"These ten fish nets—"
"Never mind."
"I'll give you twenty."
The old man took another handful of fish nets from the cabinet beneath the counter.
"Do you want these twenty fish nets?"
"If you use up all the fish nets and still haven't caught a single little goldfish..."
"Then you'll get nothing."
"Are you sure you want to take that risk?"
The old man looked at the child.
The child was a little dazed.
Ah...
Twenty fish nets...
She looked at the old man's hands.
So many.
At the time, the child genuinely thought the old man was so generous to give her twenty fish nets.
So many...
If she was only trying to catch one little goldfish...
She was sure to succeed.
The child told herself.
A trace of a smile slipped onto her face as she imagined her success.
"Okay."
The old man nodded.
The child's expression said it all.
He also knew that the child had never been very good at listening to other people.
"Let's go."
The old man took the fish nets and left the counter.
The child froze for a few seconds, then hurried after him.
The old man took a small fishbowl from a shelf.
He didn't think the child would succeed...
But what if she did?
The old man's steps halted.
He reached up and took down a wooden box.
He handed it to the child. "Open it and have a look."
The child froze.
Then she quickly reached out and took it.
Open it?
The child was a little flustered.
She was afraid that if she reacted too slowly, she'd make the old man angry.
The child's face flushed. After fumbling with it several times, she finally managed to open the wooden box