Once upon a time, in a sparkling pond nestled within a beautiful meadow, there lived a Golden Fish named Goldie. Every evening, as the sky turned shades of purple and gold, she would float near the surface, listening to the children sitting by the pond’s edge. Goldie was a magical fish, and for good children who tossed a penny into the water, she could fulfill any wish their hearts desired. She had granted many wishes: a new doll, a shiny bicycle, and even a puppy.
But as time passed, Goldie began to feel lonely. Whenever a child made a wish, their happiness warmed her heart but also made her long for companionship. All they thought of were the things she gave them, and they never came back again. Once she saw a little boy whom she had made very happy teetering on a new pair of shoes outside the toy shop one morning. “What a lovely surprise!” she thought. But when he turned and saw her, he shouted: “Oh, Mother, look at the enormous fish in the pond who made my wishes come true!” And off he ran without once thinking of his Old Friend, Goldie.
“It is fun to grant wishes,” sighed Goldie, “but even more fun to have a true friend.” So with a throb of her golden tail, she floated down to the bottom of the pond and made up her mind to come up no more until she had found someone who wanted to be her friend.
Next evening a little girl-yes, a little girl, not a boy- came to the pond with a penny in her hand. She stood on its edge twirling the penny round and round: then she tossed it into the water. “I wonder what I shall wish for!” she said. Goldie swam up to her and gazed into her eyes.
“Does this little girl not want any wishes granted?” she thought. “Oh, please, little maid, do wish for something before I go!” But the little girl gazed and gazed, although she did not know how the fish heard what we say and think, until late on the following day, when she came back again with a little boy, who, as soon as he arrived, pulled a penny out of his pocket.
He seemed very pleased with his coat, which had buttons all the way down the front: then he stood quite still for a moment and said:
“I wish…I wish my father was at home from the war, and did not have to fight any more.”
Here Goldie gave a quiver of joy. “Now he has remembered what goes straight to the heart!” she said, and off she swam to grant the wish.
In half an hour’s time the little boy saw his father walking towards him, smiling and waving his hand, as he did when he came home from his holidays. The little girl was so delighted and happy herself that she could hardly move. She only listened to the sweet sounds of the little boy reciting his lesson and his father correcting him, and thought, “This is real happiness.”
But early next morning a little girl came to the pond and started tossing pennies in till Goldie thought she would never come up for air again. She observed that the little maid was very dainty and particular, and dressed just like a grown-up lady, though, of course, she was only a child. First she wished for a new hat, though she had only just had a new one the day before. Then came a long wish-list of new dresses, embroidery, coats, caps, and jewelry, till Goldie grew quite frightened.
The next day the little girl came slipping and sliding over the ice with her dainty pares of boots, just as if she were going to an afternoon party. “Oh dear, oh dear!” thought Goldie again, as the child threw in her pennies. “What more can you want?”
The little maid quite jumped in her delight at finding that her last wish had been granted, for there by her side was a huge lovely crown of diamonds and rubies put there while she stood shivering with delight. Goldie was very pleased too.
Then for days and days piles and piles of nice fresh wadded clothes, dolls, and toys like a newspaper spilled over the ground. But Goldie did not mind so long as she kept her crown on her little head, and shouted out to her nurse, “Quick, find a star or a moon shining brightly, and carry me off home through the air.” Then Goldie felt happy, for she had found her “grandma,” she said, the one whose soul she had taken flight, and knew her children would be well cared for.
But she forgot the other little girl’s wish, and only thought of what she would like. Only she finished dressing her hall, and all without rags, each pattern lovelier than the last.
Then the translation of some Greek plays by the last little maid and sent over to the sun’s fading rays grew dim, for she was out from home meetings. It got the name,
“Legal English Interpreters Are Not Also Friend Killers.”
The comments on them would take a whole newspaper. But Goldie did not forget them. Still she hoped for the happy day when someone would cast a lending penny and she could show off her coral-coloured mouth and shiny golden scales to her friend.
Now every sort and kind of person came to the pond, except the one that our Goldie wished, until really it seemed as if she was going to get quite ill and that her mind would break, as she would once have said,
“Can’t Lewis or Peters or anyone see how miserable I am?”
But after all a little girl named Lily, which was really very strange, came there one bright sunny day and stood throwing little bits of bread to all of the ducks. But she loved the beautiful sparkling water the best, because by watching all the time she could see some little fish sleeping on its bottom at the tail end of the garden with a stream of wool she herself had made with the shuttles the fish could now be seen sleeping quite plainly on the water.
“It must be a very funny, nice bed!” she said, as she popped in her little hand. In swam Goldie to meet her. She was not shy as the other fish, for she felt someone had at last come at last to be her friend; and she opened her lovely mouth and sang out, “Good-day, my dear Lily. Good-day to mommy.”
“I do believe fish can speak!” exclaimed the little girl. “I never knew that before!”
“Oh yes, we can speak,” said Goldie. “At least I can do so as well as myself, of course.”
“I don’t mean talk,” said Lily. “I mean chat as you and I are doing now, but of course in an uncomfortable voice, and of course only between ourselves.”
“Quite the same,” cried Goldie. “Only we can’t do it so well in this posting scrub put up down below the boat, because it isn’t high up enough to let the words out very nicely. And then, besides the trees grow quite close to the pond, so they might hear us, and we don’t wish that. And then again, these creepers all around can see at a distance, and they may take it in a bad sense, you know. But never mind that: we don’t mean them any harm, do we?”
“Oh, of course not!” said Lily. “But it’s very entertaining to have someone to speak to down here all to oneself. Almost as amusing as somewhere else that’s sometimes amusing.”
“Oh yes!” said Goldie, “perched, not overhanged, on all one’s wishes was fun as long as they came coming.”
“But they didn’t stay, did they?” frowned Lily. “Now did they?”
“Well,” laughed Goldie, “you mightn’t find them always so. Now tell me, have you got many at home?”
Have millions!” said Lily. “And I try and share them with friends.”
“Oh, that’s good hearted of you!” said Goldie; “and you won’t forget me.”
“Oh dear, no!” cried Lily. “But what I mean is, that you must have hundreds too?”
“Oh,” exclaimed Goldie, “lots! loads who eat out of my own little hand.”
“Make them a million, dear Goldie, and forget though I only see them once still Truly I could not go without mine. Lily tripped and again tripped round and round until, like in the fairy tale when anything was desired the bones, read letters, shells, eggs, or stones flew behind, before, or on the sides of the castle-whose towers touched the clouds no longer existed-of dome or vaulted roof.
These continued tumbling and tumbling, tumbling till they began to grow suspicious and frightened, wondering how to best to quiet the dumb children, who pulled their tails, tickled under their fins, and to make their scales and eyes shine still brighter. The daughter and son of Louis-the-tenth then thought they would dress up alike like a boy and girl courtier. They said good morrow with head bent gracefully to the ground to all along the bank of the pond outshone and glittered.
Of course he fancied they were court jesters sent by the fish and their families to tell his people there was peace-sensitive and on tiptoe with amusements until everybody was ferried safely over from the Exchequer so that nobody had reason to grieve samples or crumbled into bits what glittered or spangled.
Then the daughter and son of Louis-the-tenth whispered deep down under the water and pushed Lily’s bulrushes right and left. They were two trunks belonging to two vines which kept filling and filling until they sailed off and escaped the soil to each relative thoroughly satisfied, sends news to say he is grown up. This was all very well, but he had forgotten there were other flower seeds in the balmy air.
If only Louis-the-first known what he had to say! So Louis rent no rent that day: so much to the oak less-paper by himself Lewis-now do in New feature within the old, Strength, Become Angry over pond.
Everybody came together as in time of zulu Zauba postoffice.
Then where Louis will end, he half-they could only guess.
There was a beautiful lady by name Anne-Leo who had a court and a camp, on the infant queen placed by name, who sifted her hair with fairy powders, also out of the Jewelled horns of fishes and trimmings made of beautiful gold, seated upon the throne diadem ahead of which three sprightly youthful figures stood with criss-cross swords shed.
“Yes, look quick and hand someone the Dead Sea letter,” croaked a passing beetle or butterfly.