The pool had been growing hotter with every passing day. Slowly, all of the Fishes began making their discomfort known to the Crab.

The rain had not visited or refilled the pond in weeks and the inhabitants were painfully aware. The Crab spent most of his time at the bottom of the pool hidden away in the semi-cool mud.

One day, as the water grew even hotter, a large Crane made a stop by the edge of the pool. The Crab watched as the bird plunged his head under the water and addressed the Fish.

“This pool is shriveling,” said the Crane “Surely there is something I could do to help you all out of this sweltering puddle!”

Following the Crane’s exclamation, the Crab could hear all of the Fish muttering to one another.

“There is a lake just across the way! I could pick you all up in my beak and take you where the water is cool and shaded,” the Crane enticed.

Again, there was a muttering among the Fishes. One of the older Fish questioned the Crane, “You must want to lift us out of this miserable pool only to eat us!”

The Crane shook his large head in disagreement. “I have eaten Fish before, but my intent is only to relieve you all of this torture before you boil.” The Crab knew better than to believe the Crane.

However, the older Fish volunteered to let the Crane carry him to see this cool lake for himself. The crane let the Fish into his beak and promptly flew away.

There was a momentary silence among all of the Fish, and they began to question whether their friend would return or become a meal. After a while they saw a shadow form over the pool as the Crane landed with the elder Fish in his maw.

The old Fish swam out and exclaimed, “The lake is beautiful! Not only is it cool and shaded, but there are plenty of flies and other things to eat!” The Fishes cheered loudly while the Crab began to wonder if the Crane would really keep his promise.

Slowly, one-by-one, the Fish flew away with the Crane to make their home at the new lake. The first to go was the elder Fish, while the others followed suit.

Eventually, the Crane picked up the last Fish in his beak and carried him away. The Crab sat, buried in the mud, as the dust settled to the bottom of the pool.

Everything was silent. That was, until the Crane returned to look for any stragglers. The Crane sat poking his beak into every hole until he found the Crab.

“Oh, Crab! Do you wish to ride with me to the lake where all of your friends now are?” the Crane asked hungrily. Still wary of the bird, the Crab said nothing.

The Crane laughed, “Nothing has happened to your friends. Come with me and I will show you.”

The Crab slowly emerged from his spot in the mud and bargained with the Crane, ”Fine! But I do not trust to ride inside your beak like the Fish. Allow me to hold onto you with my claws so I do not fall to my demise.”

The Crane agreed without thinking. All of the thoughts he could muster involved how good the Crab would taste. The Crab gripped his claw around the Crane’s neck and the two took off into the sky.

As they flew, the Crab began to see the beautiful lake that had been mentioned so many times before. However, the Crane must have had other plans as he began to veer off towards a tree by the lake. Beneath it, the Crab could see tons of small skeletons, most likely from the Fish.

The Crab began to grip the neck of the Crane even tighter. “You better not be taking me to my death, you vile bird! Let’s remember who has the power of life and death in this situation!”

Visibly shaken, the Crane veered back towards the lake and landed at its shore. Once the Crab’s feet were all on the shoreline, he swiftly closed his claw with fervor.

The Crane’s head tumbled down from his body and the Crab receded into his new home in the lake.

The Crane had outsmarted all of the Fish. However, in his crazed state fueled by hunger, he allowed the Crab to have the upper hand. With this power, the Crab turned the Crane’s trick around and ended his life instead.

Author’s note:

For this story, I have taken inspiration from The Cunning Crane and the Crab. This story was from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales From Old India by W.H.D. Rouse. To make it my own little version of the story, I focused on the point of view from the crab. I really liked the role that the crab played in the original story, so I wanted to do something involving him more.

I have always loved crabs of all kinds. When I was younger, I had several hermit crabs in a huge terrarium with tons of shells to choose from. They were so fun to watch and I always thought about how smart they were. This is why I was excited and mildly traumatized by the crab beheading the crane. I wrote this story mostly to give Crab the representation he deserves.

I revised this edition of my story by slowly proof reading and addressing both grammar and punctuation mistakes. I have not written a lot of dialogue before, so my knowledge on how to is a little underdeveloped. I checked some rules of writing and will check with it when editing my dialogue from here on out.

Bibliography:

W.H.D Rouse. The Cunning Crane and the Crab.