Photo credit: Public Domain
Usage: Public Domain Mark 1.0
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
LibriVox recording of The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle.
http://librivox.org/

Once upon a time there was a lad who was a fisherman, and every morning he shouldered his net, and went down to the river to catch fish to sell in the town.One morning as he walked beside the edge of the water, he came upon a great tall stork caught in a trap that had been set for the water-rats.

It was a tender heart that the young fisherman had under his jacket, so when he saw Father Longlegs in such a pickle he waded out into the water, among the reeds and arrowheads to where the other was, and loosened the noose from about his leg.

The storks bring good-luck to folks some people say, and that was what happened to the young fisherman.“One good turn deserves another,” says Father Longlegs; “cross your heart three times, cast your net into the water yonder, and see what you catch.” So the lad did as he was told, and when he drew his net to the shore, there was just one fish in it.

Yes; just one fish, but that was worth the catching, I can tell you, for the scales were all of pure silver and gold, so that it glistened like the moon on smooth ice, and it was most wonderful to see. ...