Eli had been sitting on the dock for almost an hour, and his fishing line had not moved once. “This is boring,” he said. “The fish must all be asleep.”

Aunt Linda smiled and handed him a granola bar. “Fishing isn’t only about catching fish,” she said. “Look around.”

Eli sighed, but he looked. A white egret stood perfectly still in the shallow water. Three turtles sat in a row on a log, warming their shells in the sun. Far out on the lake, a fish jumped and left a ring of ripples.

Soon Eli began to notice more. A dragonfly landed on the tip of his fishing pole. A breeze made the reeds whisper. He was so busy watching that he almost forgot about his line.

Then his pole bent. “Aunt Linda!” he shouted. He reeled in slowly, the way she had shown him, until a small sunfish flopped onto the dock, its sides shining green and orange.

Eli looked at the fish for a long moment. It was too small to keep. Aunt Linda helped him slip the hook out, and Eli lowered the sunfish back into the water. It flicked its tail and was gone.

“Well,” said Aunt Linda, “is fishing still boring?”

Eli shook his head. “Can we come back next Saturday?”