Question

Benigoi was not a proud koi, but he knew he was the only koi the magistrate owned, and that the magistrate was an importanQuestion 1

Which statement describes the theme of the text?



A. Sacrifices help one realize what is truly important in life.

B. Generosity towards others can lead to rewards in return.

C. One's character is more important than physical appearance.

D. Focusing on dreams can prevent one from enjoying the present.

t man whose garden reflected this. Within it, a chisen, or pond, surrounded a small island with an ancient omatsu, a black pine that stretched its trunk over the water, and a solitary patch of irises grew on the bank. Then, a flicker of red would appear in the dark water, a magnolia petal fluttering across black silk. Benigoi would swim by, taking everyone’s breath away.

He was not the most beautiful koi, but this did not bother him at all because what held Benigoi by the gills, what haunted him, was that he was not a dragon.

Every koi knew the tale: were a koi to swim to the top of a waterfall, it would keep on swimming, up past the treetops, past the clouds, until it reached the very heavens and became a celestial dragon. Benigoi would often swim up the small river that flowed into the chisen, and at the point where the rapids became too much for him, he would stop and stare at the waterfall. Indeed, Benigoi was obsessed with the waterfall and the idea of becoming a dragon.

Only one thing haunted him more, and that was the moon. At night, when the moon glistened on the surface of the chisen, Benigoi would swim to it, circling it boldly. Gills swelling in and out, Benigoi would gaze all night at the pure white of her reflection.

One night, when the moon had turned her back fully to the water, and only her hair was visible, Benigoi was shocked to find a stranger perched, shadow-delicate, on the stone lantern at the edge of the chisen.

“Hello, my little mirror crack,” she said. “What is your name?”

“My name is Benigoi,” he said, for this visitor intrigued him with the paleness of her cheeks glowing against the night.

“My name is Kaguya. Thank you for welcoming me to your waters,” she said as Benigoi quaked beneath the attention this oddly familiar woman was paying him.

“Your Highness,” he whispered, for he recognized her as royalty by the number of uchigi she wore, “may I ask why you have joined me here?”

“Tonight is the Midsummer Dance; however, I left my home without a

Answer 1

D. Focusing on dreams can prevent one from enjoying the present.

Benigoi is consumed by the idea of becoming a dragon and by the moon, which keeps him from being content in his current life; the other options aren’t supported by the passage.