The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter






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,

               but I think it must have been nasty!




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