One day, an elderly couple came to buy fish from me. What happened was truly special.
The gentleman carried a basket on his elbow. As they approached a pond to look at the fish, a pure silver, long-finned Koi, about six inches long, jumped right into the basket.
"Wha—" Their surprised exclamation caught my attention.
Having worked with fish for many years, I had never seen one leap into a customer's basket.
"You are lucky!" I told them.
"Come on, I'll buy him! I'll buy him!" The couple was overjoyed, so I went to assist them.
"Anything else?" I asked.
"Yes," the gentleman said humorously. "I want to find a partner for her."
They began searching through the ponds one by one. I followed with a net and a bag. In every pond, the fish swam toward us, seeming to beg for food.
"What's the matter with the fish?" the lady asked.
"They are hungry," I said.
"No, not hungry," the gentleman corrected. "They know us and are greeting us."
"Yes, definitely!" I agreed.
We paused by a pond for a few minutes.
"How about that one?" The lady pointed at a colorful Sarasa Comet.
"It looks so beautiful!" the gentleman and I said in unison.
"I want to buy it because she looked at me. You see, she's still looking. I'll take her."
The couple was happy. I was happy too. The fish would surely be happy in their new home.