ONCE upon a time, when it was early summer in the Big Deep Woods, theHollow Tree people and Jack Rabbit went over to spend the day with Mr.Turtle, who lives in a very nice stone house which he built himself onthe edge of the Wide Blue Water. Mr. Turtle fishes a good deal, andmakes most of his living that way, and knows all the best places, sowhen his friends came he said that perhaps they would enjoy fishing alittle--which they could do and sit in a pleasant place at the sametime, and talk, and look out over the Wide Blue Water, which wasespecially blue at this season.[Illustration: A CATFISH NEARLY JERKED HIS POLE OUT OF HIS HANDS]That just suited the Hollow Tree people, for they enjoyed fishing whenthey had somebody to pick out a good place, and Mr. 'Possum found a nicestump to lean back against, and presently went to sleep, but was wakedup soon after, when a big catfish nearly jerked his pole out of hishands. Mr. 'Possum had to use all his strength to pull it out.Then he was so proud he didn't think about going to sleep again, andtold how all his family had been quite smart at catching fish; andpretty soon Jack Rabbit caught a good-sized perch, and Mr. 'Coon hookeda croppie, which got away the first time, though he caught it the next;and Mr. Crow caught a "punkin-seed," which made the others laugh,because it is a funny little fish; while Mr. Turtle just went rightalong pulling out one kind after another, without saying a word, becausefishing is his business and doesn't excite him.Then by and by the fish stopped biting, as they 'most always do, byspells, and the Deep Woods people leaned back and looked out over theWide Blue Water, and away out there saw Mr. Eagle swoop down and pick upsomething which looked at first like a shoe-string; then they saw itwriggle, and knew it was a small water-snake, which was going to be Mr.Eagle's dinner; and they talked about it and wondered how he could enjoysuch food.