The kingdom of fishes was always in disorder. Fishes would swim in whichever direction they wanted. Some tried to go between those who wanted to swim together, and some got in the other’s way and there was chaos all around.
Finally, one wise fish said, “We must choose a king who will maintain peace and order in the kingdom.” Let’s have a race and the one who swims the fastest would be declared the king.” The pike, the her-ring, the carp, the perch and even the sole participated in the race.
As soon as the race began, the herring darted like an arrow and came first. The other fishes shouted, “The herring is first.”
Meanwhile, the sole, who had lagged far behind, was jealous of the herring and started shouting, “The naked herring, the naked herring.” From that day onwards, the sole fish has a mouth on one side as a punishment for taunting the herring.