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The Tale Of Mr. Jeremy Fisher
By Helen Beatrix Potter
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
macintosh, and a pair
of shiny goloshes; 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 his 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 goloshes.
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 macintosh!
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 macintosh, that in less
than half a minute it spat him
out again; and the only thing
it swallowed was Mr. Jeremy's
goloshes.
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
macintosh 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!
THE END
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