The Joy of Fishing

     So off I dragged my three pets - my Plushie Kau, my Pirate Kougra and my Royal Cybunny. On route to the fishing hole, I proceeded to tell them of the adventure we would have, while they learned the patience and skill needed to catch the most remarkable fish the hole had to offer. I must admit, Ilyria, my Cybunny, wasn't thrilled with the prospect of getting her paws anywhere near that murky, smelly water, but I assured her that she would learn to love it. MooMoo, my Kau, was more concerned about getting her stuffing wet and coming home smelly like mildew - I promised that I would make sure to find her the perfect dry spot to sit in while we fished. The only one that showed any enthusiasm about the trip was my Kougra, KougraKat - he was determined to plunder that fishing hole, aye, and drag home all the treasure he could find. I did not have the heart to dash those hopes quite yet that I really didn't think there was sunken treasure there - rather keep those spirits high and full of wonder while I could. But I was sure that out of them all, he would be the one who would appreciate my love of fishing.

     Finally we reached the fishing hole and proceeded down to the end of the dock. MooMoo immediately started making snuffling noises while trying to shift her stuffing into just the right spots to be comfortable. Illyria was showing her nervousness by rubbing her paws over and over again, and wiggling her nose at the odors emanating from the water below. KougraKat pounced to the end of the dock and declared this was the spot to find his riches, snarling at his siblings that they better beware. Their response was to roll their eyes, since they were used to KougraKat's theatrics. I quickly put down the tackle boxes and rods, determined to make this the best fishing trip ever.

     "Now first," I stated confidently, "You need the right bait. I'll get your rods all set up, and when you're comfortable watching me do it, you can try for yourselves." I must say, Illyria looked down right disgusted by that notion, while MooMoo pondered the sharp hook, then her pretty plushie fabric. KougraKat was too busy peering into the depths to even listen to me while I explained baiting the hook. Maybe this trip wasn't going to be what I had hoped for, I thought sadly.

     Baiting the hooks as quickly as I could, I handed MooMoo hers first. Clumsily she grasped it in her hooves and I showed her how to cast. Away flew her hook - thankfully not catching in her fabric - and plopped into the water. I then assured her that all she needed to do was watch the bobber and if it went down to let me know and I would help reel in her catch. Turning to Illyria, I noticed that what little interest she had once had, way back when I had first spent hours telling them about my fishing adventures, had quickly dissipated. All she was showing was pure disgust as her paw motioned to something bobbing in the waves near the dock. I looked down and saw that it was a rotten shoe, floating along, probably looking for its lost mate. I tried to assure her that it was nothing to worry about, you take the good with the bad and a little junk wouldn't take away from the great experience of catching a fish. But I could see that I was getting nowhere fast, especially when to her disgust, the lost match to the pair chose then to float up from the depths. Her ears started twitching, paws started rubbing together frantically - there was a meltdown coming for sure, I thought.

     Illyria took three steps away from the dock edge, her siblings and gathered up all her regal confidence. She then declared in her most royal voice that fishing was simply vile, and she would not be partaking in such an activity. Turning her nose up, she spun around and stalked back down the dock, away from the odors, tackle, and dreams I had for her of being a great fisherpet. Sighing, I turned to my last pet, and was startled to see only a wiggling set of backlegs and a tail on the edge of the dock. I rushed over to find KougraKat hanging off the dock, his back claws dug into the wood to hang by like a Korbat, for goodness sake, swinging wildly at the water. Scolding him, I grabbed hold of his pirate coat tails and dragged him back onto the dock. Expecting a snarl or swipe, I was surprised instead to hear a hearty meow as he held up the treasure he had been trying to snatch from the water. Clasped in his great paws was a DoomFish, one of the strangest looking things I had ever seen. I must admit to stumbling back a bit while he chortled on about his plunder, swinging this horrible fish to and fro... I was glad when he finally let me convince him to put it into the bucket for safekeeping, assuring him that we would take it home so he could show his mateys what a fine job he had done. Satisfied, he gave me a quick rub of a cheek, then stated he need a good cleaning so he'd go keep Illyria company up the path. He bounded off and I was left with my one last pet, and my fading hopes.

     MooMoo was sitting on the edge of the dock, just watching the bobber patiently, just as I had told them to on the way here. I sat down beside her, making sure to be as quiet as possible so as to not disturb the fish. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that my pets hadn't found fishing the wonder that I thought it to be. But at least they had tried, I told myself. And that was all I could hope for.

     Suddenly MooMoo stiffened beside me and snuffled out something - sounded like, no wait, what? I looked out to the water and sure enough, the bobber was under the surface. Whooping, I grabbed her hooves in my hands and showed her how to pull back hard to set the hook. Then I told her to steadily, carefully, reel in her catch. Proudly I watched as she did exactly as told, taking her time to reel in her line. It seemed like forever, even though I'm sure it was only a few seconds, but she gave out an excited moo as she reeled in her catch ... a tiny Butterfish. I was a little miffed, thought it would have been something more grand, and turned to assure MooMoo that it was still a great first attempt.

     Imagine my surprise to see my Plushie Kau bouncing up and down, clutching her rod as she held the line in her other hoof to show off her prize. The joy shining on her face reminded me that this was exactly why I had brought them out there - I had wanted them to share this sense of wonder with me. It didn't matter to her what she had caught, but that she had something!! On her own and she was bursting at her seams with pride at her accomplishment. Right then I knew I had found myself a fishing buddy, and no matter what we caught, we would always share in the simple pleasure that was fishing.

     I gently took the rod and prized fish away from her, telling her how proud I was of her catch. She beamed at me, and shyly asked if we could return another day to try again ... but, maybe, just the two of us? Smiling, I placed her Butterfish into the bucket and assured her we definitely would. She let out a moo of triumph and ran off to tell her siblings of her catch. Shaking my head at way things had worked out, I packed everything up, and headed up after my pets.

The End