There exists an aquatic zoo habitat of fish, lobsters, jellyfish, sea turtles, and more that vary in colors, shapes, and sizes. While happy for being well-fed and well taken care of, many of these creatures still yearn to see beyond the realms of their captivity. A month prior, the aquatic habitat was moved to the other side of the facility to make room for the new primate installation. Their old exhibit was inside the facility so it was completely enclosed. The new location spreads from the inside to the outside of the zoo's building. This means half of the exhibit is inside, while the other half is outside. The half that is outside has no barriers; animals in the aquatic exhibit require water so they cannot escape, but birds (and other flying creatures) are able to sit on the exhibit's pool ledge.

Additionally, the zoo's animals are used to eating prepared meals so they are able to coexist without eating each other. A concept such as predator versus prey is considered cannibalism and absurd to the zoo creatures. The new placement allowed the creatures to interact with 'free", non-zoo animals. One day, a crane somehow found its way to the edge of the pool. A small group of baby fish congregated to hear what this unfamiliar face had to say.

The crane stated to the crowd of baby fish, "My, my, what a set-up. But this is nothing in comparison to a lake I pass by."

One of the baby fish boldly asked, "What is the lake like?"

The crane responded, "It's just across the bay. I know especially for fish, there are large algae stocks that never run out. The natural water allows the algae to retain more salts and minerals compared to the zoo algae, making it more tasty. It is hard not to love having being able to eat an abundant amount of delicious food with no restrictions. The fish there have told me there are no boundaries on where to swim. The water is more pure because it is not polluted with cleaning chemicals. You have privacy. Particularly, no humans tapping the glass while you sleep. It is hard to articulate... but I could show you if you would like."

The baby fish responded, "Yes sir! I want to go, please! But, Mr. Crane, why do you not live there?"

"I want to live there but I have nowhere to stay as most of my family is here at the zoo. That is actually why I am here, to visit. There are no canopies or shady areas at the lake so it gets extremely hot in the day-time," the crane answered.

Immediately after this conversation, an older, wise fish of the group emerged from his sand cave. He was a respected elder not simply for his age, but was a rescue fish so he had actually seen the depths of the wild before being in the zoo. The bird units were on the other side of the facility so there was no way to confirm the crane's credibility.

The other fingerlings watching began to whisper. The old fish, the only other witness in their proximity, never spoke about the time before his rescue. Therefore, the only stories they knew of non-zoo fish were unchecked rumors. Not only were they able to hear the experiences directly from a witness, the Crane, but now the old fish. All of this was very exhilarating.

"What is this I hear of the wild?" the old fish asked in a distrusting grumble.

"I was just hoping to show everyone how great the outside world can be," said the crane.

The fish quickly retorted back, “What are your real intentions? I am no fool. I have seen how you wild animals trick and gobble us fish.”

The crane condescendingly uttered, “Sir, I can only imagine what it is like to be cooped up in here. Many of these fish have no idea what they are missing.”

"In that case, I will be the first to go," said the old fish.

The crane agreed to this and opened his beak. He scooped some of the water for the old fish to be able to breathe and they were off. The crane took the old fish to a nearby lake. The crane was right: there was abundant algae (food of choice of the fish), and so many more species of animals in the lake. The crane was right about there being no shade. There were no shadowy spots to protect from the heat. The lake fish informed the older fish that they had an agreement with nearby potential predators to not eat them. Potential predators could bathe in the lake during the scorching summer days without disturbance in return for the lake animals' safety. All the lake fish were extremely friendly and lived in communities.

The older fish saw how this might be of better benefit and better quality of life for his community back at the pool. The heat is not much of an issue for the fish because the water serves as protection from the sun's rays and is always cool. Living in a larger community can help the fish have others to depend on and better protect each other. With no predators, safety was not a big issue. This lifestyle could allow the fish to live a more independent, stimulating life. The food was an added bonus.

The two returned back to the zoo pool and the old fish told all the other fish of his adventure. The fish told the others to go, but to be careful. He recommended that he go with the first batch of fish, and then be the only one to return to let the others know they made it safely. With each batch going to the lake, one fish from the batch would remain in the beak to return to the zoo pool to ensure no fish were eaten. This way, if they did not return, the others would know not to trust the crane. All the fish ended up making it to the lake safely.

All the fish were happy with their new lives in the lake. The crane offered round-trips between the zoo and the lake, but the lively nature of the lake was much more appealing for the fish. As a thanks, they convinced the nearby crabs and lobsters to build a small hut out of sticks for the crane to sleep and lie in. The crabs and lobsters found pebbles and rocks to build a shelter large enough for the crane. When they showed the crane this, he cried tears of happiness. He now had a new home and loving family he had craved dearly.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wanted to keep this story somewhat similar to the original, because I wanted to show that fish characters can look out for themselves. In the original, the fish do not have any sort of "check" for the crane taking them to the lake. It is their naive trust in him that makes them not question his intentions (and end up being eaten). It is the crab who ends up saving the day because he uses his claws to choke the crane when he tries to mislead the crab. The hardest aspects of this assignment were totally removing the crab character and creating an optimistic vision of the competitive world of prey/predators, but letting the fish redeem themselves was a must. For this reason, I kept the fish, the crane, and the message of the golden rule. I also wanted to show that pain/suffering/harm does not have to exist for a moral lesson. My version rewards the crane for his honesty with a family and home which he desired. The fish check process was to help the fish not get conned as they did in the old version and to show their wit. I loved fables as a kid so I enjoyed this story. Fables are more complex than they appear. Firstly, keeping the content interesting yet understandable is difficult. Secondly, finding ‘loopholes’ to avoid when retelling the story is also troublesome. It was also hard to find a good and interesting picture of a crane; while on the search I found this image from a cartoon which I thought was cute.

(photo of Crazy Legs Crane Cartoon, can be sourced here)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: "The Cunning Crane and the Crab" from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. Web Source