The Man and the Perch
A man went to fish in a fresh stream, and caught a small perch, who said, “I pray of you to save my life, and put me in the stream once more, for as I am but young and small now, it is not so well worth your while to take me as it will be some time hence, when I am grown a large fish.” “So you think,” said the man; “but I am not one of those who give up that which is at hand for that which is far off; nor do I make sure of fish, flesh, or fowl till I have got it, for one bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
All is fish that comes to the net.