Week 4 (Storytelling): The Man Who Thought He was a Fisherman

In the city of New York City, there was a newlywed couple. Unfortunately, this couple was very poor. They struggled to keep up with their monthly bills and they constantly had to borrow money from friends and family. One day, the newlywed couple decided to escape from the bustling and boisterous city and moved to a humble, small home in the countryside of New York.

This small home was just big enough for both of them to live there comfortably. It was white with faded blue trim around the windows and door. Inside, the couple furnished their new home with just the necessities and only a few bits and bobs to add a bit of character. Surrounding the white house were stretches of cedar trees as far as the eye could see. About half mile north of their home was a lake. During the late afternoon, the temperature was just right and it was the perfect time to watch the sun set, whilst its light reflected in the waters. The sight was breathtaking. The couple took walks by the lake during this time. On those walks, they saw always saw a fisherman by himself sitting on his boat. He was a stout man with a head of thick grey hair around his mid-to-late sixties. From afar, the couple could see the fisherman very skilled. His bucket was filled with fish after a full day’s catch.
 
One morning, the husband decided to go out on a walk to the lake. He saw the fisherman as he was unhitching his boat to go out onto the lake. The husband came up to the fisherman and said, “Hello, sir, I see you fish all day! Please, let me go with you today.”

The fisherman nodded, “I see you and your wife walking by the lake during the afternoons. Come along with me and I’ll show you how to fish.”

The husband hopped on to the wobbly, old motorboat. The boat was so old that many of the writings on the controls had faded off and many of the gears were stiff and difficult to use. However, the fisherman started the boat effortlessly. They smoothly sailed to the middle of the lake. The fisherman showed the husband his fishing techniques. They sat and talked all day until it was time to go home. The fisherman had plenty of fish in his bucket. However, the husband did not have any at all. The fisherman saw this and pitied the husband. He gave him half of his fish and said, “Take this home and eat it with your wife for dinner tonight. Come back tomorrow morning and we shall try again.”

“Thank you, sir,” replied the humble husband.

The next day, the husband came back and sailed with the fisherman again. By the end of the day, the results were the same as the day before. The fisherman split his fish and gave half to the husband. The husband accepted.

Later on that night in his bed, the husband was staring up at his ceiling. “How come I cannot catch any fish? I am doing as the fisherman tells me. I know why. It is because all the fish want to go to his bait and not mine. Tomorrow morning, I will rise very early and take the boat. Then I will be able to catch all the fish by myself.”

The next morning, the husband did so. He woke up very early and went to the lake. He started up the boat. It was a much shakier ride than when the fisherman steered, but he eventually made it to the middle of the lake. Then, the husband cast his line and waited. The sun was rising. The husband looked up and saw the fisherman walking towards the dock. Unexpectedly, there was a tug from his fishing line. He pulled back and the fishing line stayed taut. Immediately, the husband did what the fisherman showed him. It was a good ten-minute struggle. Finally, he gave one last pull and the largest catfish he had ever seen came out of the water. He had caught his first fish. He stood up on the boat and waved victoriously to the fisherman. All of a sudden, the boat shook abruptly. The husband tried to balance on it, but it shook again. What was wrong with it? Then, he realized that he did not know how to swim, so he panicked. The more he panicked, the more the boat shook. The fisherman was on the dock and he tried to tell the husband something, but he was too far. Suddenly, the boat overturned and the husband fell into the water. He paddled his legs to try to get air, but some water vines had caught ahold of his leg. The husband hopelessly struggled for his life. Finally when he ran out of energy, he sank into the bottom of the lake. 

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Author's Note - The original story comes from the The Crow that Thought It Knew from the Jakata (Sheddlock) unit. I liked this storyline because it was different from the other Jakata stories. In many of the other stories, Buddha is reincarnated and a god decided to test his virtue. The test usually demanded Buddha to sacrifice something precious to him, but in this story he was not tested. In the original version of this story, Buddha is reincarnated into a very intelligent and strong marsh crow. A couple of regular crows escape a city suffering from famine and find Buddha. They are so hungry and ask Buddha for fish. Due to his giving nature, Buddha shares his fish with them and continues to do this for some time. Then one day the male crow decides that he does not need Buddha’s help anymore. He looks just like Buddha so he believes that he can catch his own fish. Unfortunately, soon he finds out that they are not similar at all. This grave mistake leads to his death. I did a modern take on this story because I think that it is very relatable to many contemporary situations. Someone sees that another person with an extraordinary talent so he or she believes that they have the same capabilities due to physical similarities. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There are people that overestimate their abilities and make irrational decisions. This husband did so and that led to his demise.

 

(Fisherman on Lake Malawi by Steve Evans) 

Bibliography: "The Crow that Thought It Knew" from Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock (1920)