Tuesday 19 January 2010

Freedom for a goldfish.


Traditional pickled herring with sourcream and...Image via Wikipedia

One of the benefits of being a fisherman was the fact that you knew how fresh the fish you were eating was.
Another benefit was that you could take home any type of fish you wanted, and any amount within reason.
So it was, when we had parties at the house I used to take home herring, prawns, and other white fish which made our parties very popular, with such good fresh fish dishes to be had. The other ingredients that make a party go with a swing were there too, but it was the prawn cocktails,(REAL FRESH PRAWNS, not the cardboard shrimps that supermarkets, and most eateries fob us off with now) pickled herring with new potatoes and butter, and the other dishes that I remember, not only because they made great eating, but also because I had to do all the cleaning of them before my wife cooked them. (fantastic fish suppers too if requested)

My wife at the time had a sister with two young daughters, one aged five, the other three.

One day at the fair they won a goldfish, which took pride of place in their home, sitting in a bowl at the centre of the table, where the girls would spend many a happy time watching it swim round and around.

The oldest girl Lorna, one day decided that it should have a bit more room to swim about in, so she emptied the bowl down the toilet, flushed the pan and ran to tell her mum of her generous deed, thinking the fish would end up in the sea.

She could not understand why her mum began to shout at her, when she was told of this deed, and even after it was explained to her that the fish was lost never to be retrieved, she was still unrepentant.

"It's all right mum" she said, patting her mum's back in a comforting way. "Uncle Donald will catch it and bring it back to us, he's a good fisherman."

Her mum could only smile, and I can only think it was seeing some of the fish I brought home that sparked the idea off in her mind.

I did for one minute think about buying a goldfish from a pet shop to replace it and confirm my nieces faith in my abilities as a fisherman, but then it crossed my mind that this might become a regular occurrence, and could cost me a pretty penny at the end of the day so I decided to spin her a yarn. (Me being a mean Scotsman ha ha.)

I told her that it had been cooped up in the goldfish bowl for so long, without seeing its mum and dad, that as soon as it entered the sea it swam away to find them, and one day while fishing I spied them swimming side by side happy to be together again.
"DID YOU Uncle Donald?" She asked, eyes agog.

Yes I replied, and your wee fish asked me to thank Lorna for sending it back to its mum and dad, then it wriggled its tail and swam away to join all the other goldfish in the sea.

Her reply left me quite stunned and speechless when she said, "Well we will have to rescue more fish from the fair,so they can join all the other goldfish in the sea."

Now how do you get out of that?




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25 comments:

  1. Thats a hook, line and sinker, sir!

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  2. I am smiling ear to ear, Donald :-)

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  3. Glad you liked it Agnes. When I thought about it in later years I found it quite amusing to, and thought it worth writing about.
    Thanks for showing your appreciation.

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  4. Amazing, the innocent faith children have. What a lovely story. Reminds me of when my kid was little. I used to insist on fresh water every day for the bird bath in the garden - after all, she wanted the bath for the birdies. One day, while crumbling up old bread for the birds, she asked me: "Why must the water be fresh and not the bread?"

    As you say, "how does one get out of that?" From then on the birds must have thought it was Christmas every day.

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  5. Aye Jimmy, children can sometimes set us the hardest problems, but it's great fun trying to solve them.

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  6. Hi Donald
    I wish I would rather be a magician than a nurse and doing magic on hubby just now! :)

    Thank you for your kind comment on my blog. And I have seen, we both don't just love nostalgia, we love also Rod Stewart too. :)

    Very nice post. I should come more over here to read you.

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  7. Adorable! Out of the mouths of babes come the most innocent of words. Amazing story. I never had a gold fish. I could have but I didn't want one because I, like your niece, thought it needed to be in a much bigger bowl!

    Great post.
    LAvery Brown

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  8. And I am smiling again :-)

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  9. Thanks LAvery Brown, I too feel sorry for fish in a bowl, or aquarium, although that might seem strange coming from a fisherman.

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  10. Hi Susanne, I only hope things start to get better for you both.

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  11. Oh my gosh that is the cutest story and one to learn from when we're talking to our kids...

    I know I'm going to think about what I say...from this day forward..thanks so much for sharing this is definitely a possible child story book for you to write..I'll buy it....

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  12. had fresh prawns for lunch today

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  13. hahahahahahahahahhaha! You get out of that by going to the fair and buying her all the fish at the fish stand! :)

    hahahahahahha! "cardboard prawns" .... hahahahahhahahaha!

    Hey, when we buy shrimp for our grocery, it's still swimming in an aquarium in front of us!!! So I don't think ours count as "cardboard" type....even if we buy them at the supermarket! Although...they are quite small...I can imagine the ones you capture must be huge!!!!

    -C

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  14. Well C, A mean Scotsman would come up with another story. lol, and our fishmongers or supermarkets don't have aquariums. "Cardboard shrimps" was what I said, as they call "shrimps," prawns here, and "prawns," anything from scampi (which is actually real prawns cooked in batter or breadcrumbs)to langoustines which is the french name for them, and chefs use it to tart up their menus, to Norwegian lobsters which is more like the thing as "PRAWNS" have claws and a round body, whereas "shrimps" have no claws, and are flat. So endeth your lesson on shellfish LOL.

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  15. Thank you. I shall forever cherish this valuable lesson on shellfish, Donald. :)

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  16. Sweet story. Lorna's intentions were pure -nice that she got her "happy ending" from her Uncle Donald.

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  17. Hi Heather, I'm just a big softie at heart. LOL

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  18. What a wonderful tale, Donald, thanks for sharing.

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  19. May I continue? The goldfish grew up to be a really gold one. One day, hungry Grandpa Gannet saw it shimmering in the waters. He was about to dive for the catch, but Donald gave him one from his own catch instead. Now my favorite author was able to save two friends in one fishing trip.

    Your post reminded me of the movie "Finding Nemo" but I'll call it "Searching Donald". It's nice to be back reading your stories again.

    I've read from a science trivia magazine that the memory of a goldfish lasts for only 3 seconds. But I know that goldfish will remember you for the rest of its swimming life.

    Not only you are sweet.. your niece too for telling you're a good fisherman. I agree.

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  20. Thank you Lea its nice to have you back, your imaginative comments were missed.

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