Swimming

Morris wanted to swim.

His grandmother, though, wanted him not to. A girl she'd known had drowned in the river next to her house, and so she forbade her family from swimming. She thought this would keep her family safe.

Morris thought this was unfair. He knew if he could just learn to swim, then he would never need to fear drowning. But he was not allowed to swim.

He often asked his grandmother why he could not swim. She told him it was better that way, but he didn't believe her. He often begged to try, and sometimes snuck out on his own. He never swam, though, because every time he looked at the water, he knew his grandmother would find out.

One day, near the river, he found his grandmother walking. Morris went to her and asked, "Grandmother, isn't it true that people who can swim won't drown?"
She replied, "Morris, you stupid boy. I am not going to say yes. Swimming is forbidden in this family."
"But...grandmother - you wouldn't have to worry about - "
"I SAID NO!," she shrieked. "NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO SWIM!"

"Grandmother,” he said quietly, “no one in our family is ever allowed to swim?”
"NOT EVER!”

So Morris threw her in the river.
"Help me!", she gurgled, splashing around.
"I can't, grandma – no one in our family is allowed to swim!"
"Stop with that nonsense boy!"
"It's true! We both would drown!"
She stopped thrashing, and calmly treaded water. She began swimming to shore.

"Grandmother! I thought you couldn't swim!"
"Of course I can, you worthless miscreant."
Morris watched her.
"You’re just a hypocrite! You know how to swim, but you won't let us learn!"

She got out of the water and tried to grab Morris, but he was much stronger and faster. He shoved her back into the water, hard, but this time she landed in the current.
"Well,” he said, smiling a little, “since no one in our family is ever allowed to swim, you must not be in my family. So I don't have to listen to you, anyway.”

And the river quickly dragged her away, kicking and screaming (the river, though, went along quite smoothly).

From that day, Morris learned to swim.

And some people say the fish in the sea, downstream from there, seemed to forget what they were born knowing. They kept turning up drowned. But no one saw the old woman again.