The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher
[For Stephanie
from Cousin B.]
| Once upon a time there was a frog called Mr. Jeremy Fisher; he lived in a little damp house amongst the buttercups at the edge of a pond. |
| The water was all slippy-sloppy in the larder and in the back passage. |
| But Mr. Jeremy liked getting his feet wet; nobody ever scolded him, and he never caught a cold! |
| He was quite pleased when he looked out and saw large drops of rain, splashing in the pond— |
| “I will get some worms and go fishing and catch a dish of minnows for my dinner,” said Mr. Jeremy Fisher. “If I catch more than five fish, I will invite my friends Mr. Alderman Ptolemy Tortoise and Sir Isaac Newton. The Alderman, however, eats salad.” |
| Mr. Jeremy put on a mackintosh, and a pair of shiny galoshes; he took his rod and basket, and set off with enormous hops to the place where he kept his boat. |
| The boat was round and green, and very like the other lily-leaves. It was tied to a water-plant in the middle of the pond. |
| Mr. Jeremy took a reed pole, and pushed the boat out into open water. “I know a good place for minnows,” said Mr. Jeremy Fisher. |
| Mr. Jeremy stuck his pole into the mud and fastened the boat to it. |
| Then he settled himself cross- legged and arranged his fishing tackle. He had the dearest little red float. His rod was a tough stalk of grass, his line was a fine long white horse-hair, and he tied a little wriggling worm at the end. |
| The rain trickled down his back, and for nearly an hour he stared at the float. |
| “This is getting tiresome, I think I should like some lunch,” said Mr. Jeremy Fisher. |
| He punted back again amongst the water-plants, and took some lunch out of his basket. |
| “I will eat a butterfly sandwich, and wait till the shower is over,” said Mr. Jeremy Fisher. |
| A great big water-beetle came up underneath the lily leaf and tweaked the toe of one of his galoshes. |
| Mr. Jeremy crossed his legs up shorter, out of reach, and went on eating his sandwich. |
| Once or twice something moved about with a rustle and a splash amongst the rushes at the side of the pond. |
| “I trust that is not a rat,” said Mr. Jeremy Fisher; “I think I had better get away from here.” |
| Mr. Jeremy shoved the boat out again a little way, and dropped in the bait. There was a bite almost directly; the float gave a tremendous bobbit! |
| “A minnow! a minnow! I have him by the nose!” cried Mr. Jeremy Fisher, jerking up his rod. |
| But what a horrible surprise! Instead of a smooth fat minnow, Mr. Jeremy landed little Jack Sharp, the stickleback, covered with spines! |
| The stickleback floundered about the boat, pricking and snapping until he was quite out of breath. Then he jumped back into the water. |
| And a shoal of other little fishes put their heads out, and laughed at Mr. Jeremy Fisher. |
| And while Mr. Jeremy sat disconsolately on the edge of his boat—sucking his sore fingers and peering down into the water—a MUCH worse thing happened; a really FRIGHTFUL thing it would have been, if Mr. Jeremy had not been wearing a mackintosh! |
| A great big enormous trout came up—ker-pflop-p-p-p! with a splash— and it seized Mr. Jeremy with a snap, “Ow! Ow! Ow!”—and then it turned and dived down to the bottom of the pond! |
| But the trout was so displeased with the taste of the mackintosh, that in less than half a minute it spat him out again; and the only thing it swallowed was Mr. Jeremy’s galoshes. |
| Mr. Jeremy bounced up to the surface of the water, like a cork and the bubbles out of a soda water bottle; and he swam with all his might to the edge of the pond. |
| He scrambled out on the first bank he came to, and he hopped home across the meadow with his mackintosh all in tatters. |
| “What a mercy that was not a pike!” said Mr. Jeremy Fisher. “I have lost my rod and basket; but it does not much matter, for I am sure I should never have dared to go fishing again!” |
| He put some sticking plaster on his fingers, and his friends both came to dinner. He could not offer them fish, but he had something else in his larder. |
| Sir Isaac Newton wore his black and gold waistcoat. |
And Mr. Alderman Ptolemy
Tortoise brought a salad with him in a
string bag.
And instead of a nice dish of
minnows, they had a roasted
grasshopper with lady-bird sauce,
which frogs consider a beautiful treat;
but I think it must have been nasty!