'HE TALE OF
REMYftSHER
JUV
FIC
P8<:
HTRIX POTTER
F.WARNE&C?LTP]
THE TALE
OF
MR. JEREMY FISHER
THE TALE OF
MR. JEREMY FISHER
BY
BEATRIX POTTER
Author
LONDON
FREDERICK WARNE & CO., LTD.
AND NEW YORK
(All rights reserved)
COPYRIGHT 1906
BY
FREDERICK WARNE & Co.
ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN FOR THE PUBLISHERS
BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS LTD
LONDON AND BECCLES
942.156
FOR
STEPHANIE
FROM
COUSIN B.
upon a time there
was a frog called Mr.
Jeremy Fisher ; he lived in a
little damp house amongst the
buttercups at the edge of a
pond.
THHE water was all slippy-
sloppy in the larder and
in the back passage.
But Mr. Jeremy liked get-
ting his feet w r et ; nobody ever
scolded him, and he never
caught a cold !
II
TJE was quite pleased when
he looked out and saw
large drops of rain, splashing
in the pond
"T WILL get some worms
and go fishing and catch
a dish of minnows for my
dinner," said Mr. Jeremy
Fisher. "If I catch more than
five fish, I will invite my
friends Mr. Alderman Ptolemy
Tortoise and Sir Isaac Newton.
The Alderman, however, eats
salad. "
I < v
_;
i6
]\/[R. JEREMY put on a
macintosh, and a pair
of shiny goloshes ; he took his
rod and basket, and set off
with enormous hops to the
place where he kept his boat.
HTHE boat was round and
green, and very like the
other lily-leaves. It was
tied to a water-plant in
the middle of the pond.
<v*> if-
20
JEREMY took a reed
pole, and pushed the
boat out into open water. "I
know a good place for min-
nows/' said Mr. Jeremy
Fisher.
21
]\/[R JEREMY stuck his
pole into the mud and
fastened his boat to it.
Then he settled himself
cross-legged and arranged his
fishing tackle. He had the
dearest little red float. His
rod was a tough stalk of
grass, his line was a fine long
white horse-hair, and he tied
a little wriggling worm at the
end.
22
^ ' _ JS*-T
A\\V *5" \ I -;
TTHE rain trickled down his
back, and for nearly an
hour he stared at the float.
"This is getting tiresome,
I think I should like some
lunch, " said Mr. Jeremy
Fisher.
punted back again
amongst the water-
plants, and took some lunch
out of his basket.
"I will eat a butterfly sand-
wich, and wait till the
shower is over," said Mr.
Jeremy Fisher.
GREAT big water-beetle
came up underneath the
lily leaf and tweaked the toe
of one of his goloshes.
Mr. Jeremy crossed his legs
up shorter, out of reach, and
went on eating his sandwich.
QNCE or twice something
moved about with a
rustle and a splash amongst
the rushes at the side of the
pond.
"I trust that is not a rat,"
said Mr. Jeremy Fisher; "I
think I had better get av/ay
from here."
JEREMY shoved the
boat out again a little
way, and dropped in the bait.
There was a bite almost
directly; the float gave a
tremendous bobbit!
"A minnow! a minnow! I
have him by the nose!" cried
Mr. Jeremy Fisher, jerking
up his rod.
33
T3UT what a horrible sur-
prise! Instead of a
smooth fat minnow, Mr.
Jeremy landed little Jack
Sharp the stickleback, covered
with spines!
34
35
'T'HE stickleback floundered
about the boat, pricking
and snapping until he was
quite out of breath. Then he
jumped back into the water.
37
A ND a shoal of other little
fishes put their heads
out, and laughed at Mr.
Jeremy Fisher.
,
39
A ND while Mr. Jeremy sat
disconsolately on the
edge of his boat sucking his
sore fingers and peering down
into the water a much worse
thing happened; a really
frightful thing it would have
been, if Mr. Jeremy had not
been wearing a macintosh !
A GREAT big enormous
trout came up ker-
pflop-p-p-p! with a splash
and it seized Mr. Jeremy with
a snap, u Ow! Ow! Ow!"-
and then it turned and dived
down to the bottom of the
pond!
43
"DUT the trout was so dis-
pleased with the taste of
the macintosh, that in less
than half a minute it spat him
out again ; and the only thing
it swallowed was Mr. Jeremy's
goloshes.
45
]\/[R. JEREMY bounced up
to the surface of the
water, like a cork and the
bubbles out of a soda water
bottle; and he swam \vith
all his might to the edge of
the pond.
4 6
47
4 8
UE scrambled out on the
first bank he came to,
and he hopped home across
the meadow with his mac-
intosh all in tatters.
49
a merc Y that was
not a pike! r said
Mr. Jeremy Fisher. "I have
lost my rod and basket ; but
it does not much matter, for I
am sure I should never have
dared to go fishing again !"
4
put some sticking
plaster on his fingers,
and his friends both came to
dinner. He could not offer
them fish, but he had some-
thing else in his larder.
53
gIR ISAAC NEWTON
wore his black and gold
waistcoat,
54
43*
55
A ND Mr. Alderman Ptolemy
Tortoise brought a salad
with him in a string bag.
57
AND instead of a nice dish
of minnows they had a
roasted grasshopper with
lady-bird sauce ; which frogs
consider a beautiful treat ; but
1 think it must have been
nasty !
THE END
Potter, b .
The tale of M r. Jeremy
Fisher.
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
