Once upon a time a Sea Horse gathered up his seven pieces of eight and cantered out to find his fortune. Before he had travelled very far, he met an Eel, who said, "Psst. Hey bud. Where 'ya goin?"

"I'm going out to find my fortune," replied the Sea Horse, proudly.

"You're in luck," said the Eel. "For four pieces of eight you can have this speedy flipper, and then you will be able to get there a lot faster."

"Gee, that's swell," said the Sea Horse, He paid the money, put on the flipper, and slithered off at twice the speed. Soon he came upon a Sponge, who said, "Psst. Hey bud. Where 'ya goin?"

"I'm going out to find my fortune," replied the Sea Horse.

"You're in luck," said the Sponge. "For a small fee I will let you have this jet-propelled scooter so that you will be able to travel a lot faster."

So the Sea Horse bought the scooter with his remaining money and went zooming through the sea five times faster. Soon he came upon a Shark, who said, "Psst. Hey bud. Where 'ya goin?"

"I'm going out to find my fortune," replied the Sea Horse.

"You're in luck. If you'll take this short cut," said the Shark, pointing to his open mouth, "you'll save yourself a lot of time."

"Gee, thanks," said the Sea horse, and zoomed off into the interior of the Shark, there to be devoured.

The moral of this fable is that if you’re not sure where you’re going, you’re liable to end up someplace else, and not even know it.