“Oh, it was a pleasure for me,” answered the fisherman, who had met the children on their last adventure, and who had taken care of them. “We had a nice ride home in the carriage.”
“And he caught a man’s tall hat by dangling a hammock-hook out of the carriage window,” explained Mary Trippertrot.
“And a lady’s bonnet,” added Tommy.
“And a little girl’s loaf of bread,” said Johnny.
“But he gave them all back,” exclaimed Mary. “And, oh, Mr. Fisherman, you promised to do some tricks for us,” she went on. “You really did, and I think you might do some now, to amuse us. It isn’t quite bedtime.”
“Oh, yes, I’d love to see some funny tricks,” said Tommy. “Can you make a rabbit come out of a hat, or take papa’s watch, and make a rice pudding out of it?”
“Yes, please do that trick!” cried Johnny. “Wouldn’t it be funny to see a rice pudding made from father’s watch? And could you leave the tick-tick part in the pudding, Mr. Fisherman?”
“Hold on!” exclaimed Mr. Trippertrot, “I am not sure that I want my watch made into a pudding. I need my watch to tell the time by, so I can go to work in the morning.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” spoke the old fisherman, with a jolly laugh. “Even if I should make a pudding of your watch, it would not hurt it in the least, or stop it from tick-ticking. But I think I will do some other trick. Mary,” he said, to the little Trippertrot girl, “please let me take your hair ribbon.”
So Mary handed him her hair ribbon, and her curls fell down all about her face, making it look very pretty in the light of the fire.