The Rainbow Fish tries to say that he cannot share his favorite scales, but Wanda disappears in a cloud of ink. She continues that he might no longer be the most beautiful fish after that, but he will discover how to be happy. Then, she gives The Rainbow Fish her advice: He must share his scales with the other fish. Then she explains that the waves have told her his story. Wanda (in a deep voice) says that she has been waiting for him. When he goes to the cave where she lives, he sees Wanda the octopus. His only remaining friend, the starfish, tells him to go visit the wise octopus (named Wanda in the TV series) for advice.

The small blue fish tells all the other fish that The Rainbow Fish was being rude, and as a result, the other fish do not want to play with him any more. The Rainbow Fish refuses in a rude manner. One day, a small blue fish (named Blue in the TV series) who envied the shiny silver scales asks the Rainbow Fish if he could have one of his. However, they wish that they had shiny silver scales just like Rainbow Fish. The other fish from his shoal also have scales, but only scales matching to their real colors. Interspersed with these colorful scales are shiny, holographic scales which are his favorites. He has blue, green, purple, and pink scales. The story is about a small rainbowfish with shiny, multi-coloured scales. Decode Entertainment turned the story into an animated television series of the same name, which aired on the HBO Family television channel in the United States and Teletoon in Canada from 1999 until 2000. The book is best known for the distinctive shiny foil scales of the Rainbow Fish. The Rainbow Fish is a children's picture book drawn and written by Swiss author and illustrator, Marcus Pfister, and translated into English by J.

Rainbow fish and the whale