The Fish and the Flood

When the Pandavas asked the deathless sage Markandeya how the world had once been saved from a flood that swallowed everything, he told them of Manu and the fish, the oldest story of the great deluge.

There was in the ancient days a king who had become a great sage, named Manu, the father and forefather of mankind, a man of immense penance and unshakable righteousness. One day, as Manu performed his austerities on the bank of a river, a tiny fish swam up to his cupped hands as he took water, and to his astonishment the little fish spoke.

"Protect me, holy one," the small fish begged. "I am weak and little, and the big fish devour the small - that is the cruel law of the waters, that the strong eat the weak. The larger fish are hunting me, and I am afraid. Save me, and one day I will do something for you in return."

Manu was moved with pity for the helpless creature. He lifted the tiny fish out of the river and carried it carefully home.