A Fantastic Fisherman, Part 3 of 3

Calling for silence, the judge announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the world’s largest fishing tournament is none other than our own little Freddie, to be known from this day forward as Freddie, the fantastic fisherman from Finnegan’s Field, Florida.” Pocketing the prize money, Freddie raced to the hospital. A man in the crowd caught up with him and shouted, “I will give you $200,000 for the big fish.” Then another man shouted, “I’ll up the amount to $500,000!” On and on it went until he was offered one million dollars for Tommy Tuna. Instantly, Freddie became a millionaire.

Upon reaching the hospital, Freddie shouted, “Doctor, do whatever it takes to save my mother. I can pay you.” Smiling broadly, the doctor replied, “Freddie, all of us watched the tournament on television, including your mama. When the judges awarded you the prize, we were so proud that we performed the operation for free!”

Freddie wanted to do something special to please his mother, who had now completely recovered. So, he went to Finnegan’s Field, tore down the shack and built a beautiful mansion. Everyone pitched in to help, and no one accepted the pay he offered. When Freddie brought his mama to her new home, she was so excited and, almost unable to speak, said, “Oh, Freddie, you must have spent all of your money on this big, beautiful mansion.” Freddie hugged her and explained that people from all over pitched in to help for free, and all of the money was still in the bank.”

Hugging Freddie, she asked, “Son, what are you going to do with all that money?” Beaming joyfully, Freddie exclaimed that he would make his lifelong dream come true: Go to school. So, the little boy who caught the prize fish with barbecued baloney went to school, studied hard, and became a master boat builder, but he did not build little fishing boats — he built fancy yachts like Fat Cat’s and rich folks from all over bought them. Soon, Freddie was so wealthy that he purchased all of Felix Finnegan’s land, and now he, Freddie Fisher, was Florida’s richest man.

Mrs. Fisher lived a long time and died peacefully in her sleep at a good old age. Freddie missed his mama and was lonely in the mansion all by himself. Then, one day, he met and fell in love with a fisherman’s daughter whose name was Felicia Faith Fairly. They got married, settled down in the mansion, and raised five beautiful children. Of course, Freddie taught them to fish.

In addition to calling him a fantastic fisherman, his many friends and admirers now call him Friendly Freddie because people can go to his mansion at any time for a visit. And Guess what? If they ask him in a nice way, Freddie will take them fishing right out there in Dead Man’s Cove, and if they bait their hook with barbecued baloney, they might catch a big fish and become what Freddie is: a fantastic fisherman.

NOTE: Jimmy Reed is a retired college professor and author of several books. This story is from his latest, a children’s book entitled FROM A TO Z, TO YOU FROM ME. Each story in the book maximizes the use of an alphabetical letter, enhanced by alliteration and assonance. The book is available on Amazon, or can be purchased directly from the author. His email address is jimmycecilreedjr@gmail.com.

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