Once there was a man who was walking in the forest. He spotted a river from the distance. The river sparkled brightly in the light of day. It was coloured a bright purple, green. The man looked on mesmerized. He had never seen such a beautiful river! As he got closer he saw that the river was polluted and the brilliance from a distance, was actually an oil slick. He felt saddened by this deception and stared intently into the water. Something moved deep within its depths. Curious, the man reached his hand in and pulled out a fish. The little fish looked horrible! He gasped. The poor thing was struggling to move and it had green and yellow sores all over its body. The man didn’t know what to do! He decided to take the fish home and nurture it back to health. Carefully, he held it next to his heart and raced home. For weeks it was touch and go. The little fish was lethargic and had many wounds. The man persisted. Each day while attending to his wounds, he would tell the little fish how precious it was. At first the fish lay stiffly in the man’s hand, not sure if it was going to be hurt. But after a period of time, it learned to trust the man and relaxed.The little fish blossomed. His sores grew smaller and disappeared. His gills grew a bright pink and the silver of his scales was a miracle to behold! Satisfied that the little fish would not only live, but thrive, the man had done his job. With pride and joy he returned to the river. As he was about to set the fish free, he stopped. Although the little fish had changed, the river had not. It was still thick with toxins. To release the little fish into the river would surely mean it would grow sick again and die! Torn, the man held onto the little fish wondering what he should do. A thought occurred to him, maybe he should have started with the river first!