J. F. Campbell Collection > Household stories

460 grisim's household stories.
or killed. He concealed himself in the hedges ; and when he thought
himself quite safe, he called out, "I am King, I am King !" Therefore
the other birds called him Hedge-King in scorn, and that means the
Wren.
THE SOLE.
The Fishes once grew very discontented because no order was kept in
their dominions. None turned aside for the others, but each swam right
or left just as it pleased him, sometimes between those Avho wished to be
together, or else pushed them to one side, and the stronger ones gave the
weaker blows with their tails, which made them get out of the way as
fast as they could, or else devoured them. " How nice it would be,"
thought the Fishes, " if we had a king who should exercise the power of
judging between us !" And so at last they assembled together to choose
a lord, who should be he who could swim the quickest and render help
best to the weaker fishes.
So they laid themselves all in rank and file by the shore, and the
Pike gave a signal with his tail, on which they started off. Like an
arrow darted away the Pike, closely followed by the Herring, the Gud-
geon, the Perch, and the Carp, and the rest. Even the Sole swam
among them, hoping to gain the prize.'
All at once a cry was heard, " The Herring is first, the Herring is
first!" "Who is first?" asked the flat envious Sole in a vexed tone,
" Who is first ?"
*' The Herring, the Herring !" was the reply.
" The nak-ed Herring, the nak-ed Herring ! " said the Sole disdain-
fully. And since that time the Sole's mouth has become all on one side
for a punishment.