Once there was a little girl. She was found in the woods by a kind old woman. The woman took her home and raised her as her own child. She was fed with nice food and dressed up in warm clothes. She grew up among trees and ants with neither sadness nor worry.

One day, two strangers passed by and took her from the old woman’s house. The woman fought to get her back but was too weak to protect her.

The little girl screamed and kicked, but in vain. The strangers starved her to punish her disobedience. The girl turned pale and had no more energy to cry.

The strangers took her aboard a small boat and sailed to the sea. The girl leaned on the side of the boat, staring at the endless deep water, thinking about her endless future misery.

The sea was calm and clean. Colored fish swam about near the bottom. A golden fish looked up at her and gave her a sweet smile. How would her life be to live in the sea, she wondered.

More fish gathered beneath her and smiled at her. “Come down here and live with us”, they said to her. “We’ll be nice to you and look after you.”

The girl climbed over the side of the boat and jumped into the water. The water felt warm and soft, not scary at all. She swam to the bottom of the sea to join the colored fish. They swam around her, hugging her with their wavy fins. She forgot all her unhappiness and smiled again….

The next day, the body of the little girl was found floating near the shore. She was as pale as white paper, but with a happy smile remaining on her face.

People buried her and put flowers on her tomb. She would have enjoyed their colors—red, yellow, white, blue, purple….