--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once upon a time you were a fish. How do…" description: "\"Once upon a time you were a fish. How do you know? Because I was also a fish. You, too? Sure. A long time ago. Anyway, being a fish, you knew how to sw..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08d/nicole-krauss-920_champion_once-upon-a-time-you-were-a-fish-how-do_514825.png" --- # Once upon a time you were a fish. How do you know? Because… ![“Once upon a time you were a fish. How do you know? Because I was also a fish. You, too? Sure. A long time ago. Anyway, being a fish, you knew how to swim. You were a great swimmer. A champion swimmer, you were. You loved the water. Why? What do you mean, why? Why did I love the water? Because it…” quote by Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08d/nicole-krauss-920_champion_once-upon-a-time-you-were-a-fish-how-do_514825.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08d/nicole-krauss-920_champion_once-upon-a-time-you-were-a-fish-how-do_514825.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08d/nicole-krauss-920_champion_once-upon-a-time-you-were-a-fish-how-do_514825.png) > “Once upon a time you were a fish. How do you know? Because I was also a fish. You, too? Sure. A long time ago. Anyway, being a fish, you knew how to swim. You were a great swimmer. A champion swimmer, you were. You loved the water. Why? What do you mean, why? Why did I love the water? Because it was your life! And as we talked, I would have let him go one finger at a time, until, without his realizing, he'd be floating without me. Perhaps that is what it means to be a father-to teach your child to live without you.” [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A father’s love is guiding a child toward independence, letting go while still supporting. **In simple terms:** A dad teaches kids to live without him. Key Takeaway Embrace letting go while staying supportive. Themes parenthood love independence guidance Mood reflective nostalgic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - raising children - coaching - mentoring - emotional growth Key Concepts attachment generational teaching self-reliance Questions to Reflect On - How can you support independence without feeling loss? - What does “letting go” look like daily? A Different Perspective Balancing support and autonomy can be painful for both. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Champion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/champion/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingers/) [Fish Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish-knew-4267988/) [Fishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fishes/) [Floating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/floating/) [Knew Swim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-swim-390528/) [Know Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-fish-1634736/) [Let him go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-him-go/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Long time ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time-ago/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Means Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-father-1059573/) [Once upon a time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/once-upon-a-time/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Swim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swim/) [Swimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swimmer/) [Swimmer Loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swimmer-loved-4355217/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Without you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without-you/) [Your children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-children/) ## Related quotes > [Perhaps that is what it means to be a father-to teach your child to live without you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/perhaps-that-is-what-it-means-to-be-a-father-to-teach-your-child-to/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Here every bird and fish knew its course. Every tree had its own place upon this earth. Only man had lost his way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-craven/here-every-bird-and-fish-knew-its-course-every-tree-had-its-own-place/) [Margaret Craven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-craven/) > [He tried to drown his troubles but they knew how to swim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/he-tried-to-drown-his-troubles-but-they-knew-how-to-swim/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [I knew how to swim by the time I turned 4.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrina-patridge/i-knew-how-to-swim-by-the-time-i-turned-4/) [Audrina Patridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrina-patridge/) > [F.A.M.I.L.Y is one of the strongest words anyone can say, because the letters of FAMILY means Father And Mother I Love You!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/f-a-m-i-l-y-is-one-of-the-strongest-words-anyone-can-say-because-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It means everything to be a father. I had a father growing up, so I wanted my kids to have a father as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mustard/it-means-everything-to-be-a-father-i-had-a-father-growing-up-so-i/) [Mustard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mustard/) > [“...we sang in church " Tata Nzolo "! Which means Father in Heaven or Father of Fish Bait depending on just how you sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/we-sang-in-church-tata-nzolo-which-means-father-in-heaven-or-father/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Till he's five, a son dotes on his father; at 10, the father represents torture; at 15, he's a pain; at 20, he means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuthirakani/till-he-s-five-a-son-dotes-on-his-father-at-10-the-father-represents/) [Samuthirakani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuthirakani/) > [. . . I would have let him go one finger at a time, until, without his realizing, he'd be floating without me. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-would-have-let-him-go-one-finger-at-a-time-until-without-his/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [You know why fish are so thin? They eat fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/you-know-why-fish-are-so-thin-they-eat-fish/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [I still don't know why I fish or why other men fish, except that we like it and it makes us think and feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roderick-haig-brown/i-still-don-t-know-why-i-fish-or-why-other-men-fish-except-that-we/) [Roderick Haig-Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roderick-haig-brown/) > [“I can't, Muffin. I can't talk to him. Why? He was good enough to sleep with, but not good enough to talk to now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-myles/i-can-t-muffin-i-can-t-talk-to-him-why-he-was-good-enough-to-sleep/) [Jill Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-myles/) > [We know the only fish that goes with the flow is a dead fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/we-know-the-only-fish-that-goes-with-the-flow-is-a-dead-fish/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Im single because there's plenty more fish in the sea, but I don't know how to fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-single-because-there-s-plenty-more-fish-in-the-sea-but-i-don-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/don-t-tell-fish-stories-where-the-people-know-you-but-particularly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Nicole Krauss > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [I think of novels as houses. You live in them over the course of a long period, both as a reader and as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-think-of-novels-as-houses-you-live-in-them-over-the-course-of-a/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [When we went into the ocean, I watched his body as he dove into the waves, and it gave me a feeling in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/when-we-went-into-the-ocean-i-watched-his-body-as-he-dove-into-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“There are times when the kindness of strangers only makes matter worse because one realizes how badly one is in need of kindness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/there-are-times-when-the-kindness-of-strangers-only-makes-matter/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [She was gone, and all that was left was the space where you'd grown around her, like a tree that grows around a fence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/she-was-gone-and-all-that-was-left-was-the-space-where-you-d-grown/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“The air felt different in my lungs. The world no longer looked the same. You change and then you change again. You become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-air-felt-different-in-my-lungs-the-world-no-longer-looked-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“The first language humans had was gestures. There was nothing primitive about this language that flowed from people’s hands, nothing we say now that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-first-language-humans-had-was-gestures-there-was-nothing/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [I feel really strongly about not wanting to overly guide the reader about what he or she should think. I really trust the reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-feel-really-strongly-about-not-wanting-to-overly-guide-the-reader/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Mom?" I said. She turned. "Can I talk to you about something?" "Of course, darling. Come here." I took a few steps into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/mom-i-said-she-turned-can-i-talk-to-you-about-something-of-course/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [In one's youth, one has tremendous access to one's feelings. And as one gets older, some of those feelings kind of drift away. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/in-one-s-youth-one-has-tremendous-access-to-one-s-feelings-and-as-one/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Obviously I've been reading Kafka for a long long time, since I was really young, and even before I ever read him I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/obviously-i-ve-been-reading-kafka-for-a-long-long-time-since-i-was/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“She's kept her love for him as alive as the summer they first met. In order to do this, she's turned life away. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/she-s-kept-her-love-for-him-as-alive-as-the-summer-they-first-met-in/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Sometimes no length of string is long enough to say the thing that needs to be said. In such cases all the string can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/sometimes-no-length-of-string-is-long-enough-to-say-the-thing-that/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Doesn’t part of the awe that fills us when we confront the unknown come from understanding that, should it at last flood into us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/doesn-t-part-of-the-awe-that-fills-us-when-we-confront-the-unknown/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“I knew how to raise my own child, what did he think it was, a game of Scrabble or Monopoly, there are no rules,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-knew-how-to-raise-my-own-child-what-did-he-think-it-was-a-game-of/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) [Explore all 323 Nicole Krauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## More Champion quotes > [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/) [Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [Grit, determination, the right amount of crazy, self belief - everything it takes to be a champion. I have that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-poirier/grit-determination-the-right-amount-of-crazy-self-belief-everything/) [Dustin Poirier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-poirier/) > [I have to be No. 1 pound-for-pound champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/islam-makhachev/i-have-to-be-no-1-pound-for-pound-champion/) [Islam Makhachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/islam-makhachev/) > [If I can beat a proven champion like Canelo, that will take my career to a different level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennady-golovkin/if-i-can-beat-a-proven-champion-like-canelo-that-will-take-my-career/) [Gennady Golovkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennady-golovkin/) > [I still have to unify my division and basically become the undefeated welterweight champion of the world. I can't lose. It is more added…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-spence-jr/i-still-have-to-unify-my-division-and-basically-become-the-undefeated/) [Errol Spence Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-spence-jr/) > [Palindrome as well. My sister's name is Hannah. Father liked word games. He was fourteen times World Scrabble Champion. When he died, we buried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/palindrome-as-well-my-sister-s-name-is-hannah-father-liked-word-games/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [ Bernie \[Ecclestone\] is the commercial rights holder so the more outgoing the champion is, the better. Of course. I also do think about our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-ecclestone/bernie-ecclestone-is-the-commercial-rights-holder-so-the-more/) [Bernie Ecclestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-ecclestone/) > [The truth is the Vintage Vitor never left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitor-belfort/the-truth-is-the-vintage-vitor-never-left/) [Vitor Belfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitor-belfort/) > [I think cricket is there in Usain Bolt's blood. Since I got to watch from close quarters, it was amazing to see him run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh/i-think-cricket-is-there-in-usain-bolt-s-blood-since-i-got-to-watch/) [Harbhajan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh/) > [Winners are born, Champions are made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-falcon-scott/winners-are-born-champions-are-made/) [Robert Falcon Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-falcon-scott/) > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [To be a champion long-distance runner you have to run on the edge of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toshihiko-seko/to-be-a-champion-long-distance-runner-you-have-to-run-on-the-edge-of/) [Toshihiko Seko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toshihiko-seko/) > [“There is a scene in one of the Rocky movies where after the match Apollo Creed and Rocky are waiting for the scoring of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-passaro/there-is-a-scene-in-one-of-the-rocky-movies-where-after-the-match/) [John A. Passaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-passaro/) > [Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, a vison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/champions-are-made-from-something-they-have-deep-inside-of-them-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) [Browse all 2,649 Champion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/champion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once upon a time you were a fish. How do you know? Because I was also a fish. You, too? Sure. A long time ago. Anyway, being a fish, you knew how to swim. You were a great swimmer. A champion swimmer, you were. You loved the water. Why? What do you mean, why? Why did I love the water? Because it was your life! And as we talked, I would have let him go one finger at a time, until, without his realizing, he'd be floating without me. 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