The following excerpts are from a
favorite book when I was a girl-kid,
Double Trouble For Rupert
by Ethelyn M. Parkinson, published in 1953.
"Clover Lake is a very keen lake with some
very keen cottages where we go for three weeks
every summer. Clayte and his mom and dad go, too.
The only trouble with this very keen spot is that
Smart Annabelle's mom and dad also go along,
and, naturally, that means that
Annabelle goes right along with them!
Clover Lake should not be for girls!
"Well, Clayte and I were climbing into our rowboat
for a very peaceful morning of fishing
when up comes Smart Annabelle.
"I want to go fishing with you," she said.
"Now look, Annabelle," Clayte said.
"We took you fishing last year and
what happened?
Your yakety-yak kept the big ones away."
"You have a very wonderful brain, Annabelle,"
Clayte said like a smoothie.
"Very wonderful ---
for arithmetic and history.
But you can't catch fish with books."
"But Clayton .... "
Clayte came to the point.
"The subject is closed.
This is strictly a man's fishing trip.
No girls are invited."
"I agree with Clayte," I said
Just then Mom stuck her head out our cottage window.
"Rupert Piper, where are your manners?
Certainly you boys are going to take Annabelle fishing.
Now let's not hear another word about it."
Before noon Mom sent me to the grocery store
and I found out the news.
There was going to be a fishing derby
for everyone under fifteen,
with prizes for the biggest fish of each kind.
Swell prizes like a casting rod and a Kodak.
There were sissy prizes, too, for girls.
Before supper
Annabelle was down on the beach
when we went for our swim.
"Oh, Rupert," she said.
"What time are we going?"
"Five o'clock," I said.
"O.K."
"I mean five in the morning, natch," I said,
and waited for Annabelle to faint in the sand.
"O.K. Rupert," she said, "I'll be ready!"
(Early the next morning)
Clayte put one foot on the boat
and made a speech to Annabelle.
"O.K. Annabelle, we're being kind enough
to take you fishing. But there are some rules
you won't find in books.
First, you are not to speak one word
from the time we shove off
until we make port."
"Second rule," said Clayte,
"you will bait your own hook."
"Oh, sure," said Annabelle.
"Third rule," said Clayte, "you will remove
your fish from the hook without help."
She smiled.
"Fourth and last rule," said Clayte, "You will
immediately throw back everything you catch."
There were times when I was really proud
to know Clayte. This was one of those times.
Annabelle stopped smiling. "But Clayton .... "
"I agree with Clayte," I said. "We do not wish to row
a ton of minnies around."
"But suppose I catch a big one! I might win the derby!"
"Rules are rules," I said.
Clayte glared at her. "Throw back everything you catch,
even if it's Jonah and the Whale!
Promise or you don't go!"
"I promise," said Annabelle.
We put Annabelle in the middle of the boat
where we could keep an eye on her.
First thing, Annabelle got a bite.
She slipped Mr. Shiner from the hook,
tossed him back, and looked sadly after him.
Clayte and I grinned at each other.
That was when I lost the big bass.
We moved to a different spot. Our luck was the same,
but Annabelle hauled in a bass .... Clayte and I
kept giving her cold looks until she tossed it
to a gull.
While I was baiting my hook,
I noticed Annabelle taking something from her pocket
and putting it in her mouth.
Very impolite!
In a minute she flipped her line over.
I saw it jerk and up came a trout
fourteen inches long.
Well, a short fourteen inches!
While we watched, Annabelle flipped it overboard.
Then Clayte had an idea.
"Annabelle," he said, "since you came uninvited,
and since you can't row, I suggest you bait our hooks."
Annabelle never said a word. She baited
Clayte's hook and tossed it in -- then mine.
In a minute, I landed a bass as big as a cow.
Right then Clayte got a bite that shook the boat.
He made a big fuss landing the fish.
Annabelle went on chewing.
While she baited Clayte's hook and tossed it in
I brought in a big trout.
Annabelle kind of choked on what she was chewing.
I slipped my trout off the hook. "Hey," I said.
"Annabelle, what's that stuff you're baiting our hooks with?"
"Yeah," said Clayte. "I just remembered,
you don't have any worms.
You are now permitted to speak."
Annabelle looked very innocent.
"Why, I've simply been baiting the way it says
in my book, with good old paraffin."
Just then someone whooped from the shore.
It was Clayte's dad. "Breakfast! Last call.
You kids get in here!"
We took our catch to the sporting goods store
and had it weighed in.
In the evening,everyone went down
for the announcement of prizes.
Mr. Fifeld was master of ceremonies.
Clayte's bass won a prize.
"But the grand prize goes to a young fisherman,
Mr. Rupert Piper, for a trout
that's the envy of all us anglers.
Care to tell us what you used, Rupert?"
Mr. Fifield looked very coy.
I'd rather be dead three times, I thought.
Clayte felt the same.
"Not telling?" Mr. Fifield said.
"Well, that's all right. You don't have to give away any secrets.
The prizes are this beautiful Shakespeare reel,
or this exquisite gold compact.
Which will you take, Rupert? As if I didn't know!"
He was reaching the reel toward me.
"I'll take the compact," I moaned.
Mr. Fifield smiled. "Oh, for your mother!"
(Thanks to A. and D. who visit us up at BSL.)
Also, if you enjoyed this story,
Ethelyn Parkinson wrote other terrific books,
the best of which is
The Operation That Happened To Me
where Rupert has an appendectomy
and gets to take his appendix home in a mason jar of formaldehyde
and display it at Show-n-Tell.
Sadly, we can say from experience (daughter Laina)
this is no longer the case.
Yes!! We asked!
But everything goes to the path lab nowadays.
Double Trouble For Rupert
by Ethelyn M. Parkinson, published in 1953.
"Clover Lake is a very keen lake with some
very keen cottages where we go for three weeks
every summer. Clayte and his mom and dad go, too.
The only trouble with this very keen spot is that
Smart Annabelle's mom and dad also go along,
and, naturally, that means that
Annabelle goes right along with them!
Clover Lake should not be for girls!
"Well, Clayte and I were climbing into our rowboat
for a very peaceful morning of fishing
when up comes Smart Annabelle.
"I want to go fishing with you," she said.
"Now look, Annabelle," Clayte said.
"We took you fishing last year and
what happened?
Your yakety-yak kept the big ones away."
"You have a very wonderful brain, Annabelle,"
Clayte said like a smoothie.
"Very wonderful ---
for arithmetic and history.
But you can't catch fish with books."
"But Clayton .... "
Clayte came to the point.
"The subject is closed.
This is strictly a man's fishing trip.
No girls are invited."
"I agree with Clayte," I said
Just then Mom stuck her head out our cottage window.
"Rupert Piper, where are your manners?
Certainly you boys are going to take Annabelle fishing.
Now let's not hear another word about it."
Before noon Mom sent me to the grocery store
and I found out the news.
There was going to be a fishing derby
for everyone under fifteen,
with prizes for the biggest fish of each kind.
Swell prizes like a casting rod and a Kodak.
There were sissy prizes, too, for girls.
Before supper
Annabelle was down on the beach
when we went for our swim.
"Oh, Rupert," she said.
"What time are we going?"
"Five o'clock," I said.
"O.K."
"I mean five in the morning, natch," I said,
and waited for Annabelle to faint in the sand.
"O.K. Rupert," she said, "I'll be ready!"
(Early the next morning)
Clayte put one foot on the boat
and made a speech to Annabelle.
"O.K. Annabelle, we're being kind enough
to take you fishing. But there are some rules
you won't find in books.
First, you are not to speak one word
from the time we shove off
until we make port."
"Second rule," said Clayte,
"you will bait your own hook."
"Oh, sure," said Annabelle.
"Third rule," said Clayte, "you will remove
your fish from the hook without help."
She smiled.
"Fourth and last rule," said Clayte, "You will
immediately throw back everything you catch."
There were times when I was really proud
to know Clayte. This was one of those times.
Annabelle stopped smiling. "But Clayton .... "
"I agree with Clayte," I said. "We do not wish to row
a ton of minnies around."
"But suppose I catch a big one! I might win the derby!"
"Rules are rules," I said.
Clayte glared at her. "Throw back everything you catch,
even if it's Jonah and the Whale!
Promise or you don't go!"
"I promise," said Annabelle.
We put Annabelle in the middle of the boat
where we could keep an eye on her.
First thing, Annabelle got a bite.
She slipped Mr. Shiner from the hook,
tossed him back, and looked sadly after him.
Clayte and I grinned at each other.
That was when I lost the big bass.
We moved to a different spot. Our luck was the same,
but Annabelle hauled in a bass .... Clayte and I
kept giving her cold looks until she tossed it
to a gull.
While I was baiting my hook,
I noticed Annabelle taking something from her pocket
and putting it in her mouth.
Very impolite!
In a minute she flipped her line over.
I saw it jerk and up came a trout
fourteen inches long.
Well, a short fourteen inches!
While we watched, Annabelle flipped it overboard.
Then Clayte had an idea.
"Annabelle," he said, "since you came uninvited,
and since you can't row, I suggest you bait our hooks."
Annabelle never said a word. She baited
Clayte's hook and tossed it in -- then mine.
In a minute, I landed a bass as big as a cow.
Right then Clayte got a bite that shook the boat.
He made a big fuss landing the fish.
Annabelle went on chewing.
While she baited Clayte's hook and tossed it in
I brought in a big trout.
Annabelle kind of choked on what she was chewing.
I slipped my trout off the hook. "Hey," I said.
"Annabelle, what's that stuff you're baiting our hooks with?"
"Yeah," said Clayte. "I just remembered,
you don't have any worms.
You are now permitted to speak."
Annabelle looked very innocent.
"Why, I've simply been baiting the way it says
in my book, with good old paraffin."
Just then someone whooped from the shore.
It was Clayte's dad. "Breakfast! Last call.
You kids get in here!"
We took our catch to the sporting goods store
and had it weighed in.
In the evening,everyone went down
for the announcement of prizes.
Mr. Fifeld was master of ceremonies.
Clayte's bass won a prize.
"But the grand prize goes to a young fisherman,
Mr. Rupert Piper, for a trout
that's the envy of all us anglers.
Care to tell us what you used, Rupert?"
Mr. Fifield looked very coy.
I'd rather be dead three times, I thought.
Clayte felt the same.
"Not telling?" Mr. Fifield said.
"Well, that's all right. You don't have to give away any secrets.
The prizes are this beautiful Shakespeare reel,
or this exquisite gold compact.
Which will you take, Rupert? As if I didn't know!"
He was reaching the reel toward me.
"I'll take the compact," I moaned.
Mr. Fifield smiled. "Oh, for your mother!"
(Thanks to A. and D. who visit us up at BSL.)
Also, if you enjoyed this story,
Ethelyn Parkinson wrote other terrific books,
the best of which is
The Operation That Happened To Me
where Rupert has an appendectomy
and gets to take his appendix home in a mason jar of formaldehyde
and display it at Show-n-Tell.
Sadly, we can say from experience (daughter Laina)
this is no longer the case.
Yes!! We asked!
But everything goes to the path lab nowadays.
