The sun came up.
The sky turned pink.
The kitten went to the river with his mother.
His mother carried two fishing rods.
His mother carried two small buckets.
The kitten had a small bucket too.
His mother said: today we fish.
The kitten nodded.
He put his line in the water.
The river was quiet.
It hardly made a sound.
The morning air was cool.
The grass was wet with dew.
The water was bright.
He sat on a flat stone.
The stone was warm from the sun.
A dragonfly came by.
The dragonfly rested on a blade of grass.
It had thin shining wings.
The kitten put down his rod.
He ran after the dragonfly.
The dragonfly flew far away.
The kitten chased it to the edge of the field.
When the kitten came back, his mother had one fish.
The fish lay in her bucket, bright and still.
The kitten sat down and fished again.
A butterfly came by.
The butterfly had bright wings.
The kitten put down his rod.
He ran after the butterfly.
The butterfly flew across the river.
The kitten stopped at the water.
When the kitten came back, his mother had two fish.
They lay side by side in her bucket.
The kitten looked at his own bucket.
His bucket was empty.
He felt a little worried.
He looked into his bucket again.
Nothing.
His mother did not speak.
His mother just handed him the rod.
She did not say a word about it.
This time the kitten sat down.
He remembered the dragonfly.
He remembered the butterfly.
He took a slow breath.
Then he got ready.
He sat on the stone and did not move.
When the wind came, he did not move.
The dragonfly came again, and he did not move.
The butterfly came again, and he did not move.
He kept his eyes on the water.
The river went on and on.
On the water, the small float moved once.
The kitten did not move.
The float moved again.
The kitten still did not move.
The river was quiet.
The grass was quiet.
Then the float went under.
It went under all the way.
The kitten lifted the rod.
A fish jumped out of the water.
It hung in the air for a moment.
It was not big, and it was not small.
Its scales were bright.
They caught the last of the light.
The kitten put it in his bucket.
The bucket was no longer empty.
He smiled.
It was his first fish all day.
Slowly the sky went dark.
The lamps along the river came on, one by one.
The river caught the light.
His mother put her rod away.
The kitten put his rod away too.
His mother put her two fish in the kitten bucket.
The kitten looked at the three fish.
Two were small and one was big.
His mother said: today your fish is the biggest.
The kitten said: that one is the fish you caught.
His mother laughed.
She put her hand on his head.
In China, children learn this old story about a kitten at the river.
Some days all you need is a fishing rod.
Some days you also need to sit very still.
That is all the story says.
Mother and kitten carried their buckets home.
The path was soft under their feet.
There was fish soup for dinner.
It was hot and good.
The kitten had two bowls.
His mother had one.
He ate until he was full.
His belly was warm.
His mother turned the lamp down low.
The room went soft and dim.
Outside, the river still ran.
It made the same soft sound.
The kitten climbed into bed.
He pulled the blanket up to his chin.
He closed his eyes.
He had a dream.
The dream was quiet.
In the dream he sat by the river.
Dragonflies and butterflies flew over the water.
They came close and then went away.
He did not chase them.
He just sat still and watched.
Then the dream began to fade.
That is the old story of The Kitten Who Went Fishing.
It is a gentle Chinese folktale.
It is also a Chinese fairy tale, and one of the oldest Chinese bedtime stories for children.
Now it is time to close your eyes.
Good night, little kitten.
Good night, dragonfly by the river.
This is a very old Chinese bedtime story. It is not long, and it is very gentle. Best read slowly, with the lights low.
