Fishing Tales. Colleagues

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

I made my way with a fishing rod through a thicket of bushes along the bank of a forest river. Suddenly in front, where there was a roll, there was a noise, even, as it seemed to me - a roar, as if something heavy had fallen into the water. Having got out of the bushes onto the path, he quickly moved in the direction from which the noise was heard.

About a hundred meters later, I found myself on a narrow clearing and carefully began to descend along it to the river. When I heard the gurgling of water on the rift, I again climbed into the thicket of bushes, from there I went down a little and, pushing the branches apart, looked out … In a fork, on the trunk of a huge tree bent over the water, a huge bear settled down.

He had his back to me, and I could not see what he was doing. Therefore, slowly, slowly, literally crawling, I got out of the bushes and, now and then looking around to where the clubfoot was, walked around him so that he was to me full face. Probably, I was in vain being careful, since the bear did not pay attention to anything and, without stopping, looked into the water.

Apparently, he was not very comfortable sitting on the trunk, because from time to time he fidgeted, obviously making himself more comfortable. "What makes him feel this rather awkward position?" - I thought involuntarily. The answer came about ten minutes later, when the bear slightly raised himself, tensed and fell into the water with a crash. And he plunged headlong. And having emerged, he immediately began to madly beat his paws on the water.

When he stopped, a rather weighty fish flashed in his paws with silver scales! So here's the thing: it turns out we are colleagues - fishermen. Probably, the beast should, holding the prey in its paws, get to the shore and eat it there. He decided to do it right in the water. But as soon as he brought the fish to its mouth, it twisted, slipped out of its paws and fell into the water.

However, contrary to my expectation, bathing did not cool his hunting fervor, and he, without any hesitation, climbed the tree again. Thus, the fishing continued. The beast gazed at the water and froze in immobility. Time passed, and the result was zero. We must pay tribute to the patience of Toptygin the fisherman: he did not want to come to terms with bad luck. And he continued to wait.

Finally, fortune smiled at him … Seeing the potential prey, the bear at first became alert, then, without delay, again plunged headlong into the water. And I emerged with a kilogram bream. This time the fisherman did not repeat the previous mistake - he did not eat fish in the water, but quickly got to the shore and quickly swallowed the catch with a loud rumbling.

But what is such an insignificant trophy for such a hefty beast? Almost nothing. And I thought that the clubfoot would continue fishing. However, the beast acted differently. Probably, he decided that, as the saying goes: "The game is not worth the candle," and therefore climbed the slope and instantly disappeared into the coastal bush. So the bear fishing ended …