This one has a little car.
This one has a little star.
Say! What a lot of fish there are.
The story actually opens with the rhyme from the title. It goes on to add a black, old and new fish before providing the rather surprising news that cars own and operate automobiles. Of special interest is that last line there following the exclamatory “Say!” What does that particular line remind you of, if anything? Perhaps the adage given to far too many people following a bad romantic experience. Something about there being a big ocean filled with nautical metaphors for potential replacements of the love that has been lost. One particular interpretation reads what is essentially just a nonsense rhyming book for children as something much deeper about the human condition. All those fish represent the people of the world within this perspective.
“My hat is old, my teeth are gold.
I have a bird I like to hold.
My shoe is off, my foot is cold.
My shoe is off, my foot is cold.
I have a bird I like to hold.
My hat is old, my teeth are gold.
And now my story is all told.”
The text is, of course, accompanied by illustrations. Part of the construction of the text is the insertion of individual stories about different characters. One is named Ned who complains of being too big for his bed. Another is a fella named Mike who sits on the back of a bike in a seat not equipped with pedals, but who becomes useful when he jumps off the seat and help push the bike uphill. Then there is a tall Grinch-like character in a top hat who had gold teeth and holds his bird. These are all examples of the other fish in the sea within the perspective of the fish being people and the sea being the world above water. While the illustrations do not make this particular figure look particularly old, the references with the text are often used to justify a reading that this portion of the narrative is specifically about the aging process.
From near to far, from here to there,
Funny things are everywhere.
Another, somewhat different interpretation of the ultimate meaning of the text focuses less on the potential for metaphorical symbolism of humanity and more toward a much broader and all-encompassing symbolism. The story covers a wealth of characters, situations and interests. When combined together, the suggestion leans strongly toward the tale being constructed to engender an appreciation of all things the world has to offer. Everyone has a story that is of supreme interest to them, but may also be of some interest to others. Parts of the narrative also hint at the idea that simply paying attention to others may be of great help. For instance, there is a character who complains of not being able to hear and when another peers into his ear, he discovers a bird in there after which the bird flies away and with it returns the ability to hear.
