Friday Fables

The Fable of the Carpby Barry J. Northern There was once a school of carp who lived in a slow river with many other water creatures. The river was a beautiful place, full of life, and there was plenty to eat for everyone among weeds, which floated in the clear water.The carp ate well along the river bed, where their favourite food lay, and grew large. Some carp found ways to eat more than others, for they were clever and rooted deep in the mud, and so they became larger more quickly. One carp grew so large in this fashion that he crowned himself king. Even so, he still desired to grow larger, and even began to eat the other fish of the river.Now many of the carp were jealous of King, even while they desired to be as large as he, and so they too rooted deep in the mud and ate the other fish. A few of the carp among them saw that the once clear water was growing muddy, and that there were less kinds of fish in the river than there once were, but most simply desired to grow bigger like those around them.One carp