BOBBING FOR EELS 



head to tail, sliding them one by one down 

 upon his shoemaker's thread till he had 

 a rope of them twelve feet long or so. 

 Then tying the ends together he looped 

 this up till it hung in a wad of loops as 

 big as his two fists. This, hung upon the 

 end of his line, was all he needed for a 

 night's fishing. 



The way of its use is this. First catch 

 your night, one of those nights when there 

 is a promise of soft rain in the sky and the 

 wind that is to. bring it just sighs gently 

 over the trees from the southward. Too 

 much wind is bad, for it so ruffles the sur- 

 face that the fish cannot find you. A very 

 gentle ripple, on the contrary, is helpful, 

 for it makes a dancing path of light from 

 your fire, up which the eels may trail you 

 to the very spot where hangs the bob. 



The stout fisherman used to take along 

 at least two boys who would be useful in 

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