Dark Clouds & Leaky Boats

“Here we are!” Dad announced as he stopped the car in front of the old cabin that used to belong to his great uncle Colby

“It looks sooo much better now that we’ve cleaned it up,” said Mom, lifting Ellie from her car seat.

It wasn’t long before the family was settled in the cabin. They roasted hot dogs over a fire in the fireplace then toasted marshmallows for dessert. After they played a game, Dad stood up and stretched. “I think it’s time we all get to bed,” he said.

“Yeah! We’ve gotta get up early to go fishing,” said Justin.

“That’s right.” Dad nodded. “Tomorrow will be a big day.”

Justin climbed into his sleeping bag on the couch. After he said his prayers, he drifted off to sleep, thinking about all the fish he would catch.

In the morning, Justin and Dad packed up a lunch, grabbed their fishing poles, and climbed into the car. They sped down the road with the boat trailer rumbling along behind them.

“How many fish do you think we’ll get?” Justin asked.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Dad replied. “Maybe a gazillion!”

“That would be super!”

When they got to the lake, they loaded up the boat with their gear and picnic basket. They put on their life jackets, pushed the boat into the water, and climbed in.

Dad pulled the starter cord on the motor—vrrrrooomm! “Here we go!” The little boat sped along, bumping over the waves.

“Why are the waves bigger today?” Justin asked.

“Maybe ’cause it’s so windy,” Dad replied.

“The clouds look really dark. Do you think we should go back?”

Dad looked at the black clouds. “Nah! It’ll be fine,” he said.

Justin felt a little nervous. He looked around. “We’re the only ones out here.”

“Yeah! Isn’t it great?” Dad smiled.

Suddenly, the motor began to sputter and spew—sput-sput-sput.

“What’s wrong with it?” Justin asked, feeling scared.

Dad shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Are we outta gas?”

Dad checked the gas. “Nope. It’s got gas.” He looked around then said, “Well, as long as the motor is conked out, we might as well get some fishing in.”

Justin stared at his dad. “Don’t you think we should fix the motor first?”

“Nah! It’ll be fine.” Dad baited his hook and tossed his line into the water.

Justin was worried. How would they ever get back if the motor wouldn’t start? He looked at his dad, who was just whistling and waiting for a fish to bite. “He’s acting kinda strange,” thought Justin. “But I guess I’ll start fishing, too.”

They fished for awhile, and both of them caught several small fish. But then Justin felt a strong tug on his line. “Whoa! It’s a big one!” he shouted.

“Reel it in, Son!” Dad instructed. Justin reeled and reeled. It felt like it took forever, but he finally got a great big fish. “That’s a beaut!” said Dad.

Just then a gust of wind blew across the lake, causing the boat to bump up and down. Justin held onto his seat. He looked at the sky. Dark clouds were moving toward them. “Dad, we better head back.”

Dad looked at the clouds. “Nah! It’ll be fine,” he said. “I want to catch a fish as big as yours before we go home.” He leaned back and closed his eyes while he waited for a fish to bite.

After awhile, Justin heard a strange noise. It sounded like water dribbling. “What could that be?” he wondered. Then he felt something wet seeping through his shoe. Justin looked down and gasped. “Dad, we’ve got a leak in the boat!”

Justin’s dad was half asleep. “Hmm? Nah! It’ll be fine,” he said drowsily.

“No! Dad, it won’t be fine. Wake up.” Justin reached over and shook his dad awake. “Look!” He pointed at the water now spurting through a hole in the bottom of the boat.

“Oh no!” Dad shouted and sprang toward the motor while Justin scrambled around, looking for something to plug the hole.

Dad tried to start the motor again. Vrrooomm-sputt-sputt-sploof. A puff of dark smoke poofed out from the motor, making Dad cough.

Justin grabbed a cup and started bailing water out of the boat. And then . . . it began to rain. “This can’t be happening,” Justin thought. “Help!” he shouted, hoping someone on shore would hear them. “Help!”

“It’s okay, Justin,” said Dad. “It’ll be fine.”

“Help!” Justin shouted again.

“Justin, it’ll be fine. Wake up, Justin!” Dad shook his son’s shoulder once more. “Justin, you’re having a bad dream.”

Justin opened his eyes and sat up. He was still on the couch in his sleeping bag. Dad knelt down beside him. “It sounded like you were having a bad dream. You were calling for help.”

Justin told Dad about his dream. “Everything went wrong. But you just kept saying, ‘It’ll be fine.’”

“Well,” said Dad, “I guess you won’t want to go fishing tomorrow after a dream like that.”

Justin thought about it. He knew his dad wouldn’t really use a bad motor or go out on the water if a storm was coming. He also knew that his dad took good care of their boat, so it wouldn’t spring a leak.

“So, what do you think?” Dad asked. “Would you rather call off our fishing trip?”

Justin was sure all those bad things were just a dream. He turned to his dad and smiled. “Nah! It’ll be fine.”

Download Coloring Page