1 Don't Scare the Fish

Don't Scare the Fish written by Pam Holden illustrated by Robin Van't Hof

When Beth was very young, Mum and Dad took her fishing at the wharf. They wanted to catch some fish for their dinner. Dad put Beth's stroller in a safe place behind them. "Sh! We must keep very quiet while we're fishing," they told her. "We won't talk or make any noise. We don't want to scare all the fish away."

Beth sat still and kept very quiet, while Dad and Mum threw their fishing lines into the water. She watched big ships and small boats sailing past. She listened to the noisy seagulls squawking and flapping near her stroller. There was no other noise on the wharf.

Before long, Dad pulled up his fishing line with a big fish on the end. Mum and Dad both smiled as it lay flapping and dripping on the wharf. "Hurray! Hurray!" shouted Beth, clapping her hands and laughing loudly. "Sh! Beth!" said Dad. "We must catch another fish for our dinner. We should all keep quiet." Dad put the fish into a green bucket, and he threw his line back into the sea.

After a while, Beth saw a fat cat coming quietly onto the wharf. She watched the cat creeping closer and closer to the green bucket. "Dad!" she called. "Look!" "We must be quiet," said Dad. "We don't want to talk just now. Listen to the birds and watch the boats."

Beth saw the fat cat pulling the fish right out of the bucket. She called out again. "Look, Dad! Look at the fish!" Dad turned around to look at Beth, but he didn't see the cat. He said, "Listen to me. We must all keep quiet." "Mum, look at the fish!" shouted Beth, but Mum didn't really listen. She looked around at Beth and said, "Sh! Please be quiet, Beth. Too much noise will scare the fish away."