Henry and Ribsy Read online

  “Well, you’ve caught yourself a mighty fine fish,” said the man. “Must weigh twenty-five pounds at least.”

  Henry’s teeth were chattering so he could hardly speak. “Gee, th-th-thanks,” he said, as he waded out of the stream. Ribsy approached the salmon cautiously. He sniffed at it. Then he backed away and barked.

  “That’s all right,” answered the man. “I heard your dog barking and saw your raincoat on the sand. I thought something was wrong, so I came over to see what had happened.” The man hung Henry’s jacket and raincoat over his shoulders. “You better get dried out or you’ll catch cold. Here, let me carry your salmon.”

  Henry didn’t want to let go of his fish, but it was heavy and slippery and he was shivering so he could scarcely hang onto it.

  “Yes, sir,” said the man as he took the fish. “Twenty-five pounds at least.”

  Henry managed to grin, even though his lips were stiff with cold. “I’m sure glad my dog barked. I couldn’t have managed if you hadn’t come along to help me.”

  Boy, oh, boy, thought Henry, as he plodded across the sand in his wet clothes. Wait till the kids at home see my fish! Wait till Scooter McCarthy sees it!

  As they neared the boathouse, Henry could hear the sound of motors and knew the fishermen were coming in from the river. “I think I can carry the fish now,” he said, wanting to be sure everyone knew the fish was his. The man smiled as if he understood what Henry was thinking and handed him the salmon. With water dripping off his clothes and squishing out of his shoes, Henry lugged his fish toward the scales.

  Several men who were waiting to weigh their catches turned to look at Henry. Mr. Huggins and Mr. Grumbie were just climbing the steps from the river. They looked tired, their faces were red from the wind and cold, and they both needed a shave. To Henry’s relief, Mr. Grumbie was carrying a salmon.

  “Dad, look!” called Henry, trying to keep his fish from sliding out of his arms.

  Mr. Huggins stared. Then he whistled.

  “Well, look at that!” said Mr. Grumbie.

  “Caught it with his bare hands,” explained the man who had helped Henry. “Yes, sir, the boy waded right into that stream and tackled the fish with his bare hands. Never saw anything like it.”

  “And I didn’t get a bite all day,” said Mr. Huggins.

  “Come on, let’s see how much it weighs,” suggested Mr. Grumbie.

  Mr. Huggins helped Henry hang his fish on the scales. Henry held his breath until the hand spun around and stopped at twenty-nine pounds. Twenty-nine pounds! “Wow!” said Henry in a hushed voice.

  Ribsy ran around the fish, barking. All the fishermen began to talk at once. “Wait a minute till I get the camera out of the car,” said Mr. Huggins. “I want a picture of this.”

  Henry stood proudly beside his catch while the man who had helped him told the story of how he caught the salmon all over again to the men who had just returned from the river.

  Then Henry saw Mr. McCarthy and Scooter getting out of a boat at the foot of the steps. He noticed that Mr. McCarthy carried two silverside salmon. Scooter carried a lunch box.

  Henry tried to look casual as Scooter and his father climbed the steps. “Hi, Scoot,” he called, as Mr. Huggins returned with the camera.

  “Stand close to the fish,” said Mr. Huggins. He did not need to tell Henry to smile.

  Henry grabbed Ribsy and made him stand at his feet. “If Ribsy hadn’t barked at the salmon, I wouldn’t have seen it,” he explained. Ribsy kept his eye on the salmon and growled deep in his throat.

  “Did you catch that fish?” demanded Scooter, as the camera clicked.

  “Sure,” said Henry.

  “With his bare hands,” put in the man who helped Henry. “Never saw anything like it. Just waded in and tackled it with his bare hands.”

  “How do you like that!” muttered Scooter. “A chinook!”

  “Come on, Henry,” said Mr. Huggins, as he lifted the salmon off the hook. “You’d better get out of those wet clothes and wrap up in the auto robe.”

  “OK, Dad. So long, Scooter. See you around,” Henry called, as he started toward the car. He felt sorry for Scooter standing there with his lunch box in his hand. It must be tough to fish all day and not catch anything.

  Barking at the salmon, Ribsy trotted after Mr. Huggins. “Good old Ribsy,” said Henry. Then he began to sing at the top of his voice:

  “Woofies Dog Food is the best,

  Contains more meat than all the rest.

  So buy your dog a can today

  And watch it chase his blues away.

  Woof, woof, woof, Woofies!”

  About the Author

  BEVERLY CLEARY is one of America’s most popular authors. Born in McMinnville, Oregon, she lived on a farm in Yamhill until she was six and then moved to Portland. After college, as the children’s librarian in Yakima, Washington, she was challenged to find stories for non-readers. She wrote her first book, HENRY HUGGINS, in response to a boy’s question, “Where are the books about kids like us?”

  Mrs. Cleary’s books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the American Library Association’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, presented in recognition of her lasting contribution to children’s literature. Her DEAR MR. HENSHAW was awarded the 1984 John Newbery Medal, and both RAMONA QUIMBY, AGE 8 and RAMONA AND HER FATHER have been named Newbery Honor Books. In addition, her books have won more than thirty-five statewide awards based on the votes of her young readers. Her characters, including Henry Huggins, Ellen Tebbits, Otis Spofford, and Beezus and Ramona Quimby, as well as Ribsy, Socks, and Ralph S. Mouse, have delighted children for generations. Mrs. Cleary lives in coastal California.

  Visit Henry Huggins and all of his friends in The World of Beverly Cleary at www.beverlycleary.com.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  Enjoy all of Beverly Cleary’s books

  FEATURING RAMONA QUIMBY:

  Beezus and Ramona

  Ramona the Pest

  Ramona the Brave

  Ramona and Her Father

  Ramona and Her Mother

  Ramona Quimby, Age 8

  Ramona Forever

  Ramona’s World

  FEATURING HENRY HUGGINS:

  Henry Huggins

  Henry and Beezus

  Henry and Ribsy

  Henry and the Paper Route

  Henry and the Clubhouse

  Ribsy

  FEATURING RALPH MOUSE:

  The Mouse and the Motorcycle

  Runaway Ralph

  Ralph S. Mouse

  MORE GREAT FICTION BY BEVERLY CLEARY:

  Ellen Tebbits

  Otis Spofford

  Fifteen

  The Luckiest Girl

  Jean and Johnny

  Emily’s Runaway Imagination

  Sister of the Bride

  Mitch and Amy

  Socks

  Dear Mr. Henshaw

  Muggie Maggie

  Strider

  Two Times the Fun

  AND DON'T MISS BEVERLY CLEARY'S AUTOBIOGRAPHIES:

  A Girl from Yamhill

  My Own Two Feet

  Credits

  Jacket art by Tracy Dockray

  Jacket design by Amy Ryan

  Copyright

  HENRY AND RIBSY. Copyright © 1954, renewed 1982 by Beverly Cleary. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  EPub © Edition SEPTEMBER 2009 ISBN: 9780061972201

  10
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  About the Publisher

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

  25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)

  Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Canada

  2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor

  Toronto, ON, M4W 1A8, Canada

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca

  New Zealand

  HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited

  P.O. Box 1

  Auckland, New Zealand

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  77-85 Fulham Palace Road

  London, W6 8JB, UK

  http://www.uk.harpercollinsebooks.com

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  10 East 53rd Street

  New York, NY 10022

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com