Realistic

Fiction

The

by Paul Mason
illustrated by Vladimir Aleksic

PAIRED
Poetry
READ

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 STRATEGIES & SKILLS
Comprehension Vocabulary
Strategy: Ask and Answer brittle, creative,
Questions descriptive, outstretched
Skill: Point of View

Vocabulary Strategy
Figurative Language Word Count: 1,674

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by
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broadcast for distance learning.

Send all inquiries to:

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New York, New York 10121

ISBN: 978-0-02-119158-1
MHID: 0-02-119158-1

Printed in the United States.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 QLM 15 14 13 12 11 10
A

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 Essential Question
How are writers inspired by animals?

The

by Paul Mason
illustrated by Vladimir Aleksic

Chapter 1
The Fishing Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Chapter 2
A Break in the Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Chapter 3
A Bite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 4
Catch and Release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Respond to Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

PAIRED
Catfish, Black Bull, Crow. . . . . . . .17
READ
Focus on Genre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

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 Chapter 1 The Fishing Trip
The bell rang for recess, and Sal and his
friends swarmed onto the playground. It was the
last day of school, and excited shouts carried over
the playground like birdsong at dawn.

Sal was impatient. First thing tomorrow, he and

his uncle Mikey were driving to their family cabin
in the woods near Lake Lacuna.

The lake meant fishing and plenty of it. There

was one thing, though—there was a no-technology
rule at the cabin.

“You mean there’s not even a TV?” Sal’s friend

Ricky was shocked.

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 Sal shook his head. “No.”

“Well, at least you can play video games, right?”

“Like I said, there’s no technology. It’s the

family rule. We go there to fish,” Sal said with a
shrug. “This year I’m going to land the Big One.
It’s this enormous catfish that’s been living in the
lake for years.”

Ricky wrinkled his nose. “Ugh, not my idea of

fun. Give me a call when you get back—I’ll be
playing games on my computer.”

The next morning, Sal watched from his

bedroom window as Uncle Mikey’s pickup
rattled to a halt outside his apartment building.
Uncle Mikey spotted him and waved, his arm
outstretched.

“Got time for a coffee?” Sal’s dad asked his

younger brother as he led him to the kitchen.

“Just a quick one—I can feel those fish

biting already.”

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 On the drive up to the cabin, Uncle Mikey and
Sal chatted over the racket from the pickup. It
grumbled like an old mule as it climbed the steep,
winding road.

They finally drove into the little town of Lacuna.

Uncle Mikey pulled up outside Pete’s General
Store. “We’d better pick up a few supplies.”

Pete was behind the counter, head buried in

a newspaper, but he looked up with a grin when
he saw them come in. The wall behind him was
covered in photographs of fish.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in. I haven’t

seen you guys in a while.”
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 Uncle Mikey shook Pete’s hand. “We’re staying
at the cabin for a few days, and we need
some supplies.”

“The fishing’s not very good at the moment,

but that could change,” Pete said.

“What about the Big One?” Sal asked.

“You figure you’re going to catch him?” Pete

chuckled. “No one’s managed it yet—the old fella
even dragged one guy into the lake.”

Uncle Mikey smiled. “That’s just an old story.”

Pete winked at him. “So what’s your strategy?”

he asked Sal.

“To use the smelliest

bait possible. Catfish sense
their prey by smell, right?
I’ve been reading up
on it.”

“Well, I think I can help

you there,” Pete said.

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 Chapter 2 A Break in the Line

When Sal and Uncle Mikey arrived at the cabin,

they pushed open the creaky wooden door and
brought their gear inside.

Sal loved the old cabin. Above the fireplace,

stuffed and mounted, was the catfish his father
had hooked as a young boy. The fish was
enormous, but its fins looked brittle with age.

“Maybe if I land the Big One, he’ll earn a place

up there,” Sal thought.

Uncle Mikey and Sal followed the path down

to the lake’s edge, hoping to get a spot on the
dock. There were already several people on the
shore, rods in hand, but the dock was deserted.

It didn’t take them long to attach the bait to

their hooks and cast out into the green water. Sal
peered down, trying to see beneath the surface.
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 “This sure beats being inside,” Uncle Mikey said,
gazing out at the woods surrounding the lake.
“We have your great-grandfather to thank—he built
the cabin so that he could hide away here and
write in peace.”

“Write?” Sal asked, surprised.

Uncle Mikey nodded. “In his spare time, he

wrote poems, and some of them were even
published.”

Sal sat on the dock, dangling his feet and

trying to imagine his great-grandfather writing in
the cabin.

Then it happened—a pull. At first he wasn’t

sure, but then the fish dragged at the line again.
Sal sat up, his hands gripping his rod.

“Got one!” he gasped as the fish began to pull

harder. Sal saw his line straining, and he tried to
reach his reel to loosen the drag and let the fish
run with the line.

He hauled on his rod, and then the line went

slack. The fish had disappeared.

“The line couldn’t hold him. That must have

been a whopper,” Uncle Mikey whistled.

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 Sal was disappointed, but now his heart was
racing. He quickly tied on a new hook and sinker
and cast his line back into the water.

Although he and Uncle Mikey stuck at it until

the sun had set, neither of them got another bite.

The next day, they went back to Pete’s to buy

some stronger line and new bait. They decided to
try a different fishing spot, and they even went
fishing at night, but the catfish just weren’t biting.

“Sometimes it happens,” said Uncle Mikey.

Sal was starting to think Ricky was right. Maybe

he should have just stayed at home and played
computer games.

The night before they were due to leave, Sal

stared at the stuffed fish on the wall and sighed.
He had just one more opportunity, so he’d better
make the most of it.

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 Chapter 3 A Bite
After an early breakfast the next day, Sal
and Uncle Mikey raced down to the lake. They
were trying a different site, which Pete had
recommended, farther down the shore.

There was early morning mist on the lake, and

the water was as smooth as glass. Sal had to
admit it was beautiful, even if they were probably
going to leave empty-handed.

He stared at the
water, willing a fish to
appear. Then finally it
happened—the bite he’d
been waiting for. Sal’s
reel started to click,
and his rod dipped.

There was a tremble

on the line, then a long
pull. “Got something!”
he hollered. His rod
bowed over, and his reel
continued clicking as
the fish took the line.
Sal began winding it in.

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 10

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 “Don’t reel it in yet.” Uncle Mikey dropped his
rod and came over to help. “When the fish stops
dragging, wind it in a little.”

Sal nodded. “It’s a big one!” He could sense

the fish struggling as it tugged on the line, trying
to escape. He stepped back from the water’s edge.

Still his reel clicked as the fish took the line.

Then it paused for a moment, and Sal wound it
in, but not for long. The fish fought back—the rod
was bending under the strain.

At the surface, he saw a flash of dark tail and

a glimpse of white belly. The fish wasn’t giving
in easily, and Sal’s arms were getting tired.

Uncle Mikey was at his side ready to help, but

Sal wanted to bring this one in on his own.

Sal heaved his rod up and back, and then he

let it drop down as he wound in the line some
more. The fish pulled away once more. Again Sal
raised his rod, arms straining. Now he could sense
the fish was becoming exhausted.

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 The fish was at the surface now, splashing
and turning over, its tail flapping. It was a catfish!
It had been beaten, and Sal knew it. He kept
winding the reel, staggering backward away from
the water.

“Wow, that’s a monster!” Uncle Mikey called. He

took hold of the line and hauled the fish into the
shallow water. Sal put his rod down, a huge grin
spreading across his face. It was the Big One—it
had to be.

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 Chapter 4 Catch and Release
The fish’s head was huge, with long whiskers
and blank eyes. Its skin was the color of cold
steel, and its body was at least 3 feet long.
It flopped in the shallow water, rubbery mouth
opening and shutting.

“That’s the Big One all right,” Uncle Mikey

exclaimed. “I’ve never caught a fish that big.”
He clapped Sal on the back. “Good job!”

Sal nodded. But now, seeing the fish flopping

at his feet, he wasn’t sure what he wanted. The
catfish was old—it had been in this lake for years.

If they kept it, the

legend would end
there and the fish
would be just another
ornament gathering
dust above the mantel.

Sal made up his

mind. “Quick, Uncle
Mikey. Take a picture
with your camera
before we put it back.”

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 Uncle Mikey raised his eyebrows, but then he
understood. He took a couple of photos of the fish
before pulling the hook out of its mouth.

Struggling, they lifted the fish, waded into

the water, and lowered it in. The catfish flopped
around at first, then hastily disappeared beneath
the surface.

Sal and Uncle Mikey packed up their fishing

gear and headed back to the cabin. It was time
to drive home, but first they stopped at Pete’s.

“Well, nothing all week, and then the Big One.

Good job, kid!” Pete chuckled.

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 “I took a picture,” Uncle Mikey said. “I’ll send
you a copy for your wall.”

“Excellent,” Pete said, smiling.

As Uncle Mikey’s truck rattled down the

highway, Sal reflected on the battle with the big
fish. He thought about the way it lay there, thick
tail flapping, still fighting to the very end.

The photographs might show the size of the

fish and prove that he had caught it, but they
wouldn’t tell the whole story.

“Maybe I could follow in my great-grandfather’s

footsteps,” Sal thought. He could be creative and
write a poem, something descriptive that brought
the experience to life. A picture in words about
the time he landed a legend but let it live on.
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 Summarize Details

Summarize how Sal is inspired

by catching the fish in The Big
One. Use your graphic organizer
Point of View
to help.

Text Evidence
1. What features tell you that The Big One is
realistic fiction? GENRE

2. Reread page 5. What is Sal’s point of view about

the Big One? How do you know? Now reread
page 13. How has Sal’s point of view changed?
POINT OF VIEW

3. What simile does the author use to describe the

pickup truck on page 4? FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

4. Write about how this story would be different

if it were told from the point of view of Uncle
Mikey. Use evidence from the text to support
your answer. WRITE ABOUT READING

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 Compare Texts
Read some haiku that were inspired by animals.

Catfish
A glint like cold steel,

Catfish breaks through green water.

A splash, then it’s gone.

Illustration: Rachael Tombleson

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 Black Bull
Wet ground, herd grazing,

Impatient swish of black rope

Dares me to run past.

Illustration: Rachael Tombleson

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 Crow
Rude bandit’s harsh cry

Shattering afternoon peace,

Glad eye spies my bread.

Make Connections
What might have inspired the poet to write the
Illustration: Rachael Tombleson

haiku Crow? ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How does the catfish inspire the writer of The Big
One and Catfish? TEXT TO TEXT
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 Poetry Haiku are short poems that have 17 syllables
in three lines of 5, 7, and 5. Haiku often use figurative
language such as simile and metaphor to describe
something.

Read and Find Each haiku in the paired selection

is inspired by an animal. In “Catfish,” the writer uses
a simile to describe the fish. In “Black Bull,” the writer
uses a metaphor to describe the bull. Reread these
two haiku. Look for the simile and metaphor. How
does each one help describe the animal?

Your Turn
Choose a photograph or illustration of an animal
that interests you. Use this to inspire you to write
your own haiku.
To write a haiku, start by writing longer lines,
then remove words until you find the best way
to describe the animal in the correct number of
syllables. Remember to use simile and metaphor
to describe the animal.
Display the haiku you wrote next to the image
you used for inspiration.

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 Literature Circles
Fiction

Characters
Who are the main characters in The Big One?
How did Sal change during the story?

Setting
Where did The Big One take place?
When did it take place?

Sequence of Events
What happened first, then, next, and finally in
The Big One?

Author’s Purpose
Why do you think people write poems?

Make Connections
What connections can you make between
The Big One and a time when your feelings
about something changed?

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 Animals All Around

GR Q • Benchmark 40 • Lexile TK

Grade 4 • Unit 2 Week 5

www.mheonline.com

ISBN-13 978-0-02-119158-1
MHID 0-02-119158-1
99701
EAN

9 780021 191581
4

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