- “O Star, my pond is a small and unimportant pond. Why did you choose to come here?”
“No special reason,” said the star. “The water here is clear and sweet, and I am only a baby star.” An then, thinking the fish was a simpleton, he added: “Tell me, will the moon bathe in the sea tonight?”
“I will tell you,” answered the little fish, but first you must tell me why one of my crabs lives with a water-snail.”
The baby star laughed at such foolishness.
“How stupid you are,” he said. “I live up in the sky. What could I know of such things?”
“And you are two fools,” the little fish declared; “for I live in this pond, and what could I know of the sky, or the moon, or if she will bathe in the sea tonight?”
The little star blushed with shamed and flew away. Wise men treat strangers with respect, and save themselves much trouble.