Death Wish Fish

Our daughter has been wanting a hamster for quite some time, but we will not allow her to get one as long as her two fish are among the living. I suspect she secretly wants them to die so she can rush out and get a rodent. She has continually been asking "How long do goldfish live?" Anyway, last night as Patty was reading her a bedtime story, they heard a funny sound like something jumping out of the gap of the cover in the fish tank and landing on a piece of paper. My assistance was required, so I assumed the superdad persona and moved the stand the fish tank is on, but no fish on the floor, and only one in the tank. I carefully looked under the dresser that is next to the stand, but no fish. I am expecting our daughter to be happy about this because she would be a mere 1 fish away from a hamster, but she was looking distressed. No, SERIOUSLY DISTRESSED. We then cleared off the dresser and removed the drawers, then moved the dresser to find what appeared to be a lifeless fish on the carpet. As I scooped it up, it barely moved. I put it back in the tank anyway, where it looked as if it would float to the top any second. This morning it was swimming around, looking pale (not gold) and most of the carpet fuzz was out of it's gills. I am expecting the stress of the event and remaining carpet fuzz to take it's toll and have told our daughter this, but the improvement is noteworthy. Oh, and the gap in the tank cover has been ungapped. It would also appear that Kim wants the fish to live after all.