"'Good-bye, Beautiful Angler!' it said, sadly. 'You were sweet, but you have taught me a lesson, and freedom is sweeter.'
"The splash of its reaching the water fully awakened the Fisherman, but he saw the basket with the lid shut, and had no anxieties until his eye caught the pink of the water where the Fish sheltered under the rock. Its gill was still bleeding from the hook wound, and colored a circle round it. Then he opened the lid and found the basket empty.
"'Good-bye,' said the Fish. 'Your wish has been granted, and your pleasure can begin all over again!'
"But the Fisherman suddenly realized that his rod, while he slept, had fallen into the river, and was floating away down the stream.
"'Good-bye again,' said the Fish; 'I have suffered, but I have now experience, and I am grateful to you, and my gill will heal up, and I will smile at you sometimes from just under the surface of the water, and so all is well!' And it flashed its glittering scales in the sun before it darted away out of sight in the strong current."
And the Damsel folded her hands and looked into distance.
"Thank you, Damsel," said the Sage, gently for him; "but the Fisherman could procure another rod—rods are not rarities. What then?"
"That would be for another day," said the Damsel; "and—for another Fish!" And she tripped away down the hill, and was deaf to the Sage, who gruffly called after her.
When you have caught your Fish, it may be wiser to cook it and eat it.