SCALES, MIRRORS, LEATHERS 



Now the water was gone and its stone mass stood out 

 dry like a rampart. Before us spread the muddy- 

 bottom of the pond like a grey, yellow-spotted plain, 

 undulating in the direction of the general lie of the 

 land. It too was now dry, which once was covered by 

 the mass of waters in which the fish had lived. Here 

 and there were mounds on which were tufts of droop- 

 ing reeds. At our feet was the fishing point, the only 

 place where there was any water left. The carp were 

 collected there, inert, made stupid by the cold. We 

 could see them in a confused mass, like large pebbles. 



But, in the cool of the morning, in the pale red 

 light of a wintry dawn, a certain liveliness began to 

 manifest itself. When one of these large ponds is 

 fished, it provides the occasion for a sort of local f&te 

 with all its regular attendants. Neighbours ready to 

 lend a hand began to arrive upon the scene, women 

 and children with baskets to hold the fish which was 

 generously distributed to those who came to watch 

 and help, carts to take off the harvest, and interested 

 spectators whose numbers kept on increasing. Near 

 us, at the foot of the bank, just at the edge of the 

 fishing point, workmen were getting everything ready. 

 Some spread straw and old nets on which to put the 

 carp when they were taken out of the water; others 

 arranged materials, tools, basins, tables, weighing- 

 machines and baskets, ready for washing, weighing, 

 checking, packing the fish; still others were lighting 

 great fires of wood in the open so that anybody who 

 felt cold or damp could warm and fortify himself 

 against the elements. 



When all the preparations had been completed, the 

 fishing began. A group of men, carrying a long net, 

 spread it over the far end of the fishing point, then 

 brought it along towards the sluice, driving the carp 

 before it. So they collected the fish into a narrow 

 space where it was easier to capture them. Then one 

 man, with great boots covering his legs and thighs, 

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