“If he had power to go under the water and live, there would be no small fishes in the river, and if he were big, like the eagle or bear, there would soon be no fishes in the world. I am glad the Creator made him a small creature and not too powerful.
“The bivalve—he has great power to live under the water. Small swimming things can not escape if they pass by his door, but if he could move about like other fishes with his great power and his appetite for many fish, I think the mother of all fishes could not make enough for his greedy mouth, for now he opens his doors all day long and takes in the creatures that swim by.
“I had fish from the river last night for my evening meal, but I think they never passed the bivalve’s house or he would have had them for his supper.
“When the bivalve and snipe fought together, each [[121]]one thought, ‘I have great power; I want what you have, and I will kill you and get it for myself.’
“The snipe saw the bivalve’s door open and he thought, ‘What nice white meat; I will have it,’ and he picked at it. The bivalve shut his doors tight and held the snipe so that he could not get away.
“And they fought; each one trying to kill the other, until the hunter came and caught them both. Then the hunter took the snipe and the bivalve home and said to his wife, ‘We will have a good supper to-night.’ And his wife looked and was very glad to have two such savory things at one time. The hunter said, ‘Cook the bivalve well done, and we will put some Tung-Ku[2] and Cho-Chen-Cho[3] with it. Save the shells and put them away carefully to dry, and I will sell them to the man who makes furniture, for inlaying his tables.
“ ‘The pearls that were in this bivalve will bring me much silver from the jeweler. I will ask my mother to come here for supper. The bivalve is enough for us all, and my mother will be glad. She has never before eaten of a bivalve.
“ ‘The snipe, I will not kill. I will keep him to show to my son and nephew. Give him rice to eat and some [[122]]water to drink, and keep him in the cage. To-morrow I will give him some fish and in a few days I will take him to the school teacher. Then, when I train him to sing, I will take him to the market place and sell him for much silver.’ ”
At the party on the evening of the next day, all the pupils told stories. At last the teacher repeated the story of the fight between the swimming and flying creatures.