Just then Paul cried out, "Oh, Oh, Oh!" quickly. Bob turned just in time to see his prize fish flop out of the can and back into the sea.
"Oh, Oh, Oh!" He was no longer a proud fisherman. He was just a very sad little boy.
On another day Bob and Paul stopped in front of a little cottage. A man was in the yard mending a him. The man was a strong young fisherman.
At the door of the cottage sat an old, old man with white hair. A cane was by his side. He spoke to Bob and Paul and let them come in and sit on the steps near him. He was the fisherman's father. He was called Captain John. He had once been a fisherman himself. Now he was too old to work, but he knew many stories of the sea. Bob and Paul never grew tired of hearing them. Every day they came to the cottage. Captain John was always there sitting in the doorway, with his cane by his side. He was always ready to tell them an exciting true story of the sea.
One day a big gray cat was curled up at Captain John's feet. "Is pussy your pet, Captain John?" asked Bob. "No, little lad," said the old man. "She belongs to my daughter. My pet is almost as old as I am. She's a brave old friend. We have stuck by each other for over fifty years. We've seen hard times and good times together. And now we are growing old side by side."
"Will you show her to us, please, Captain John?" said the two little boys.
"Yes, yes," replied the old man; "come with me." He took his cane and walking very, very slowly, he took the boys around the cottage to a tiny garden. There was one spot in the garden that was bright with flowers.
Captain John led them there. "Here she is," he said. "Here's my old friend, the Sea Gull, dressed up in her Sunday clothes."
The boys looked and saw that the Sea Gull was a boat. She was Captain John's pet—almost as old as he was. She was his brave old friend who had stuck by him for over fifty years. Now she was too old for the sea so she had a home in the tiny garden. The flowers that had been planted in her were her "Sunday clothes."
"She seems alive to me," said Captain John. "I am glad we can grow old side by side."