Crane and the Crab

The summer had been like no other. The reflection of the water shone as the blazing sun gradually heated up the shallow waters of the lake. A small quaint lake filled with a population of ordinary fish stood surrounded by a lush environment. Animals who used to frequent the lake to drink from the shore had found other sources and the shadows of birds flying overhead were only one of many worries the fish had on their mind these days. The biggest shadow of all was a crane named Amu.

Along with the fish lived a single crab named Kodi who kept to himself and lived in the rocks as an observer of the lake. He saw the typically calm-mannered fish beginning to become worrisome and confused. Each day he noticed that more earth was revealed at the edges of the lake and the temperature slowly increased throughout the summer. As the heat increased the depth of the lake decreased, and shadows overhead of nearby cranes became a regular occurrence. On the final day the lake waters had gotten extremely low. The temperature had continued to rise and that worried every fish in the lake. Even Kodi was dreading what was ahead. That day everything changed. It was no longer shadows from the cranes overhead, but Amu the crane that had come to reason with the fish. He came from a lake not far in the distance and made promises of lush cool waters and lily pads that floated further than the eye could see.

"I know many of you have seen me flying around the lake recently. Do not fear me. I have not come to eat you", said Amu with a cunning grin in his eye. " I have noticed your lake is getting shallow and warm. I have just flown here from a lake only a short flight away. This lake I have come from is ten times the size of your current lake here. I am known as caring and kind among the animals there. I thought that I could spread my kindness to you all as I see that you are struggling here. What if I could offer you fish a ride in my beak and fly you there!" said Amu.

Amu was not only there to gloat but appeared to have arrived in an act of kindness. Kodi the crab still sat distant among the rocks, observing Amu and the stories he told. Every fish listened in awe and their hopes began to rise, but there was one fish who listened in doubt. It was Zale, the senior fish with one eye who did not think that Amu proved he was as trustworthy as made himself appear. Zale had a bad history with cranes. When he was a young fish and the lake they lived in was still cool and lush he learned that cranes were not friends of fish. One day he had approached the surface to hunt for water bugs and suddenly everything went black. He realized he had almost been eaten by a crane but had escaped with only the loss of an eye. From that day he became skeptical and careful which is why he survived to be the senior fish in the lake. His survival knowledge was respected among the fish. All of the fish were shocked when he volunteered to go with Amu in his beak to find out if he was telling the truth.

When the crane took him in his beak the lake stirred with uneasiness. All of the fish knew that Amu had said the lake was a short flight but it was nearly dark before Amu finally returned. The crab anticipated the return of Zale and as he dropped in the water all of the fish in the lake rejoiced. The fish told of the lake not far in the distance and all that it had to offer. Amu had earned the trust of every fish in the drought-ridden lake. The crab still observed from the distance. One by one each fish fought for their chance to ride with Amu to their new home. He had promised to take each fish individually in his beak to the safety of the lush new lake.

As Amu took the last fish in his beak the crab exited the rocks. Amu returned surprised to see a crab was the only one left in the lake. The crab due to his skepticism decided to make a deal with Amu. He said that to be able to safely ride to the lake he would hold on with his claw to the neck of Amu. The crane agreed and so the crane allowed Kodi to hold onto his neck. The ride was short and the crab saw in the distance the sight of a large lake with many trees surrounding it just as the crane had described. As his excitement began to grow it soon turned to dismay. As they came closer to the lake the crab saw a pile of fishbones under the shade of tree along the edge of the lake and he immediately knew his instincts about Amu were correct. The crane told him that he planned to eat the crab along with every fish he had eaten. In that moment the crab threatened him with his claw. In a state of panic the crane did what the crab asked him to, hoping that his life would be spared. When the crane landed, the crab snapped his claw and the crane died. The crab crawled into the water and found a pile of rocks. He had a new home for him to observe the surrounding of the new lake, and less reason for him to ever leave the rocks again.

Note: This story was adapted from The Cunning Crab and The Crane. The original story focused on the crane and how he deceived all of the fish in the lake. I wanted to retell this story with more imagery and detail about why the fish would ever choose to trust a crane. I chose to give the crane and the crab names to give them more of a human quality. I think that the story already gives the sense that the fish and crane had human-like reasoning capabilities. I wanted to give them dialogue and background to their thought processes. I also chose to write the story from the perspective of the crab because he is in my opinion the most important character. I think he is the most important character because he was the one the ultimately got revenge for all of the fish. He outsmarted every fish in the lake who chose to trust a crane, who is a predator, to take them to safety. I think that this story is interesting because it shows how some will take advantage of the weak for their own personal gain. A group who was struggling chose to trust a stranger and grasp onto the hope of the future. Even if the story is not necessarily a happy ending, it did end with vengeance and a surprise character overcoming the challenge and having their own happy ending.

"The Cunning Crane and the Crab" from Jataka Anthology