"Early in the morning they brought to Manu water to wash himself; when
he had well washed, a fish came into his hands.
"It said to him these, words: 'Take care of me; I will save thee.' 'What
wilt thou save me from?' 'A deluge will sweep away all creatures; I wish
thee to escape.' 'But how shall I take care of thee?'
"The fish said: 'While we are small there is more than one danger of
death, for one fish swallows another. Thou must, in the first place, put
me in a vase. Then, when I shall exceed it in size, thou must dig a deep
ditch, and place me in it. When I grow too large for it, throw me in the
sea, for I shall then be beyond the danger of death.'
"Soon it became a great fish; it grew, in fact, astonishingly. Then it
said to Manu, 'In such a year the Deluge will come. Thou must build a
vessel, and then pay me homage. When the waters of the Deluge mount up,
enter the vessel. I will save thee.'
"When Manu had thus taken care of the fish, he put it in the sea. The
same year that the fish had said, in this very year, having built the
vessel, he paid the fish homage.
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