1 82 Fish Stories 



A tall back-fin come fannin' in, ag'inst the sunset sky. 



An' the sea ahead of it shivered an' gleamed with a shiftin' an' 



silvery hue, 

 With here a slash an' there a dash, an' a ripple shootin' through. 

 An' the Old Man jumped six feet from deck; he hollered an' he 



says, says he : 

 " Here comes the biggest mackerel school since the Lord set off 



the sea ! 

 An' right behind, if I hain't blind, by the prong-jawed dog-fish 



bark, 

 Is a-finnin' that mis'able hog of the sea, that liverless shag-eyed 



shark !" 



But we out with our bait an' down with our hooks, an' we fished 



an' fished an' fished. 

 While 'round in a circle, a-cuttin' the sea, that back-fin whished 



an' slished ; 

 An' we noticed at last he was herdin' the school an' drivin' 'em 



on our bait. 

 An' they bit an' they bit an' we pulled 'em in at a regular wholesale 



rate. 

 We pulled 'em in till the " Sairy Ann " was wallerin' with her load, 

 An' we stopped at last 'cause there wan't no room for the mackerel 



to be stowed. 

 Then up came a-finnin' that liverless shark, an' he showed his 



stitched-up side, 

 An' the look in his eyes was such a look that the Old Man fairly 



cried. 

 We rigged a tackle an' lowered a noose an' the shark stuck up 



his neck, 

 Then long an' slow, with a heave yo-ho, we h'isted him up on deck. 

 The skipper he blubbered an' grabbed a fin an' gave it a hearty 



shake ; 

 Says he, " Old man, don't lay it up an' we'll have a drop to take." 

 An' actin' by orders, the cook fetched up our kag of good old rum ; 

 The shark he had his drink poured first, an' all of us then took 



some. 

 Still actin' by orders, the cook he took an' he picked them stitches 



out. 

 An' we all turned to, an' we lent a hand, though of course we had 



some doubt 

 As to how he'd worn it an' how 'twas hitched, an' whuther 'twas 



tight or slack. 

 But as best we could — as we understood — we put that liver back. 

 Then we sewed him up, an' we shook his fin an' we giv' him another 



drink; 

 We h'isted him over the rail ag'in an' he giv' us a partin' wink. 

 Then he swum away, an' I dast to say, although he was rather sore, 

 He felt that he'd started the trouble first, an' we'd done our best 



an' more. 

 'Cause a dozen times 'fore the season closed an' the mackerel skipped 



to sea, 

 He herded a school an' drove 'em in, as gentlemanlike as could be. 



