Once there was a little fish who loved the light. She always swam near the top of her lake to see as much light as possible. In summer when she was warm, she would go down a little, turn upward and swim as hard as she could. For just a moment she would leap out of the water, and sparkle in the dazzling light. Then, of course, she would fall back into the lake. She couldn't do this for very long because it made her tired. She would have to sink back down into the darker waters to rest.

She hated winter when there was little light and she could not swim fast because she was cold. On one such night she was alone in the darkness, resting deep in the lake to avoid the freezing temperatures near the surface. She was very depressed.

Suddenly she saw swimming toward her a large and astonishing fish. Light radiated from the fish in all directions in the most beautiful colors, shimmering and changing in the water. The body of the large fish was so bright that the little fish could look at it for only a moment. The little fish swam back and forth, always turning her head to get a glimpse of the lights and colors of the large fish.

"Who are you?" the little fish asked.

"I am a Lightfish."

"Where are you from?"

"I am from the Light."

"Why are you here?"

"Because you are lonely and sad."

The little fish stopped swimming. "Yes, it's true," she said. "I am very lonely and sad."

"Why?"

"Because I cannot remain in the light. I love it so much, but I am only a fish. I have to stay in the water. I cannot live in the light."

"Is that so bad, being a fish?"

"Yes, it's terrible! You don't know how hard it is. I have to be always looking for smaller fish to eat, and worrying about larger fish eating me. Even when I'm near the surface looking at the light, I never know when some monster will get me!"

"Do you think you will always be a fish?"

"I don't know. I think about it a lot, but when I see other fish dying, sometimes I think that this is all I will ever be, just this one time."

"Perhaps that is true. If so, what is the best thing for you to do?"

The little fish was silent for a long time. Then she said, "If this is the only time I will ever see the light, then the best thing is to look at it while I can."

"What else do you think might happen?"

"Well, it's really weird, but sometimes I think I've been a fish before and I might be a fish again."

"Perhaps that is true. If so, what is the best thing for you to do?"

The little fish was silent for a long time. Then she said, "If I will always be a fish, then the best thing is to look at the light when I can."

"What else do you think might happen?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, of course. Please tell me."

"Well, sometimes I think... or hope... that somehow I could change and not be a fish anymore, but become something else that could... I don't know how to say it..."

"Something that could live in the light?"

The little fish lowered her head. "Yes," she said softly. "I would love that so much!"

"Perhaps that is true. If so, what is the best thing for you to do?"

This time the little fish was not silent. She smiled and answered, "I see what you're teaching me. No matter what might happen, the best thing for me to do is to look at the light as much as I can."

"Perhaps that is true," said the Lightfish. "But would you like to know a secret?"

"Oh, yes! What is it?"

The light from the Lightfish increased a thousand times. The entire lake became clear as air and bright as the sky. The Lightfish swam near the little fish and said gently,

"The Light likes to look at you, too."