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THE FISHING ROD by Angela Hurrell Phineas wanted to go fishing! The sun shone brightly and he could see the river shimmering in the heat. He wanted to fish! The trouble was that he could not find his rod. He had safely put it away, in the kitchen cupboard, after he had last he used it. He searched in all the likely places and then looked in the unlikely ones too; under the beds; above the chimney; in the bathroom; under the bath; but it was nowhere to be found. He was fed up! Who could have taken it? Phineas wandered outside and sat down on a low wall, at a loss as to what to do next. Just then his dog Roger came bounding up, mud on his front paws and dust on his nose. He had obviously been digging and had dragged some fishing line along for Phineas' inspection. He was very pleased with himself but wanted Phineas to follow him. He kept trotting off a short distance, then turning his head and barking, to call his master. The boy looked at the tangled mass of line, it looked quite new so he decided to humour his dog and follow him. Roger set off at a fast trot, his tail wagging furiously all the time and Phineas had to run to keep up. They ended up near the river's edge. There was a freshly dug hole, from which protruded what looked like a stick. Phineas moved closer and pulled out what appeared to be a roughly made fishing rod. It had a shiny new reel attached and the line had obviously been pulled out by Roger. Phineas pulled the rod out, wondering who could have buried it and why. He felt sure that, once cleaned, he would be able to use it, so wiped it on the grass before threading the line into the rod sockets. There was even a hook attached to the end of the line, which Phineas had to straighten before winding it back onto the reel. He raced to the river's edge and threaded a fat worm that he found in the hole, onto the hook. He cast it out into the centre of the river. It had hardly touched the water before he felt a strong tug on the line. Phineas pulled on the rod, wound in line and was thrilled to find a huge fish on the hook. He re-wormed the rod, after extracting the fish, and cast again. This time the fish was not so big, but after a couple of hours, Phineas had caught enough fish for his family's dinner. He was so proud of himself as his family gasped at the wonderful catch. Next day, Phineas went fishing again and again met with much success, but by the end of the week, he had grown tired of catching fish and, carrying his rod over his back, walked to the small shop, where all the villagers were buying their weekly groceries. He saw a bicycle bell that was for sale, but, because it was a big expensive, realised he could not have it. He began to plan a way of getting the bell without spending money on getting it and decided that he would fish for it. He waited until the shopkeeper was busy serving cool drinks from the fridge, that stood at the entrance of the shop, then, when no one was watching, he twisted the hook round the tip of the rod, and managed to hook the bell onto it and walked out of the shop with the bell held high in the air, out of sight of everyone. He thought that he had been very clever and ran home, where he hid.it from his mother. After a few days Phineas took his rod out again and went back to the shop. High on the shelves, out of reach of anyone he saw a very smart hat, one that looked like a cowboy's hat, with a brim that turned up at the sides. He wondered whether he would be able to reach it with his rod and waited his opportunity. It was a busy day in the shop, with many people waiting to be served, so it was easy for him to hook the hat and again walk out of the shop with his rod held upright. He took the hat home and tucked it away, out of sight next to the bell, very pleased with his 'catch'. Next day Phineas' mother asked him to go fishing again, as the family needed more food, so he set-off early, confident that he would catch as many as he wanted. He collected his hat and bell, hiding it from sight, and set off. He settled down in his usual spot, put his hat on, played with his smart bell, then cast out his line and waited. He waited and waited. He waited all morning but caught nothing at all. He returned home, where his mother, brother and sisters were waiting with a pan already on the stove, ready to cook the fish. The poor boy then had to admit to the whole family that he had not caught a thing, and they all went to bed hungry, for the first time in a long while. Next morning Phineas set out again, sure that this time he would catch a fine fish, if not more than one, and again he took his hat and bell. Again, there was not a ripple on the water and nothing even nibbled at his bait. Once more he had to face his disappointed family and this time his brothers jeered at him. On the third day, Phineas set out, quite determined that today there would be the best catch of all, so taking his hat and bell once more he set off. He could not believe it when he sat hour after hour waiting for just a hint of a bite. It was very hot so he took off his hat off, placed it on the ground, put his bell on the top, and then closed his eyes for a short sleep. When he awoke it was getting dark and the little boy, thoroughly disappointed and tired of trying, threw the rod into the river, in a rage. As he picked up his hat, he found a large, green chameleon underneath it. He was so startled that he dropped his hat and the bell, which fell with a plop into the water. He backed away because he had never seen such a huge green chameleon and was afraid of it. Phineas moved further away still and felt something prod him from behind. He had backed into a prickly bush but, because he was so afraid he did not realise what it was, then a strange and frightening voice spoke and it seemed to come from the ground where the chameleon stood stock-still, its huge eyes watching the boy. "Phineas, Phineas, what have you been doing?" it asked. "Nothing, nothing but fish, nothing at all." replied the trembling Phineas. "And the hat, and the bell? I suppose you caught these in the river? Didn't you steal them from the shop? Didn't you walk out without paying for them?" asked the Chameleon. "Yes, I did! I meant to go back and pay for them but I forgot," said the boy." "And just how were you going to pay for them, may I ask, you havn't got any money have you?" said Chameleon. "And why did you hide them from your Mother? Don't lie to me Phineas, that makes it even worse, for if you own up, then at least, that is better than lying" Phineus had nothing to say. He wondered how the Chameleon knew so much about him. He wanted to run away, as fast as he could, but something held him there and he stood pinned to the bush. "Let this be a lesson to you, Phineas. Don't ever steal again! Never take anything that does not belong to you, for that is stealing. Now go home and tell your mother what you have done otherwise I will come after you, no matter where you are. Go now!" ordered the Chameleon. Phineas ran off, faster than he had ever run before and threw himself at his mother, shaking and crying, while he told her what had happened. By far, one of the most difficult things that he had to do, was to confess as to what he had done, for his mother then made him go to the shop with her to apologise to the shopkeeper. He felt so ashamed but he never took anything ever again.
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