The Fisherman Piping

A fisherman, who was also a skilled musician, set out one morning with his flute and his nets to the rocky seashore. He stood upon a high, jagged ledge overlooking the crystalline water, hoping that the rhythm of his music might entice the fish to leap into his basket. He played a soft, melodic tune, swaying with the breeze, imagining that the inhabitants of the deep would be enchanted by his artistry and surrender themselves to his net.

He played for several hours, his fingers dancing across the flute, yet the surface of the water remained as still as glass. Not a single fin broke the surface, and his nets lay dry and empty upon the rock. Frustrated by the lack of success, the fisherman eventually set aside his flute and cast his heavy dragnet into the sea. With a mighty heave, he pulled the net back to the surface, and to his great surprise, it was brimming with a vast multitude of flopping, silver-scaled fish.

As he watched the fish leaping and gasping upon the shore, the fisherman turned to them with a stern look. 'You foolish creatures!' he cried. 'When I played my music for you, you would not dance. Now that I have stopped, you jump about in a frenzy.'

He realized then that he had wasted his morning pursuing a fantasy rather than performing his duty. He had expected the fish to respond to his whims rather than their own instincts. The fish, of course, had no ears for music and no interest in the melodies of men; they were only moved by the sudden intrusion of the net. The fisherman gathered his catch and headed home, humbled by the simple truth that there is a time for play and a time for work, and that one should never expect the world to adapt to their idle amusements.