by Elana K. Arnold
illustrated by Magdalena Mora
illustrated by Magdalena Mora
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Four Davies, the first to hear the story E.K.A.
00:10Four Irene and Marty M.M.
00:13The Fish of Small Wishes Written by Elana K. Arnold
00:18Illustrated by Magdalena Mora All the kids were playing
00:24But Kiki Karpovic didn't join the She walked up the sidewalk pretending
00:29not to mind Later, when the other kids had gone inside
00:35The street was quiet No cars were coming
00:40The asphalt glistened like water in the heat Kiki saw something
00:46Something moving Something
00:50Golden A giant fish
00:53Eyes round as marbles It moved its dry orange lips
00:57Help, it seemed to say Kiki picked up the fish
01:04She ran toward home Across the courtyard
01:08Up the stairs And into the bathroom
01:12She dropped the fish in the tub and cranked on the water
01:16Maybe she was too late But then
01:20The fish Glimmering shimmering it swam
01:24It looked up It burbled bubbles
01:28The bubbles popped Quiet watery words
01:33Thank you Kiki blinked
01:37Then slowly she touched her lips to the water and said
01:40You're welcome The fish blew more bubbles
01:45As each bubble broke Kiki heard more words
01:50I want to grant you a wish to thank you for saving me
01:54A wish granting fish Mouth to the water, Kiki said
01:59I wish I had lots of friends Her word bubbles floated down and popped
02:05one by one The fish's tail twitched
02:09A golden fan I'm sorry
02:13You see I am a fish of small wishes
02:17Your wish is too big You will have to think of something smaller
02:22A smaller wish Kiki looked away so the fish wouldn't see
02:27her disappointment After all, it wasn't the fish's fault that
02:31it was just a fish of small wishes She went outside and down the stairs
02:38She sat on a bench in the courtyard Later, when the sun had set
02:44Kiki returned to the fish who looked Bigger
02:49Hello, said the fish Did you think of a smaller wish?
02:54Yes, Kiki said I wish I weren't so shy
02:58Ah, said the fish and it looked sad I am only a fish of small wishes
03:05I'm sorry That wish is still too big for me
03:10By morning, the fish had grown again Kiki went to the courtyard and began to dig
03:17But the day grew hot And the ground was hard
03:22By lunchtime, Kiki had blisters Inside, the fish of small wishes swam in slow
03:28circles Now it was almost too large to turn
03:32Hey, said Kiki, I thought of a small wish Oh good, said the fish
03:40Can you make a deep hole in the courtyard?
03:44I'm sorry, said the fish I know that must seem like a small wish, but
03:49it's bigger than you realize The fish, Kiki thought, looked a bit embarrassed
03:55That's okay, she said If the fish of small wishes couldn't help
04:01her, she'd need to find help someplace else Kiki was still shy
04:08Words rose like bubbles in her throat and she almost swallowed them
04:13But she thought of the golden fish growing too big for the tub
04:18There was no time for shyness Hey!
04:22Anyone want to help me dig a hole?
04:24All the kids came to help Three brought shovels, one had a trowel,
04:30and two offered spoons from their kitchens They dug all afternoon
04:35And when their siblings came out to see what was going on and when their parents came home
04:40their evening Someone had the idea to roll out a grill
04:45Someone thought to grab their stereo Someone brought a big sheet of plastic
04:52Someone had an old fish tank pump A bunch of little kids found rocks and stones
04:59Two bigger kids held the hose and a third cranked it on
05:04At last, Kiki tipped the fish of small wishes into its brand new pond
05:10The fish swam big loose loops It flipped its golden tail and splashed the
05:15kids who gathered around The burgers sizzled and smoked and smelled
05:20so good Everyone laughed and danced and sang loud
05:24and happy Kiki still felt sort of shy
05:29But she also felt proud And happy
05:33Maybe even a little bit like dancing and singing too
05:37And in the pond, the fish of small wishes swam and sparkled and shine watching the girl
05:42whose had all come true Authors note
05:47When I was very young, my grandmother whom we called Nana told me a story about how when
05:52she was very young her grandfather was once in charge of shopping for Passover dinner
05:59One of his duties was to get a carp to make defilled fish, a dish that combines several
06:04kinds of fish with matzo meal spices and sometimes eggs all rolled into hauls
06:10So he went to the fishmonger and brought home a thrashing glittery living fish
06:16A carp you see is a bottom feeder it spends most of its time in muck and mud
06:21To be fit for the meal, the fish needed to be cleaned inside and out
06:27This meant it would have to take a bath A very long bath
06:32In the family's bathtub Nana's grandfather filled the tub with water
06:37and plopped in the carp For the next two days, my Nana watched that
06:42fish swim in slow circles back and forth But Nana's grandfather was a big softy
06:49When it came time to eat the carp, he didn't have the heart
06:54So instead of taking the fish to the kitchen, he took it out of the family's apartment
06:59altogether spiriting it back to its watery home
07:03No ghee-filled fish for Passover, but that was fine by my Nana
07:08I grew up loving this tale imagining the fish in the bathtub picturing the face of my great
07:14great grandfather whom I never knew and the face of my Nana as a little girl
07:19One night many years later, my own little girl asked me to tell her a bedtime story
07:26I cast deep into the murky waters of my memory and up came a fish in a bathtub
07:32This story like all my stories is a ghee-filled fish of sorts
07:35One part Jewish memory One part what if, and one part dream
07:41I wonder, what stories do you have inside of you?
07:45Love Elana
07:46The End