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Sheep Thrillz
39562 Hwy 226
Scio, Or 97374
503-394-2021
ir@sheepthrillz.com
Uncle Dunk and the Giant Salmon
At the end of a
sleepy little valley on a mountain called Bear Mountain lives a young bear named
Griz. Although Griz is actually brown, he and all the other bears on Bear
Mountain are Black Bears. While black bears are usually rather solitary
creatures, Griz loves to spend time with all his friends and often includes them
in his many adventures. The bears on Bear Mountain have lots to to eat, fresh
plant shoots, berries, grubs and insects; but the food they love most is fish,
particularly salmon.
The biggest and tastiest salmon live in Bittersweet Lake, halfway around the mountain from where Griz lives. Griz's Uncle Dunk is an expert fisherman, however, and when he goes over to Bittersweet Lake to go salmon fishing he often takes Griz with him. This is the story of one such fishing trip and the big adventure that Griz and Uncle Dunk had on that trip.
It was a cool fall morning and Griz was up as the first rays of light appeared on the horizon. Today was a big day; Uncle Dunk was taking Griz all the way to Bittersweet Lake to go salmon fishing. Just as Griz was finishing his breakfast, Uncle Dunk appeared in the entrance to his cave. "All right, young Griz; get your things, it's time we were going." Griz grabbed his fishing pole and his bag full of snacks and hurried out of the cave. "Do you think we will catch a big one this time, Uncle Dunk?" he asked. "Could be," Dunk replied.
The walk around the mountain to Bittersweet Lake was a long one, but it passed quickly with Uncle Dunk telling Griz stories of past fishing trips with Griz's dad and Mr. Frank. Early in the afternoon they arrived at the lake, and standing on the banks Dunk looked around and sniffed the air. "The salmon are here, I can smell them." Griz and Dunk found nice comfortable spots on a sand bar, set up their fishing poles and settled down to wait for a bite.
It didn't take long before Dunk was pulling in a nice size salmon. "Well, we have dinner tonight at least, now let's see what we can catch to take home with us," he said. It didn't take long before Dunk had a second fish, and then a third. "Uncle Dunk, why am I not catching any fish?" asked Griz with great concern. "You see that dead tree out there in the water?" asked Uncle Dunk. "Well, we need to try to get your line out there near it." Dunk cast out Griz's line and it landed just a few feet away from the dead tree.
Soon Griz was pulling in his first fish and Dunk his fourth. "Now we're really getting somewhere, we may be able to head home in the morning at this rate," said Dunk. Griz cast his line out by the fallen tree again and waited. Within just a few seconds there was a tug on his line like he had never felt before; it almost pulled the pole right out of his hands. Griz struggled to hold on but the fish was fighting hard. "What you got there young Griz? Looks like a big one!" Dunk said. "It sure feels like it, I don't know if I can hold it!" exclaimed Griz. Dunk came up behind Griz, reached around him and grabbed the pole as well. Together Griz and Uncle Dunk wrestled with that fish for 20 minutes. Finally with a mighty heave they pulled the fish from the water.
Griz and Uncle Dunk stared at it. It was huge, longer and thicker than Griz's leg. It was the biggest fish either of them had ever seen, it was the biggest fish any bear had ever seen. "It's magnificent!" cried Griz. "It's a record breaker for sure!" Uncle Dunk looked at Griz and the fish and a solemn look came over his face. "We have to put him back" said Dunk finally. "A fish has to be very old to get that big; he is probably the Great Grandfather of the other fish we caught today. We should respect his age and wisdom and let him go." Griz thought about it for a minute. He really wanted to be able to show his friends his giant salmon. But Uncle Dunk was wise and what he said made sense.
Slowly Griz waded into the lake and gently lowered the big fish back into the water. The salmon lay there in his arms for just a moment, seeming to look up at Griz, then slowly it swam away. "Good lad" said Uncle Dunk quietly, "now we best get back to fishing, we need at least a few more to take back to the other bears tomorrow." Griz and Uncle Dunk sat in silence as they continued fishing, both thinking about the big fish. Griz and Dunk each caught one more fish, then they cooked up one of the fish for dinner. Around the campfire that night, Uncle Dunk told Griz more stories of fishing trips gone by before they drifted off to sleep.
The next morning there was a light frost on the ground as Griz and Uncle Dunk ate the last of the leftovers for breakfast and packed up to go home. As they were about to leave they saw the giant salmon leap six feet out of the water out in the lake. "There's your big fish saying thanks and goodbye," said Uncle Dunk. Griz smiled and all the way home the two bears told and retold the story of the giant salmon to each other.
Dunk the Bear Wool Sculpture $39.95
