All summer Simon had been fishing for a salmon It’s the king of the fishes he told his sisters We know they said That's why great grandmother calls it Sukai When Simon was little his sisters had taught him how to catch minnows with a strainer But this year his father had given him a fishing pole of his own and he had been fishing every day He hadn't caught a single salmon Now it was September It was the time of year when many salmon were swimming past the island where Simon lived near the West Coast of Canada They were returning from the sea looking for the rivers and streams where they had been born There they would lay their eggs so that more salmon could be born
One day when the tide was on its way out Simon and his sisters went clam digging When their pail was full his sisters took the clams home to their mother to cook for supper but Simon stayed on the beach He had his fishing pole with him as he had every day that summer I'm going to stay and fish for a salmon he said And he did He sat on a rock and fished He sat on a dock and fished But he didn't even see a salmon
