FRIED FISH

Mr. and Mrs. Joban lived on the coast with their two children, Abel and Irene. They were fisher folk. Mr. Joban would take out his boat along with his two friends, who also brought their own boats. They would be out at sea most of the night. By morning, Mr. Joban and friends would come back with their catch. Mr. Joban managed to get enough fish for sale daily and thanked God for it. He also brought home enough fish for the family to eat. He always told his children that the fish was the gift of God. Abel loved the fish his mom prepared for lunch and dinner, especially fried fish. So, one day, he asked his papa why God did not fill the ocean with fried fish instead of just fish. That would, he said, make mom's work easier. His parents laughed, but Abel prayed daily for the ocean to be full of fried fish so that, his mom's work would become easy and he could have as much fish as he wanted. A few days later, Mr. Joban and other fisher folk went out to sea and fished the whole night. When Mr. Joban emptied his boat in the morning, he found to his shock that his catch was all fried fish. He was excited and his stock was sold out before he could imagine. But after a few days, he found no takers for his fried fish. People said that they wanted fresh fish to cook according to their liking. Joban earned nothing in the days that followed. He was becoming desperate. Learning about Joban's problem, an old fisherman visited him and said, "God gives us everything. He gives us grass, plants and trees of all types for our use. He gives fish in the water that we may catch. He gives us water to be used in any way. At the sometime, he has given us the intelligence to use the gifts in any good and useful way. But God hardly gives finished products". It was a great lesson for Abel.