Nimzy was feeling light and bubbly, it was a beautiful day and daddy was taking her fishing. He held her hand as she bounced along side him on the way to their favorite spot. When they arrived, daddy helped her get the bait ready and put out her line. He said, “Remember, be quiet and sit as still as you can. A good angler must be very patient and blend into the environment. Stay alert for anything bothering your bait. I’ll be down stream a little way, but close enough to hear if you call out. Good luck, there’s some monsters out there; don’t let one drag you away.”
He always said that, but they’d never caught one of his monsters. Daddy used to stay by her side, but she was a big girl now and liked to do things on her own. She was proud that he let her fish by herself, but glad that he was nearby. Today she’d catch one of daddy’s monsters and make him proud. She sat down and was as silent as a ten-year-old can be. The warmth of the day and the gentle ‘ssslump, ssslump’ of water lapping against the bank soon lulled Nimzy to sleep.
“Humph,” she murmured and absent-mindedly swatted at something tickling her nose. As it continued to pester her, she opened one eye and then the other; slowly bringing the bothersome thing into focus. It was tiny, pink and wiggly. She reached, grasped it gently between finger and thumb and brought the creature closer to study it more carefully. Just then, her line moved and grew taut; she had a bite. She reached for the line with her right hand and tensed, ready to jerk it hard and fast. Daddy said when it’s there and you know it – can feel it; wait; then slowly count: one – two – three – pull!
“Ouch!” As her left hand reached for her fishing line; the thing she had been holding stung her thump. She almost dropped her line in surprise and pain, but she could feel her prey wiggling and struggling on the other end. Nimsy couldn’t let go – this was a really big one, one of daddy’s monsters; she was sure of it.
The thing on her thumb stung again so Nimsy tried to crush it; but the creature bit her even harder. It hurt, so she snapped the right hand and tried to fling the pesky thing away. “Oww!” This caused such a stabbing pain that she clutched at her throbbing hand and dropped the fishing line.
Instantly realizing what she had done, Nimsy groped wildly after the rapidly fleeing line. “Oh, no! My fish, my monster fish –it’s getting away.” She caught the line with her right hand and held tight. The fish was still there and pulling hard against her. She rolled her hand several times, wrapping the line around it to insure that it wouldn’t slip away again.
As the struggling monster drew the line grew tight around her right hand; Nimsy felt her other hand being pulled by the nasty creature that was still chewing at her thumb. It didn’t seem possible that something that small could bite so painfully and pull at her with such strength. She rolled her left hand and felt something wrap around it. As she rolled her hand again and again, the tearing at her thumb lessened; but now the invisible object being wrapped around the hand was cutting into her flesh.
Nimsy strained against the mighty fish that tugged against her right hand and the unseen force attached to the tiny menace that was trying to eat her left thumb. She heaved and groaned in a mighty effort to win both battles, but she was losing. Nimsy was big, but she was not very heavy. The combined strength of the monster and the tiny creature was slowly dragging her toward the bank. She dug in her heels and leaned against the forces pulling her forward. The mud beneath her feet gave her no traction; she was slowly but surely being towed toward the bank. This could be the monster that daddy warned her about – the one to drag her away. Both of her hands were bound, she couldn’t let go.
Finally, just at the edge of the bank, her feet found a root; something to anchor her. She bent backwards and heaved with all her might. That did it; she stopped her forward progress and began to gain ground against the fish. Bit by bit she pulled it toward her. She wrapped more line around her hand to retain her advantage. She was winning – oh, what a story she would have to tell. Then suddenly the fish stopped moving and a great force jerked Nimsy upright.
Her head popped out of the water and she came face-to-face with it; the monster. She saw it –– and it saw her. The thing was hideous; long, yellow fur sprouted from the top of its head and hung in horn-like bundles that framed huge, bulging, green eyes. The creature let out a high-pitched screech that so frightened Nimsy; she fell backwards into the water. Screaming, the monster flew after her.
Nimsy shrieked, “Daddy, daddy – help me!” The horrible creature next to her screaked continuously; splashing and flopping its arms at Nimsy. In full panic, Nimsy tried to escape while continuing to yell for daddy to rescue her from the horrible beast. Wherever she went, the monster followed, becoming louder and more terrifying with each passing moment.
And then daddy was there, gathering her up in his big, strong arms. He held her close, stroking her fronds to calm and comfort her. Daddy sat her down after her sobs abated and her breathing returned to normal. He unwound the line from her right hand and removed a tiny barb from her left thumb. Turning toward her monster and chuckling, he lifted it from the water by the back of its strange outer skin. The creature immediately stopped moving and became silent. Daddy turned it slowly as if trying to determine what type of fish this might be. The monster’s eyes were askew, revealing small blue orbs beneath the huge, green, outer coverings. Daddy gently straightened them, untangled Nimsy’s snare from its leg, and then with great care set the monster down on the grassy land-side of the bank. It began shrieking again and ran off into the woods.
“Wow, that was a real whopper,” he said. “And you caught it all by yourself. I’m really proud of you.”
“But – but you let it go,” Nimsy said. She was both relieved that it was gone and disappointed that she couldn’t show it to mommy and her friends.
He patted her head and then lifted her chin to look up into his eyes. “Yes, honey, that kind of fish is just caught for sport; we don’t eat them. They are only to catch and release.”
