The Dreaming Fish
One night a Fish had a dream that he was flying & everyone he knew was applauding. Even the biggest sea creatures poked their heads out of the water to praise him. When the Fish woke up he was happy, until he remembered that he could not fly, so he decided to go back to sleep. The Fish continued to dream that he was flying & when he would wake to find that he could not fly, he would again decide to go back to dreaming. Eventually, the Fish began to wake up less & less, until one morning he did not wake up at all. He dreamed for hundreds & thousands of years, & when he finally woke up, he found that he was all alone in the ocean. The Fish swam to the surface & saw that all the old animals of the waters were now flying. A whale saw him & flew down from the sky. He said to the Fish, "You must be the sleeping fish we've heard about. We've been waiting for you to wake up. Come out & fly with us." The Fish cried, "I can't fly. I never learned. I am still a swimming fish & I have spent hundreds & thousands of years dreaming about this day." The whale looked sad, & said, "I'm sorry to hear that. If only you hadn't spent so much time dreaming, you would have what you've always dreamed for."
