The Tale Of Mr Jeremy Fisher

Good evening my little ones,

I hope you're ready for story time,

That you've brushed your teeth and that you're in bed.

Tonight we're reading The Tailored Jeremy Fisher by Beatrix Potter.

Now this book is one that I read when I was a little girl.

It's over a hundred years old,

But I'm not over a hundred.

In fact,

I don't think anyone you know is over a hundred years old.

I'm going to be reading from one of the little books that I had when I was growing up,

So if you hear pages turn,

Just imagine the teeny book in my hand that's forty something years old,

As old as me.

So make sure you're lying down,

Your head's on the pillow and you're snug as a bug in a rug as we read The Tailored Mr Jeremy Fisher by Beatrix Potter.

Once upon a time there was a frog called Mr Jeremy Fisher.

He lived in a little damp house amongst the buttercups at the edge of the pond.

The water was all slippy sloppy in the larder and in the back passage.

Mr Jeremy liked getting his feet wet.

Nobody ever scolded him and he never ever caught a cold.

He was quite pleased when he looked out and saw large drops of rain splashing in the pond.

I will get some worms and go fishing and catch a dish of minnows for my dinner,

Said Mr Jeremy Fisher.

If I catch more than five fish,

I will invite my friends Mr Alderman Tortoise and Sir Isaac Newton.

The alderman,

However,

Eats salad.

Mr Jeremy put on a macintosh,

Which actually means a rain jacket,

And a pair of shiny galoshes,

Which means rain boots.

He took his rod and basket and set off with enormous hops to the place where he kept his boat.

The boat was round and green and very like other lily leaves.

It was tied to a water plant in the middle of the pond.

Mr Jeremy took a reed pole and pushed the boat out into open water.

I know a good place for minnows,

Said Mr Jeremy Fisher.

Mr Jeremy stuck his pole into the mud and fastened his boat to it.

Then he settled in south crosslegged and arranged his fishing tackle.

He had the dearest little row float.

His rod was a tough stalk of grass,

His line a fine long white horsehair,

And he tied a little wriggling worm at the end.

The rain trickled down his back and for nearly an hour he stared at the float.

This is getting tiresome.

I think I should like some lunch,

Said Mr Jeremy Fisher.

He punted back amongst the water plants and took some lunch out of his basket.

I will eat a butterfly sandwich and wait till the shower is over,

Said Mr Jeremy Fisher.

A great big water beetle came up underneath the lily leaf and tweaked the toe of one of his galoshes.

Mr Jeremy crossed his legs up shorter,

Out of reach and went on eating a sandwich.

Once or twice something moved about with a rustle and a splash amongst the rushes at the side of the pond.

Oh I trust that is not a rat,

Said Mr Jeremy Fisher.

I think I'd better get away from him.

Mr Jeremy shoved the boat out again and dropped in the bait.

There was a bite almost directly.

The float gave a tremendous moment.

A minnow,

A minnow,

I have him by the nose,

Cried Mr Jeremy Fisher,

Jerking up his rod.

What a horrible surprise.

Instead of a smooth fat minnow,

Mr Jeremy landed little Jack Sharp,

The stickleback,

Covered with spines.

The stickleback floundered about the boat,

Pricking and snapping until he was quite out of breath.

Then he jumped back into the water.

And the shoal of other little fishes put their heads out and laughed at Mr Jeremy Fisher.

How rude.

And while Mr Jeremy sat sadly on the edge of his boat,

Sucking his sore fingers and peering down into the water,

A much worse thing happened.

A really frightful thing.

It would have been if Mr Jeremy had not been wearing a Macintosh.

That means a rain jacket.

A great,

Big,

Enormous trout came up,

Ka-plop,

With a splash.

It seized Mr Jeremy with a snap.

Ow,

Ow,

Ow.

And then it turned and dived down to the bottom of the pond.

But the trout was so displeased with the taste of the rain jacket that in less than half a minute it spat him out again.

And the only thing it swallowed were Mr Jeremy's galoshes.

Again,

That means his rain boots.

Mr Jeremy bounced up to the surface of the water like a cork and the bubbles out of a soda water bottle.

And he swam with all his might to the edge of a pond.

He scrambled out on the first bank he came to and hopped home across the meadow with his Macintosh all in tatters.

What a mercy that was not a pike,

Said Mr Jeremy Fisher.

I have lost my rod and basket,

But it doesn't matter,

For I don't think I want to go fishing again anyway.

He put some sticking plaster on his fingers and his friends both came to dinner.

He could not offer them fish,

But he had something else in his larder.

Sir Isaac Newton wore his black and gold waistcoat and Mr Alderman Tortoise brought a salad with him in a string bag.

And instead of a nice dish of minnows,

They had a roasted grasshopper with ladybird sauce,

Which frogs consider a beautiful treat,

But I think it must have been nasty.

The end.

So guys,

That was the tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher.

I made a few mistakes here and there,

But that's life.

We're always going to make mistakes and that's okay.

You may have noticed the language was different to what we used to know because the dialect we use or the words we use,

They've changed a lot.

Now I want you to lie back,

Make sure you're all comfy and it's time to relax.

I want you to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth and again in through your nose and out through your mouth.

It's time to go to sleep and want you to start thinking of all the wonderful adventures that are going to happen tomorrow.

All the laughter and the joy.

You are so blessed and loved.

We want you to be happy and content.

Again,

Keep breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.

With your head resting on the pillow,

Make sure your eyes are closed.

Let's start dreaming some dreams.

Today was a wonderful day and tomorrow is going to be even better.

I want you to imagine the sun is touching and kissing your skin.

That you're in a field with your friends and your family and everyone's sitting around having a picnic.

Maybe there's your favourite things in the picnic basket.

Let's take a look and see.

You open the lid of the picnic basket and look inside.

What do you find?

I can see some lovely sandwiches,

Some cheese and tomato for me,

Some peanut butter and jam for the kids,

Strawberry trifle,

Chocolate and some fresh raspberries and cherries.

How lovely.

We decide to take one of the peanut butter and jam sandwiches and just sit back on the blanket.

The wind is lovely and warm as it touches your skin just lightly.

It's almost like a tickle.

As you're eating your sandwich you hear the sounds of the birds.

Maybe your doggy is there with you.

Maybe you have two doggies.

Your doggy is running around in the circle.

He's so happy.

Maybe your mummy is there with your daddy or both.

Maybe it's just you and your friends and the adults are somewhere else.

You feel so calm.

You wiggle your toes a little.

Delighting in the freedom of having those shoes on.

You decide to lie back on the blanket.

Just look up at the sky.

It's beautiful and blue.

Just imagine it.

You see a bird flying overhead.

It seems to soar and just float.

There's no effort in the birds wings flapping.

It's just beauty.

Your body feels light as it rests on the blanket.

You feel so warm and safe.

You know after you wake up from a nap you'll be able to play with your friends or maybe you'll take your toy out of your backpack and play with it.

For now you decide to close your eyes and just rest and nap.

You listen.

You hear the beautiful music.

You're thankful.

You're loved.

Your shoulders just relax.

You soften your jaw.

You open your mouth slightly just to breathe in and out.

Again you're breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.

You imagine your cheeks nice and relaxed.

Like someone has just tickled your face.

You can almost imagine the feeling of how lovely it is.

The feeling of touch.

This is exactly where you want to be.

You feel so full of happiness.

As I say goodnight to you,

I want to thank you for listening to the story.

For accepting my mistakes.

I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow.