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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Little Rivers by Henry van Dyke: Suppose the fish is not caught by an angler, what is his
alternative fate? He will either perish miserably in the struggles
of the crowded net, or die of old age and starvation like the long,
lean stragglers which are sometimes found in the shallow pools, or
be devoured by a larger fish, or torn to pieces by a seal or an
otter. Compared with any of these miserable deaths, the fate of a
salmon who is hooked in a clear stream and after a glorious fight
receives the happy despatch at the moment when he touches the
shore, is a sort of euthanasia. And, since the fish was made to be
man's food, the angler who brings him to the table of destiny in
the cleanest, quickest, kindest way is, in fact, his benefactor.
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