After hearing Troy’s story to its conclusion, I began to cry. I lay on my knees and wept as I had never wept before. Eventually, Troy put his hand on my knee, and he asked me if I wanted to know what Jonathan had said after hearing the story. I had been told that this was a funny story, which it wasn’t, so I did want to know.

I nodded my head, and I said, “Tell me.”

Troy smiled and said, “I will tell you what Jonathan said. He explained that the hedgehog and the fish represent two worldviews. According to a naturalist, the two animals are incompatible. It is...