At the edge of the village lay a little pond, and early one morning a kitten sat on its bank. The big cats kept scooping shiny fish out of the water. Watching them, the kitten licked her lips. "Ma! I want fish too!"
Mother cat padded over. "You want to eat fish? Then you'll have to learn to catch them yourself." The kitten pulled a long face. But bit by bit she crept down to the water's edge and peeped in — and there below, silver fish went darting about.
The instant she spied a fat one, the kitten swiped at it — splash! Water flew up everywhere and left her soaked. And the fish? Gone in a flash. A frog on the bank grinned at her. "Oh — so it's that easy, is it?"
But the kitten wouldn't give up. Again her paw came down, and again the fish slipped past. Yet slowly she was learning — how the fish turned, which way they swam. And the hardest thing of all: to sit dead still, like a little stone.
Hush. The kitten didn't move a single muscle. A fat fish drifted nearer… and nearer… SNAP! Her paw shot out like lightning. This time it did not get away! "I got it! I got it!"
Fish in her mouth, the kitten raced back to her mother, and the two of them shared it. Meow — what a treat! "Ma, this is the sweetest fish in the whole world!" Her mother smiled. "That's because you caught it yourself."
Evening settled over the pond. Fireflies winked on and off, and a round moon climbed the sky. Snuggled up against her mother, the kitten whispered, "Tomorrow I'll catch fish again, Ma."