Franky Goes Fishing
Introduce These Words:
| meadow twitched idea |
whiskers |
It was a warm spring day. Franky and Pippi were in the meadow. They wandered among the tall plants by the pond. The sun shone on the water. It made little bright spots like tiny stars.
Franky stepped to the edge of the pond. He put his nose down to the water. He sniffed and lapped at the water. It tasted sweet. He was thirsty, and drank in great big gulps. As he drank, Franky saw something moving in the water. Quickly, he jumped back and meowed to Pippi. Pippi came running to see what was the matter.
“Meow!” said Franky. “What is that big thing in the water?”
“I think it’s a fish,” said Pip.
“But it has whiskers and big round eyes,” cried Franky. “And it is as big as me! This does not look like the fish in my dish at supper!”
“This is how fish look when they are at home,” said Pip. “This one looks a lot like a cat. Maybe it is really a kind of water cat.” She meowed as Franky stared wide-eyed at the big fish swimming near where he had been drinking. Its whiskers were very long.
“I am going to catch the fish,” said Franky. “I am going to catch the fish for our supper.”
“What?” cried Pippi. “How can you catch a fish? That fish is too big for you. Also, you live on land. Fish live in the water, and you cannot swim.”
“Still, I will catch the fish,” said Franky. “I will think of a way.” So Franky and Pip sat and stared at the water. Their tails twitched. They were thinking about how to catch the big fish.
“I have an idea,” said Franky at last. “I will just reach out my paw. I will pounce and grab the fish. That is how I catch everything else.”
“Are you faster than the fish?” asked Pippi. “You will have to be very fast to catch a fish with your paw.”
“I am very fast,” said Franky. He got down very low so he could sneak up on the fish. He slid on his tummy. He pulled himself to the edge of the pond with his strong front legs. He crouched by the water for a long time. He didn’t move. He didn’t make a sound. He wanted the fish to forget about him. His big green eyes saw the fish swim close to the side of the pond. Suddenly Franky’s paw shot out. He pounced. Into the water he went, on top of the fish.
“Oh no!” cried Pip. She watched from the dry grass where she waited for her fish supper. She meowed loudly as Franky sank below the water. One second went by. Pippi saw no fish and she saw no Franky. Two seconds went by. She saw no fish and she saw no Franky. Three seconds went by. Suddenly Franky came flying out of the water. He had no fish and he was dripping wet.
“Run!” he yelled to Pip as he raced away, “Run fast! The fish wants to have me for supper! When I tried to grab it, it bit me. It pulled me down under the water. Run for your life!”
Franky and Pippi ran across the meadow. They wanted to get away from the big fish with whiskers. When they got home, Franky said, “I think we are safe now. Fish live in the water, even if they have whiskers and look like cats. Cats live on the land and do not like to go swimming. I don’t think I will go fishing again for a long time!”
“Meow,” said Pippi. “That is fine with me!”
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