The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-09-22
A rRuE FIsH STORY.


A TRUE FISH STORY.
They were out under The Honey
Sweet" tree. Jack and Ted and Ollie,
picking up the apples that hal fallen
off during the night and eating all they
could. when they spied Grandma Lane
coming across the orchard V i'm her
lapron over her head.
She's been to carry some GU nee
Jelly over to Mrs. jerks" explained
Jack. because her little girls got the
Typhoid fever. 1 guess she's better,
Though" For the jelly glass was emp
~, and Grandma Lane locked smiling.
Yes. and Jennie is as hungry as a
little bear" said she, and the doctor
saws she may eat a bit of broiled
trout. l wonder
Why. of course we CAM cried Ted,
guessing in an instant what grandma
meant. Wed like to. flrst-rate. Wen
go over to the West Branch right
straight off,"
Me: too?9 begged Ollie. Please,
Jack" 81
"oh; no" said Jack. and NO, in
ldeed?' laughed Ted. You'd be sure
to talk and scare all the FISH. BESIDES
we've only got one pole that's good for
ANYTHING. and We'll have TO take turns
fishing ourselves"
| So thew rushed around like small
Whirlwinds to dig a box full If. earth
worms. and be sure their one reel was
in working order, and hunt up the old
diD-net to use in case a very large fish
should be hooked. Then away they
went and Ollie was left lamenting. II
he hadn't had his grandma to comfort
him. l don't know what he would have
done. She gave him a jelly-tart, and
Fhe couldn't cry with his mouth full
YOU know. and while he was eating ii
she filed bit of wire and bent it into
the shane of a hook, and fastened il
to a piece of strong twine, and tied the
Irvine to one OF her round curtain
sticks.
There said she, now you can GO
over to the pasture brook and fish to
YOUR hearts content. dearie." She put
up a lunch for him. too, just like the
one she had given Jack and Ted, only
mot quite so much of it. Isn't a grand
ma worth having?
Ollie twinkled off the last tear in a
hurry. "Oh thank you. grammar he
lcried. He never forgot that, I am glad
ito say. no matter how full Of delight
he was. He didn't dig earthworms for
bait. because he could not bear to hurt
them; but grandma cut bit of salt
pork for him and put drop of anise-
oil on it. which she said would be sure
to catch fish if there was one in the
brook. Privately, / think she was
lafraid Their wasn't. but she wouldn't
saw SO.
Ollie bean to be afraid so, too, after
awhile. He went away up across the
pasture to the woods, and followed the
brook down. Just as grandma had told
him. fishing all the way and stopping
everv now and then to eat a bite of
his lunch. because he didn't want to
take time to eat it all at once.
| 1t was very small brook, so narrow
! in the places where the water was
deepest that he could almost step over
it.
Just above the road bridge it broad
ened out quite respectfully, and then
tdripped with a musical tinkle over a
great. sunken log, and formed a pool
under the edge of the bridge, which
was made of logs, too, and covered
with earth.
1t was exactly the place for trout, if
Ollie had but known; as it was he went
down on his knees at one end of the
messy log. and dropped his hook with
tout a thought of what might happen.
! There was flash through the shad-
owy water, and sudden sharp, strong
ltug at his line that took Ollie's breath
away. He had never caught fish in
Iall his life. but he knew what it meant.
1.-THE bridge and out on the other side,
but he didn't mind that. He pulled
manfullv at his end of the line until
lout upon the bank came big, Mapping
trout Such beauty, with silvery,
SPOTTED sides flashing in the sunshine!
| Ollie bounced upon his prize and, for
getting his cap, away he scampered to
| the house almost beside himself with
excitement and joy. e
go Gro W ba cried 1--WE got one,
I've got onei o Gramma, amt you glad
and 'stonished?"
1t is safe to say Grandma Lane was
'astonished; she had no more idea that
Ollie would catch fish than that he
could fly And she was glad enough.
iAs for Grandpa Lane, he said 1t was
worth a dollar, and got out the big
steelyards.
"phirteen ounces and almost a quar-
ter" he announced presently. II de-
clare, | didn't know there was such a
fish in the brook It'll be worth telling
the folks about when you go home
| 1t was worth telling Jack and Ted
about, Ollie thought, his heart brimful
of joy and pride. They came up the
lane pretty soon, with disappointed
faces and a string of Ted-fins
"Jak hooked one trout" Ted explain
ed, but it got. off before he could reel
lit in I'm awful sorry we didn't get
one for Mrs. Jenks's little girl, grand
ma. But we had nice time, and we
wished we'd let Ollie-Why, why"
Two more surprised boys than Jack
land Ted, at sight of that trout on the
kitchen table. you never saw
| Ollie. eapered around the room ike a
wild thing. II caught it! | Taught it!'
he cried. I'm the brook with granma' S
Icurtain-stick And there's lot more,
i shouldn't wonder"
| But though they all went down to
find Ollie's cap together and fished IN
It'll almost dark, and though they went
fishing in the brook every day for the
next week, there was never so much as
lanother nibble
Il think" Ollie remarked confiden-
italy to grandma, that my trout must
ihave come there 'spressly so I could
lcatch it for Jenny jerks"
And Grandma Lane had the very
same opinion.-Ada Carleton Stoddard,
lin Youths Companion.