How The Catfish Came To Be

This is the story that was written by me, based on an episode from Sagwa from the Disney Channel.

Long, long ago in ancient China, there lived a feminine cat named Shen Shen. She was very pretty, but she didn't respect her ancestors nor her grandfather. She was very selfish and she just wanted to do what she liked best.

One day, his grandfather walked to her and said: "Do you still have any respect for your ancestors?" Shen Shen replied in a stern voice: "No!....... I am not bothered with your question and I'm going to play at the pond nearby." Grandfather was very disappointed with Shen Shen's reply and shaked his head in disbelief.

After Shen Shen left, suddenly with a 'poof', Shen Shen's Ancestors magically appeared. One of the Ancestors consoled Shen Shen's grandfather: "Give her some time and let her think about it and she will soon come to her senses."

Shen Shen was at the pond playing and enjoying looking at her own reflection in the water, when suddenly the Ancestors' magic caused her to fall into the pond. She cried: "Help! Help!" while swimming desperately to stay afloat. Down and down, she went into the deep water. Her fear turned into fascination, when she noticed her surrounding. She was tangled up by some seaweed and she cried out for her Grandfather: "Yeyeh, Yeyeh, please come and help me." Yeyeh was not there to listen to her cries. When Shen Shen opened her eyes, to her amazement, instead of seeing her Yeyeh, she saw a fish instead.

The fish said: "Hello! My name is Kalo and please let me help you." He began to untangle Shen Shen from the seaweed. When she was finally freed, she coughed and coughed as she was beginning to run out of air. Kalo said: "Don't worry, I will show you how to breath underwater. ....air in, air out, slowly and repeat. " Shen Shen finally caught up with her breath and replied: " I'm Shen Shen and thank you for helping me." Kalo said; "I was going to ask you whether you could swim with me, but I think the answer is quite obvious. Come let me show you around and you can take a ride on my back."

Soon, Shen Shen was very happy to play with her new found friend in the pond but as the days passed, she missed her world above. "Huh................", she sighed. Kalo noticing her friend was depressed asked: "Is anything the matter?" Shen Shen replied " I am thinking of what I left behind." In order to cheer Shen Shen up Kalo requested; " Shen Shen please come with me. I need to show you something."

Kalo brought Shen Shen to a place she had never been before and when they reached there, Shen Shen saw a beautiful little village in front of her unbelieving eyes. There were fish everywhere, playing and talking happily. Kalo said: " This is where I live, Shen Shen." When she looked at the village in the pond, it reminds her of her village above and how she misses her Yeyeh. She said to Kalo: " How nice! I am really enchanted by the beauty of your village." She swam to Kalo and said: " Kalo your family is great but I do miss my family above very much."

Kalo said: "Well there is a way you can go back." Shen Shen happily replied; "You mean it, how? This time when I get home I will pay proper respect to Yeyeh and my Ancestors." Kalo sensing that she would surely miss her friend, sadly said: " But if you go back Shen Shen, you may never come here again to be with me." Shen Shen now had a terrible choice to make........on one hand she misses her world above, but on the other hand, she likes playing with her new friend.

One day Shen Shen noticed a change in herself while playing with Kalo. Kalo invited Shen Shen to a race and said: " Last one to swim to the seaweed patch in front is a stinky fish": teased Kalo. Shen Shen protested; " You are a natural swimmer and you are sure to beat me easily." Then Kalo said: " So are you, look at your paws." Shen Shen was amazed at her change. She said: "My paws, they are webbed!" Kalo replied: "Yes! Just like a frog and perfect for swimming." Shen Shen suddenly said excitedly: "Look at my tail!" Look!" Kalo replied: " I see you can twist and turn your tail and even a goldfish would envy it." "I am now both a cat and a fish! How Strange!" Shen Shen said.

Kalo was delighted and she asked: "I wonder if you would be part of my family? Will you marry me Shen Shen?" Shen Shen was delighted with Kalo's proposal but soon she remembered her cat family above. She replied: "To marry you, Kalo, I must give up my family?" Her choice was very tough as she also loved Kalo.

Suddenly she thought of Yeyeh and said to Kalo: "There is one person that can offer me advice." Shen Shen swam to the land nearby to look for Yeyeh. When she looked up, she saw a shadow. She asked excitedly: " Yeyeh, is that you? "Yes my precious granddaughter, but I am not here alone," her grandfather replied with tears of joy. Suddenly her Ancestors also appeared out of nowhere.

Shen Shen told them: "Kalo had asked me to marry him and I am here to seek your advice." Yeyeh replied: "Well, that is wonderful news." But Shen Shen continued: " To marry him I have to give up my cat family." Then one of the Ancestors said: " You can never change or give up the family you have now, you have our blessing Shen Shen." Shen Shen paid her respect and thanked her ancestors and her grandfather before going back into the deep pond to be with her fish family again.

Soon Kalo and Shen Shen were happily married and they had great times together as a happy couple. Shen Shen learned a lot of things from her new fish family, and soon there have children of their own, with qualities of both parents, the cat and the fish.

And that's how the Catfish came to be.

Jeffrey Goh