Not Your Usual Fish Dinner

We should not readily pass on to others

  what we do not know for sure.

It all started innocently enough. Mr. and Mrs. Trout were at the annual company dinner. Everyone had finished their salads and was waiting for the soup to be served. Mr. Bass turned to Mrs. Trout. “You’ve heard about Mr. and Mrs. Dolphin haven’t you?”

Mrs. Trout replied, “No. What about?”

“Well, they’re getting a divorce!” Mr. Bass informed her.

Mrs. Trout was shocked. “A divorce! I can’t imagine it. They’re such a wonderful couple. How did you hear of it?”

Mr. Bass confidently told her, “I heard it from Mr. Flounder, who heard it from Mrs. Turtle.”

“Oh dear,” said Mrs. Trout. “I wonder what they will do about their beautiful house.”

“I hear they’re going to sell it. She’s moving back in with her mother while she looks for a job. He’s going to ask for a transfer to another department. He may even leave the bay and move somewhere else.” Mr. Bass certainly did seem to know all about the Dolphins.

As the soup was served, Mrs. Trout turned to her husband and told him the news. Mr. Trout then passed it on to Mr. Cod, who was sitting next to him, and pretty soon everyone at the dinner heard the news. The waitpersons also heard about it when they were serving the food and clearing the dishes. They in turn told the kitchen staff, so soon everyone in the restaurant knew all about the Dolphins and their divorce.

Then to everyone’s amazement, the Dolphins entered the dining room laughing together. They apologized as they took their seats, explaining that they had gotten caught in traffic. Mr. and Mrs. Trout and all the others were befuddled at how happy the Dolphins seemed. You’d never guess from their behavior that they were getting a divorce.

Then it happened. Mrs. Jellyfish couldn’t stop herself. She looked at the Dolphins and tearfully blurted out, “I’m so sorry!”

The Dolphins looked at her. They had no idea what she was sorry about. Mrs. Dophin gently patted a tentacle and said, “There, there. Why are you sorry?”

“Your divorce! Everyone’s talking about it,” cried Mrs. Jellyfish.

Mr. Dolphin dropped his soupspoon. “Divorce? We’re not getting a divorce! Where did you hear that? In fact, we’re about to sell our house and buy another to be closer to Mrs. Dolphin’s parents. And after I get my promotion, we’re going on a trip.”

Silence fell. Everyone stared at their soup and thought about what had just happened. It was a case of Mrs. Someone telling Mr. Someone, and everyone believing what they heard.

Mr. Trout stood up and cleared his throat. “I want to apologize to both of you. I repeated a rumor. Next time, I’ll check before I talk about others. I hope you will accept our best wishes for your good news. I also hope you’ll forgive us.”

Mr. and Mrs. Dolphin smiled at their friends and Mr. Dolphin said, “Apology accepted, and thank you all for your good wishes. Please, enjoy your dinner.” Everyone was greatly relieved.

Unless we know something to be true,

we should not repeat it to others.