Trout

Trout is a lake-dwelling fish whose brief appearance in the fire episode turns it into a link in a swift chain of swallowing and pursuit. It consumes Whiting, which has already swallowed the fire creature, but soon becomes frightened and is itself swallowed by a gray pike. The song gives Trout no independent history; its significance lies in how the fire’s passage continues through one creature after another.

Place in the Chain of Predation

Earlier in the sequence, Salmon and Whiting mourn the loss of their grotto and cavern, while the lake-trout is associated with the loss of its dwelling. The verses then present Salmon darting after the fire-intruder, establishing the fish as participants in the creature’s movement through the water. Trout enters later in the chain, after the fire has passed into Whiting.

Swallowing and Reversal

On hearing an address to the creature that Whiting has eaten, Trout darts forward and swallows Whiting, along with the fire-devourer within it. The action is described as happening quickly. Yet little time passes before Trout is afraid: the fish that has just swallowed the danger is not its master, but the next creature exposed to danger in the sequence.

A gray pike then darts forward, swallows the lake Trout, and eats the tortured fire-fish. The episode carries the fire onward through successive predators rather than ending with Trout’s capture. Its short, repeated actions—darting, swallowing, fearing, and being swallowed—make Trout a temporary bearer of the fire and a participant in the passage that culminates in its consumption by a larger fish.

Narrative Function

Trout’s role depends on its position between Whiting and the gray pike. The rapid succession of meals gives the episode its accumulating movement: each apparent capture transfers the fire onward, while the predator becomes prey in turn. Trout’s sudden fear interrupts that progression briefly, but does not stop it; the next fish continues the sequence.