket was always full, so abundant were the fish now. The fisherman caught so much that he had plenty to sell in the village nearby.

So one day, he set out with a large basket of fresh fish for the market beyond the hills. The day started out fine and breezy, but as time wore on, the sky darkened. Rain began pouring like tears from the clouds and a strong wind tugged at the fisherman's clothes. Cold and wet, he struggled on until he came to a break in the path, where the hill ended and a long bridge made of rope connected it to the next hill. Grasping the sides of the bridge with both hands, the fisherman pulled himself forward. However, the more he tried to walk, the stronger the winds seemed.

Yet more clouds swept across the sky. All was dark. Suddenly, a terrible gust of wind howled towards the fisherman. Picking him up like a giant, it swept him off his feet and straight over the edge of the bridge! Down and down fell the fisherman, towards the river below. His wooden flute fell from his pocket and as the wind passed through its mouth, it whistled a song. A song that echoed throughout the valley and beyond.

The fisherman landed with a terrible splash into the raging water. He was swept into a pocket of water that spun around and around, dragging him deeper into its depths. Faster and faster it became, tearing the fisherman away from the world above, his family, and all hope of feeling the breath of life. The man was helpless.

It was in the midst of his deepest despair that a touch of warmth brushed across his arm. He reached out blindly for it and his hands closed upon a firm, smooth fin. With a swoop, the body of a familiar creature came under his, lending its strength and support. The fisherman grabbed her. Together, the man and the dolphin rose to the surface of the river and their hearts beat as one.

The fisherman reached out of the waters and gasped for breath.

"What is the greatest gift of all?" asked a gentle voice "Life, Life,.............LIFE" cried out the fisherman joyously, as he struggled onto land.

Turning back he saw the dolphin and a smaller one peer its head out of the waters. Swimming swiftly towards him, the little dolphin dropped a little dark object near his feet, the flute.

"Why are you here?" sang the little dolphin.

The fisherman paused in thought. For a moment, the fisherman looked at the dolphins and the dolphins looked at the fisherman. Not a word passed between them. But slowly, like the morning sun rising into the sky, a smile spread across the fisherman's face.

With a flick of their tails, the dolphins disappeared into the calm waters.

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