1 6 FISHES I HAVE KNOWN 



uncertain about which was the best ; so we 

 consulted the carpenter, who advised red-worms, 

 and promised to supply us with a lot from his 

 manure heap. 



At last the long looked-for day arrived for the 

 fishing excursion. I had gone to bed with an 

 anxious mind, caused by the threatening look of 

 the weather, but as I lay lamenting it, I suddenly 

 remembered that somebody once told me fish bit 

 well before thunder or rain. So I fell asleep in 

 peace. 



Morning dawned with a cloudless sky, and 

 found me wide awake and eager for the fray, 

 too eager to remain in bed one unnecessary 

 moment. In all England there could not have 

 been found a happier child than I, as I set off 

 with my brother, after a hurried breakfast, to the 

 scene of action full of glorious expectation, and 

 laden with a large bass basket for the catch ! 



We soon reached the windmill, behind which 

 was a mill-pond used as water-power when breezes 

 failed. Even after all these years I can picture 

 the place in every detail the sails slowly moving 

 round, the great arms sweeping so dangerously 

 near the ground, the miller's picturesque house 

 with its tall poplars, and the thicket of trees that 

 hid the mill-pond. 



