her hands were too small.

"Now quiet, everybody!" said the Toyman once more and they all sat watching
the red and blue, the yellow and blue, and the red and yellow floaters out
on the water.

"When the floater goes under, you will know that a fish is biting at the
worm on the hook."

The Toyman had no sooner said this than he called out loud:

"Watch 'er!"

The red and yellow floater was pulled way under the water. The string on
Marmaduke's pole tightened and the pole bent.

Three times the floater went under the water.

Then Marmaduke threw his pole back quickly and the hook came out of the
water. On it something wriggled. The thing fell plop into Hepzebiah's
lap. She screamed while it flopped there. It was a little bigger than the
Toyman's hand and round and flat and shiny red and gold. No, it was not a
goldfish. It was a sunfish.

After the Toyman had taken the sunfish from the hook and put another worm
on it, he threw the line back into the water.

Then all the three children and the two dogs sat watching the little rings
in the water around the floaters. Sometimes farther out they saw larger
rings, and a fish feeling pretty happy, because of the cool September