Week 6 Story: The Crane and the Weather Girl

The crane and the fish. Source: Pixnio.

"Reporting to you live from the weather channel," said the weather girl, "The temperature today has reached an all-time high causing a drought that is decreasing the water levels faster than you have ever seen before. The heat is not the only thing affecting the water levels, the lack of rainfall has been doing some damage as well. There has not been a single drop of rain in the past few months to put it in perspective. This drought is unreal if you are asking me! It seems like the scorching, hot weather may lead to death of the animals that live in the water. Let's check out the bodies of water and see how they are doing today."

The weather girl heads over to a small pond and noticed a significant reduction of the water. Due to low water levels, madness starts to abrupt from within the lake community. The fish start to stress out because their life is literally on the line if the water completely dries out.

The first fish swimming frantically in the pond asked, "What are we going to do?! What if the temperature never goes down and the water keeps on evaporating? Someone please help us!"

"Everything will be fine, trust me. I heard there is a big lake nearby that is shaded with numerous trees, so the water levels are normal over there! I just hope there is someone kind enough to take us over there," the other fish said.

Another fish said, "HELP! Someone please help us! We need to be taken over to the lake where the water is shaded!"

The cries of the fish is noticed by the weather girl and this starving crane who is looking for a meal to satisfy his growling stomach. The weather girl, unbothered, walked away from the area to the lake the fish were talking about to see if the water levels were okay or not. The rumors were true, the water is safe for the fish! The crane, however, devises a devious plan to mislead the fish into thinking they were going to lake but in reality, the fish is going to get devoured one by one.

Crane: "Hello my fellow fish friends, I heard you all crying for help and came to aid you. It is true of what you hear about this lake nearby; the trees keep the water shaded preventing it from drying out quickly unlike this pond you all settle in. I can help you all get to this place and survive this horrendous heat."

The fish questioned the crane and wondered if they could even trust him. One of the fish asked, "Is there really a lake nearby? Can we really trust you?"

The crane replied, "To prove my trust, I will take one of you over to the lake to see. I will also bring you back so you could tell your fish friends about the lake you saw."

The fish believed the crane and felt like he was being legitimate. One courageous fish volunteered to go and was taken to the lake in the crane's beak. After arriving at the lake, the crane opened his beak so the fish could see the wonderful lake everyone was talking about. The fish was shocked to see that there was actually a lake and could not wait to tell the rest of his friends. The crane brought the fish back to the pond and the fish told all of his friends about the lake.

The crane asked, "Do you believe me now?"

All of the fish replied, "Yes! Please take us all over there and save us from this heat!" The fish were all urging the crane to take them over to the lake and had no idea of what his true intentions are.

"One by one, please! I do not have a beak that can fit all of you at once." said the crane.

The fish who volunteered earlier went first and was brought over to the lake. The crane dropped the fish on the ground instead of in the lake which made it suspicious.

The fish panicking asked, "What are you doing?! Why aren't you dropping me into the lake?"

The crane said, "Ha, you fool. I can't believe it was that easy to trick you and your friends. I was never planning on taking you all to the lake. You're all just food to me."

The weather girl still by the lake overheard the conversation and decided to go over to see what was happening. She saw the fish struggling for his life and the crane opening up his beak, getting ready to eat.

"Stop!" said the weather girl. "What do you think you are doing you crane?" She walked over to the fish and put it in the lake where he is safe.

"I...I'm...just trying to take my fellow fish friends over to this lake." said the crane.

She said, "I don't think you are based on the conversation I heard. Now, you are going to take me to where the other fish are at and you are going to find food else where. Fish are friends, not food you hear! I will not tolerate this nonsense and there will be consequences if try this again. Do you understand?"

The crane scared for his life agreed and guided her to the other fish. After doing so, he flew away and never came back. The weather girl transported all of the fish into the lake, so they could survive the heat.

Note: This is my version of The Cunning Crane and the Crab with a happy ending because I did not like how the original version ended the story. The crab was also replaced by a different character in my story.

The Cunning Crane and the Crab from Jataka Anthology