Tales of a Temple Cat: A Fishy Business

Ah Hoe's fish burger business was doing very well until one day, tragedy struck. When he went to the river to fish one morning, he saw to his shock that the river bank was covered with dozens of dead fish that had been washed up! He couldn't believe his eyes; in all his fishing days, nothing like this had ever happened. After he informed Ning, they decided to call in the authorities to investigate. They came, took a sample of the river water and said they would come back with the results in a week's time. Ah Hoe of course had to stop selling his burgers temporarily pending the results of the investigation.

The results finally came and they showed that the river was not poisoned but that the fish had unwittingly fed on some poisonous plankton which had caused their death. Ah Hoe resumed his burger business shortly after, however, the villagers, afraid that they might be eating contaminated fish, stopped buying his burgers and the poor man had no choice but to close shop. It was a big blow for both Ah Hoe and Ning.

I told the whole story to Head Nun while watching her prepare breakfast one morning. She was of course sorry for Ah Hoe. "Don't worry, Vege Cat," she said. "He will find something else to do. Go eat your breakfast now - I've tried a new recipe - mock grilled fish with brown sauce - see if you like it."

It was delicious and suddenly an idea flashed through my head. "Head Nun, how about Ah Hoe selling vegetarian burgers? You've got so many wonderful recipes, I'm sure the villagers will love them!"

Head Nun said she would be very happy to help Ah Hoe and I excitedly broached the idea to him. He agreed it was worth a try and for the next few days, Head Nun very kindly tried a variety of recipes for testing and they finally decided on the mock grilled fish which would be served on a bed of lettuce and fresh tomatoes and drizzled with Head Nun's special sweet and sour sauce. "Mmm, this is really good, Head Nun," said Ning, licking his lips. "I never knew veg food could be so yummy." Head Nun also suggested that Ah Hoe use smaller burger buns so that people can taste more of the "fish".

Ah Hoe was rather apprehensive when he resumed his burger business but when the villagers heard that it was Head Nun's special vegetarian recipe, they flocked to buy from him! Head Nun is of course well known in the village and is respected by all. So all's well that ends well!

Now Ning has a penchant for veg food, which he used to dislike in the past! As for Ah Hoe, he feels that the case of the poisoned fish is an ominous sign from the heavens that he should stop taking the lives of innocent fish, so he has stopped fishing, at least for now. Didn't I say the Lord Buddha works in mysterious ways?

Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu.