In days long past, there were many myths and fables. They told stories of heroes, the gods, spirits of the forest, and many other things. They often explained something or had a moral, a lesson to be passed on from generation to generation. One such story was the story of the fish and the fruit bat.

A long time ago, when the animals were as much people as people were, and the people were as much animals as animals, there was a fish. This fish, or Fish, I should say, was very proud of his gleaming scales, but sometimes the fact of his underwater existence irked him. He longed to see the trees and the flowers, the sky and the clouds. He wished he could taste the berries of the surface, and not just the bugs and things he usually ate.

Fruitbat, another creature of the area, did give a whit about his appearance, as he didn't have the best eyesight. However, he loved flying, he would swoop and soar, dive and climb all night long. He loved his freedom, but sometimes he was troubled that he could not swim, and that he couldn't experience freedom in the water.

One night, Fish called up to Fruitbat and asked him, "Fruitbat! Fruitbat! Please, tell me what it's like up there!"

Fruitbat replied, "Why not come and see yourself? The air is fine!"

"I can't, I'm limited to the water."

"I have something in common with you, friend - I'm limited to the land and air. But I have an idea! I know you can't live on the land, but I can bring you some berries so you can at least taste something from above."

"And I can teach you to swim! You can't breathe in the water, but I've seen Dog swimming in the river."

And so they carried out their plan. First, Fruitbat gave Fish some berries, which made Fish very sick. Then Fish tried to teach Fruitbat to swim, but Fruitbat just couldn't learn and nearly drowned several times. They both eventually gave up on the other worlds and separated paths.

And that's why fruitbats don't swim and fish don't venture onto the land.

Except the mudskipper.