McElligot's Pool Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B001IB64FK | Format: PDF
McElligot's Pool Description
- Paperback
- Publisher: Random House Childrens Books (March 1, 1987)
- ASIN: B001IB64FK
This book sets up a contrast between the sour pessimism of an adult farmer and the unbounded optimism of a boy. The farmer finds the boy with his fishing line dangling in a small water-filled crack in the earth.
"You're sort of a fool!
You'll never catch fish
in McElligot's Pool!"
As you can imagine, youngster often take that as a challenge to keep doing what they are doing, and this one certainly did. His fertile imagination soon fills the world with opportunity for good fishing.
"This pool might be bigger
Than you or I know!"
He goes on to imagine that it could connect underground all the way to the sea and contain many varieties of fish (Dog Fish, Catfish, or "even a fish made of strawberry jelly" not to mention one with a pinwheel-like tail, another with fins like a sail, and many many more). The book's core is a series of fantastic fish, each more remarkable than the last. The most exciting one to me is a THING-A-MA-JIGGER (that's much bigger than a whale).
Having thought about all of these fish, the boy ponders,
"Oh, the sea is so full of a number of fish,
If a fellow is patient, he might get his wish!"
But, the boy is still there with the little pool. What else is he thinking? He's actually congratulating himself for being so wise.
"And that's why I think
That I'm not such a fool
When I sit here and fish
In McElligot's Pool!"
That, of course, is the downside of optimism. You can spend a lot of time doing things that make little sense, in hopes they will pan out. Research has shown that optimists vastly outperform pessimists. The difference seems to be that optimists try more things, and some of them work!
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