A pleasant day to the chairperson, learned adjudicators, teachers and my fellow friends.

The Golden Opportunity is the title of my story today. In a village not far from the sea, there lived an old fisherman and his wife. They lived in poverty. They lived in a small hut and they often went to bed hungry. One day, while at sea, the fisherman caught a small gold fish. He was surprised when the fish began to talk to him. "Let me go.. Let me go.. Please let me go." The fish begged. "Let me go back to the sea again. I will grant you your wish." Out of pity, the fisherman said. "I want nothing from you." He released the fish back into the sea. When he returned home, he told his wife about the talking fish. Instead of being happy about her husband's good deed, his wife was furious. "You could have at least asked for some bread," his wife shouted. She nagged him till morning. Feeling frustrated, the old man went back to the sea. He called out, "Gold fish, gold fish, if you can hear me, please speak to me." The gold fish appeared before him. "Yes, what do you need?" It asked. The fisherman explained. "My wife is angry with me for not asking anything in return. She wants some bread." The gold fish said, "Go home. Your wish will be granted." The fisherman went back home. His wife was happy because she had some bread to eat. The next day, "Now go back and ask for a better house and better cloths for us," said the wife. At first, her husband did not want to go but later he gave in. He went back to the sea. Once again, the fish fulfilled his wish. The fisherman's wife was very happy with their new lifestyle. Days passed. She became greedier. "Go to the fish and ask for a mansion, expensive cloths and diamonds," she ordered. "But......but...... we already have a better lifestyle. So let us just enjoy these good moments," he pleaded. But his wife wanted more lavish things. So the fisherman went to the sea and called upon the fish again. "My wife is still not pleased and she won't let me have any peace," he cried. Please give her whatever she wants. The gold fish said, "Please do not be sad. Just go back home and you will get whatever you want." When he got back home, the fisherman found his wife jumping with joy. But a few months later, she became restless again. Im tired of this simple life. I want to be the Queen. I want people to bow to me. I want the gold fish to fulfill the dream of mine," she said. Reluctantly, the fisherman went back to the sea and met the gold fish. When the fisherman returned home, he was shocked to see a big castle and his wife dressed like a queen. She had ten maids serving her. She also had soldiers taking orders from her. However, over some time she was tired being a queen.

"Go to the gold fish and ask him to make me the queen of the sea, then all the animals in the sea will now to me," she ordered her husband. The fisherman refused. "If you don't, I will ask my guard to chop your head off," threatened his wife. Left with no choice, once again the fisherman went to the sea and called out to the fish. But this time, the gold fish did not appear. The fisherman returned home empty-handed. He was afraid that his wife would cut his head off. When he arrived near his house, he was shocked. The castle had disappeared. His old hut was in its place. Inside the hut, he found his wife in her old tagged cloths. They became poor again. The fisherman's wife learned a bitter lesson. She wept and wept for days. "I should have been happy with what I had. My greed had brought me downfall. (weeping) As for the old man, he had to go back to fishing to make a living. No matter how often he cast his net into the sea, he never ever caught the gold fish again. Dear friends, we must be happy with what the god has given us. Don't be greedy and ask for too much because greed will only bring you pain and disgrace. Hope you enjoyed my story. Thank you