Levi and the Fisherman
There was once a fisherman whose livelihood depended on his catch. One day, he was able to catch only one small fish. The fish, in its desperation to live, said "Please, leave me kind sir. I am small and of no use to you. Let me back into the river so that I may grow bigger. You can then catch me and have a large feast." The wise fisherman replies, "I will not give up a meal for one that doesn’t exist yet.”
Just as the fish was about to be swallowed whole he exclaimed, "Wait wait wait! Don't be so quick to eat me. My name is Levi and I'm a magical fish. If you spare my life I will grant you 3 wishes." The fisherman held out Levi, and thoughts of avarice danced in his brain. "Okay," he says, "for my first wish, I want to never know hunger for the rest of my life. For my second wish, I want to never know poverty and have all my needs met for the rest of my life. For my final wish, I want to never know sadness for the rest of my life." With a quick flop, Levi the fish pushes the fisherman into the lake and he promptly drowns. "Wishes granted."
The ghost of the fisherman rose from the lake and glowed softly in the pale moonlight. Angered by his misfortune, he set about getting his revenge on Levi the fish. "OOooOOoooOOoo where are you little fishie?" the fisherman cried out. The fish named Levi shouted back, I'm with my friends, we're in school! Come on over. The fisherman ghost hovered towards Levi and saw he was indeed in school and even teaching the class. He scowled, "Now I've got you! You tricked me before; you have no magic!" Levi called back, "Of course I do. Watch this." With a wave of his tail he transformed the ghost fisherman into a little ghost goldfish. Levi then turned to his students and said, "You see here kids, give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime."
Summary
The tale of Levi and the Fisherman is a tale as old as the Kerran race. It tells the tale of a wise fisherman who was outsmarted by a smart, magical fish. It is told to young Kerran and Vah'Shir as a cautionary tale, though its translation to the common tongues of Norrath has never seemed to get the subtleties of the story quite right.
Spread
Cultural Reception
In Literature
Collections of children's stories among these races will always feature this classic tale. In addition, their more mature and intellectual writings will often make allusions and allegorical references to Levi or the fisherman. Many of their holiest books find ways to weave these two in to stories with various dieties.
In Art
On Norrath, the Kerran Isles are a modest collection of somewhat primitive villages, but much of their artwork has survived the ages and been passed down. Some of the oldest images they painted were of a fish pushing a fisherman into the water.
On Luclin, the great city of Shar Vahl hosts large palaces and temples in which one may find allusions to the tale.
Comments