Why the Fish Lives in the Sea
Why the Fish Lives in the Sea is a folktale told to teach about being faithful in your relationships.
Why the Fish Lives in the Sea
A long time ago, the fish used to live on land. This was when King Eyo was still the King of Calabar. The king was famous for his love and understanding towards the people he ruled so everyone lived on land without fear or trembling; there and everyone existed in peace with each other. This continued for years. The fish was one of the people that enjoyed this privilege.
Another animal that lived on the land was Fish’s best friend, the Leopard. The Fish and the Leopard were known as best of friends because they did everything together. Their friendship was so good that the Fish occasionally visited the Leopard in the bush, where the Leopard would entertain him, but for some reason, the Fish never entertained the Leopard in his own home.
In all the visits that the Fish made to the Leopard, Leopard’s wife was always around, and the Fish always saw her because she was always the one who brought food to them. One day, the Fish came to the house to meet his friend Leopard.
“Fish, my dear friend!” Leopard greeted him like he usually did.
“Leopard, how are you?” Fish replied.
“I am very much okay. Please, have a seat,” the Leopard said and called his wife to bring something to his friend. The Leopard was too busy chatting away with the Fish that he didn’t notice the look in his eyes. After the meeting, Fish went back home.
The next day, he began visiting Leopard more and more, and Leopard just believed his friend was becoming very close to him.
This continued for a long time. The Leopard had no idea that a very strong relationship had started between his wife and his best friend. Leopards usually loved going out to haunt in the cool of the evening, and this was when the Fish always visited his wife.
One day, the Fish came to meet Leopard’s wife, and a conversation ensued.
“Mr. Fish, you are here again,” Mrs. Leopard said innocently.
“Yes, how are you?” Fish asked her.
“I am fine. My husband is not here; he has already gone to work,” she said.
“I know. I’m actually here to see you. See, I brought some gifts for you,” the Fish said and lifted a bag filled with some fruits. The Leopard’s wife collected the fruit and smiled. Soon, they were on the couch, smiling and hugging each other. This led to deeper unfaithful actions.
This continued for weeks without Leopard knowing about it. Luckily for him, one of his neighbours always saw the Fish coming to his house whenever he was not around. When she could not take it anymore, she decided to tell Leopard about it.
“Mr. Leopard,” she stopped him on his way to work one day.
“Yes, my neighbour,” Leopard addressed her and stopped to hear what she had to say.
“I see you are going to work.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Well, I wanted to tell you something very terrible that I have been seeing for the past few weeks.”
“What is it?” Leopard asked her. The woman was elderly, and he knew that he could trust whatever she said.
“Well, for the past few weeks, whenever you go to work, I usually notice Fish, your friend coming to see your wife. They spend a long time together, and I know that she is cheating on you with him.”
The Leopard couldn’t believe her because he believed so much in his wife; he knew she could never cheat on him.
“No ma. I think you are mistaken. Now, I will be going to work. I will see you when I return,” the Leopard said and walked away.
The Leopard hadn’t gone too far before he remembered that he forgot to carry some of the equipment he needed, so he headed back home.
Leopard entered his house quietly, and as he opened the door. He saw the Fish and his wife in his matrimonail bed. Leopard got very angry and chased the Fish out of his house.
For days, Leopard’s wife begged Leopard, but he wouldn’t have it. He was so angry, and he knew that if he didn’t do something about it soon, he might kill the Fish and his wife.
To get his revenge, he chose to report the Fish to the King.
“My King,” Leopard said when he reached the King’s palace.
“Leopard, what is the problem?”
“My King, my best friend, the Fish, has been sleeping with my wife, and I want him to be punished according to the law.
“That is a very huge claim. Do you have any proof?” He asked.
“No, my King, but I believe if we should call him, he will speak the truth.”
“Okay,” the King said and signalled to his guard to fetch the Fish. A few minutes later, the King’s guard came back with the Fish. He was placed on a platform.
“Fish, Leopard said that you have been sleeping with his wife. What do you have to say about this?” The King asked, but the Fish had nothing to say. So the King decided that he was at fault.
He turned to the people and addressed them. “This is a very bad character. Fish here is Leopard’s best friend, and he betrayed his friend by sleeping with his friend’s wife. Because of this, Fish will always live in water, and the day he tries to come to the land, he will die. Also, I declare that animals and humans should kill and eat the Fish as punishment for what he did to his friend.”
So with that, the Fish was cast into the water, and has remained there ever since.
Moral Lesson
Never betray your friends.
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