"How I wish I was a fish," she thought to herself. "At least fish don't have to listen to such boring history lessons."
Alice suddenly felt an unusual sensation; it was almost as if she was becoming progressively smaller. Even stranger was the fact that her body seemed to changing shape. Before Alice could piece together what was happening, her body hit the water of the brook with a loud splash. Alice could hardly believe it; she had turned into a fish! As she gazed up at the shore, she saw Dinah looking down at her.
"Goodbye, Dinah!" she shouted from the waters. "Don't worry! I'll be back shortly… I hope."
Alice found herself drifting ever downwards, largely due to the fact that she was having a hard time trying to swim as a fish. She was used to swimming as a human, and she was trying to swim like a human using her side fins. Alas, all of her efforts were in vain. The more she tried to propel herself with her fins, the more she ended up drifting out of control.
"Oh, dear," Alice said. "Swimming as a fish is so bothersome. How do fish even manage to carry on as they do? If only I still had le-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Alice bumped into a large and rather effete-looking catfish. The catfish did not protest, but he did give her a stern look of disapproval. Alice tried to right herself up as best as she could and made herself proper.
"I beg your pardon, sir," Alice said. "but I am not in the least bit used to swimming as a fish. You see, I used to be a human. But then I mysteriously turned into a fish, and I-"
"My dear child," said the catfish in a condescending tone, "you had best be careful of whom you bump into. There are some fish who are much less forgiving than I."
The catfish's arrogant demeanor left Alice almost speechless. Even more disconcerting to her was his comment about less forgiving fish. Did she have reason to exercise extreme caution while swimming in the brook? Finally, Alice worked up the confidence to respond to the catfish.
"Thank you, Mr. Catfish," said Alice. "I'll be more careful. Er, before you go, could you teach me how to swim properly? I'm having a bit of trouble learning to swim as a fish."
But the catfish did not respond to Alice's plea for help. Instead, he turned up his snout and swam straight on without giving her so much as a sneer. Alice was aghast at the catfish's lack of manners.
"What an ill-mannered fish!" said Alice. "I certainly hope the other fish I meet here in the river aren't so snooty."
Alice continued to fumble about until she accidentally got stuck in the muddy bottom of the brook. Try as she might, she was unable to break loose. Suddenly, she felt something tug on her tail fin. With a mighty jerk, someone or something yanked her out of the soil. Alice shook off the mud and turned around to see a trout. It had very feminine features, shiny silver scales, and a very warm smile on its face.
"There you go, my dear," said the trout in a voice that called to mind a kind and mild-mannered Victorian lady. "I noticed that you seem to be having trouble swimming."
"Why, thank you!" Alice said. "This is actually my first time swimming. At least, this is my first time swimming as a fish… instead of as a girl. That is to say, a human. Oh, dear. How do I put this?"
As Alice struggled to explain her situation the trout, the trout simply stared at her in confusion. But eventually, her puzzled expression relaxed into a smile.
"If you would prefer to swim better," said the trout, "you must rely on the use of your tail-fin."
"Tail-fin?" asked Alice in a puzzled manner before quickly catching on. "Oh, yes! Certainly! Thank you so very much, Miss Trout!"
"You're very welcome, my dear," said the trout. "
Alice wagged her tail fin back and forth until she found herself moving forward. She used her side fins to steer herself about, and soon she was swimming to and fro. A feeling of great accomplishment and elation came over Alice as she swam about the brook. She was enjoying herself so much that she couldn't stop darting around here and there.
"This is so delightful!" Alice said to herself. "I could swim about like this all day!"
"Since you are obviously new to these waters," said the trout, "allow me to swim with you for a while. You don't mind, do you?"
"Oh, not in the least!" said Alice. "Seeing as how Dinah isn't with me, I would enjoy some company."
"Who is Dinah?" the trout asked.
"Dinah is my c-"
Alice stopped in mid-sentence; she was afraid that if she mentioned having a cat to the trout, it would not only confuse her even more but potentially scare her away. After all, Alice was well aware that cats loved to dine on fish.
"Dinah is a dear friend of mine," Alice finally said.
"Indeed," the trout replied. "Well then. Allow me to keep you company for the time being."
The two swam for quite a bit around the brook. They swam throw a large log that had fallen into the brook and hollowed out over time. The grass that accumulated within the log tickled Alice's belly so much that she laughed heartily.
"I don't mean to worry you," said Alice, "but I met a pompous catfish earlier who warned me of dangerous fish in these waters."
"These waters are mostly safe," replied the trout, "save for the occasional pike. I've had a few close encounters with one in particular: a very brutish chap if I don't say so myself."
Alice and the trout continued to swim until they came upon a rather dark and secluded area filled with large rocks. A feeling of dread overcame the trout.
"We had best turn back," she said. "There's no telling what danger may be lurking here."
Just then, Alice thought she saw a dark shadow dart by. She huddled closer to the trout for safety's sake. As the two slowly turned around and prepared to speed away, the once shadowy figure came rushing towards them with jaws wide open. Alice and the trout narrowly avoided the vicious creature. As it swerved around and prepared to charge towards the two again, Alice immediately recognized it as a ferocious pike.
"Follow me," cried the trout, "and don't look back!"
Alice obliged, and the two sped upstream with all of their might. As they rushed back to their initial meeting spot, the pike sped past and narrowly missed them again. Alice zig-zagged about the waters in an effort to dodge the pike and dove behind some large rocks. As she hid herself silently in the dark, she realized that the trout was nowhere to be found.
"Miss Trout?" Alice whispered, so as not to give away her position to the pike. "Oh, Miss Trout?!"
But there was no reply. Alice could only hope that the trout had managed to get away safely, as there was no sign at all of her to be found. As Alice cautiously swam from out behind the rock, the pike once again came swimming out of the darkness towards her. Not wanting to delay any further, Alice shook her tail fin as hard as she could for an extra boost. It wasn't long before she noticed that the area around her began to look familiar.
"What luck!" she cried. "I'm back where I started!"
Alice looked back to see the pike still hadn't given up on its pursuit. It was speeding towards her with its gaping maw wide open. Alice was out of options and the pike was headed straight for her. She sped towards the surface and sailed out of the water and onto the shore. Unfortunately, she realized her mistake all too late. Although she was now safe from the pike, she was flopping about helplessly on land. Alice's mind began to race: how was she to get out of this predicament? She had no means to change back, and she could not afford to jump back into the water where the pike was surely waiting for her.
"Goodness gracious!" Alice shouted. "I've really done it this time! I would give myself good advice, but I have none to give! I'll surely perish at this rate!"
As Alice flopped about, she felt the weird sensation from earlier again; she could feel herself gradually growing back to her original size. Soon, she was no longer flopping around, but rather lying on her back staring up at the pale blue sky. A high-pitched mew from nearby alerted her to Dinah's presence. The kitten hopped onto her belly and began to purr loudly. A feeling of relief overcame Alice, but she couldn't help but wonder how she turned into a fish.
"Was it all a dream?" Alice said to herself. "No, it couldn't have been. You were there, Dinah. You saw me transform and fall into the brook."
Dinah let out a mew and then proceeded to lick her paws. Alice giggled with amusement at her feline friend.
"I suppose it matters not," said Alice. "Whether it was a dream or not, it was a very fun experience. Maybe I should turn into different kinds of animals more often!"
Alice stared into the waters once last time before departing. The pike was nowhere to be found, but Alice could have sworn that she saw the trout she had befriended on her adventure. Alice's face slowly relaxed into a smile, as she was quite relieved to see that her friend had survived the skirmish after all.