The story is about a fish with shiny, multi-colored scales named the Rainbow Fish. He has blue, green, and purple scales; and among them, he has shiny silver scales he is always fond of, until one day, a small fish asks him if he could have one, to which the Rainbow Fish refuses in a very rude manner. The other fish (including the little blue fish) is very upset about his behavior and don't want to play with him anymore.