peter the carp

peter is a carp. he is a type of fish that people keep because he has pretty orange and black spots on his silvery, shiny skin. peter is a big carp. he is the biggest fish in his pond. every day, all the other fish would tell him, 'wow, peter. you are the biggest koi we have ever seen!' and this would please peter very much. sometimes he would think to himself that he is the king of all fishes. and sometimes, especially when he dreamed at night, peter would realise that he is the biggest fish in all the world.

one day, peter's owner, pat, decided that peter was so big, that he had to be moved away. this made peter feel extremely sad, as he was leaving all his close fish friend behind. but, it also made him feel very excited, because it meant that he was a really big fish, and maybe, he would be moved to a place where there were other big fish! but, of course, they would not be as big as he was. they, too, would then see peter as a king of fishes, and he would make new friends. and all of them would tell him that 'peter, what a big fish you are! we wish we were as big and beautiful as you are'.

so the day came when peter would move. all the fish said their goodbyes and farewells. and with a tear in his eye, peter bid them all a fond departure, and left for his new home - a place pat called 'the big blue sea'.

reaching his new home, peter felt slightly anxious! there were no walls, like his old pond. there was no bottom that he could see or feel or even imagine. there was no crowded little nook or comfortable tunnel in which peter could huddle in. oh, dear. this will not do at all. all there was, was an endless deep blue. peter was all alone, too. soon he began to be afraid. but he thought to himself 'well, since there are no more limits here, and there are no other fish around, i shall just grow and grow and grow. i will grow until i am the biggest fish in the world (although i already am) and when i am big enough, everyone and every fish will see me. they will all think "my, what a huge fish that is. i wish i were as enormous as him!" and then, i will be able to make all the friends i need!' this thought put a very big smile on his face.

soon peter began to explore the sea, and as he swam farther away from where he was released, he began to see all sorts of fish. 'this is already working out as i had planned! oh, joy!' he thought. and he began to eat as much as he could, trying his best to be the biggest fish that he could be (although, seeing all these new fish, he already knew he was the biggest fish in all the world. it could not hurt to be even bigger, though). so he ate, and he swam, and he ate and he swam, and in his mind he was growing ever so bigger each time (even though he actually wasn't).

peter swam deeper and it got colder. peter met very new types of fish. there were fish that looked like snakes! there were fish that looked like pancakes! there were fish that looked like balls and mace-heads! there were fish that just didn't look like fish. but, in all their strangeness, all these fish were not as big as peter, and that's all that counts.

deeper, peter swam. faster, peter swam. farther, peter swam. and soon, everything was dark, and cold, and peter could see nothing more than a pitch black. and here, peter viewed the most fantastic fish in the entire world. some fish held lanterns above their heads, some fish wore colourful skins, some fish had no eyes, and some fish had very, very sharp teeth. soon, peter realised that the fish were, indeed getting very big. though the fish were bigger than he already, in his eyes, peter was just that much longer to make him the longest, just that much heavier to make him the heaviest, just that much bigger to make him the biggest.

and on peter swam, 'til he was lost entirely in the darkness. in a place where there are whales and sharks and giant squid and a whole series of uncategorised fish. and things that are not fish. and what happens to peter? it is too dark for us to tell. some say he was eaten by the fish he sought so hard to beat in size. some say he grew larger than any of them all, and became the biggest fish in the world. some say he just faded away into the darkness.

* koi are fresh-water fish, and would die if placed in the sea. this is a children's story, stop hating.