Flounder, a goldfish, lived in a bowl with other fish but wanted to move to a nearby bowl. He trained daily for two weeks to strengthen his fins for the four inch jump. On the day of the jump, Flounder successfully made it to the other bowl, but discovered too late that it contained salt water, which he could not breathe in as a freshwater fish. Flounder quickly jumped back to his original bowl, learning that satisfaction comes from appreciating what you have rather than wanting more.

1. Once upon a time there was a goldfish named flounder that lived in a bowl with four other goldfish and
they all had a pretty cushy life. There was always clean and clear water and big bubbles to blow in the
bowl but flounder was never satisfied. Beside the bowl that he lived in was another bowl that looked
almost exactly the same . The water was just as clear as glass and it looked like a place that he would
love to live. He wanted to go there but he had no idea how he would get over to the other bowl with there
being a four inch gap between the two. So he develops a long term goal. He would swim as hard as he
could for an hour each day for two weeks to make his fins strong enough to make the jump with room to
spare. So he swam and he swam around the bowl he went and the other fish that were in the bowl with
him would just look at him as if had two heads and five left feet. When they would question why he was
doing this he would say " I'm going to that other bowl and I'm going happy and you all will be jealous".
That caused the other to laugh and make fun of his choices, calling him idiotic and stupid for dreaming so
big.
Eventually, the day came and flounder felt great . His fins were stronger than ever and he knew nothing
would stop him. He would enjoy his life in a bowl of clean clear water and he would have it all to himself.
He alerted all the other fish in the bowl and told then that this was his last day . Flounder prepped himself
at the bottom of his bowl with his eyes locked and focused. He takes off and goes flying out the bowl.
Through the air he soars. With success on his mind.
Plop!! He splashes in the other bowl while the other fish look on in amazement and disbelief. They can't
believe that he made the four inch jump to the other bowl. They want to join him but they don't have
strong enough fins to make the jump. They had no idea why they would have ever doubted his pending
success. While they are talking the fish notice that flounder looks panicked. It looked as if he couldn't
breathe. What Flounder didn't know before he made the jump was that he jumped into a bowl of salt
water and he, being a fresh water fish, could barely breathe. The bowl of salt water was to be for some
new fish that were coming that were salt water fish. Flounder, struggling to breathe, flings himself out of
the bowl and back to where he came .
Once back in his original bowl he takes a deep breath and sighs in relief that he is alive and able to take
in the water. He felt thoroughly embarrased so he just settled down in his bowl and decided to get used to
the life in the bowl with the other fish . He just realized that the grass is never greener on the other side.
And he lived contently ever after .