THE WORST FISHERMAN

Thomas Birch, the eighteenth-century scholar, was a keen fisherman.

However, he rarely caught anything and so decided to disguise himself in order to lull the fish into a false sense of security.

He constructed an outfit which made him look like a tree. His arms fitted into the branches and his eyes peered through knots in the bark.

Thus attired, he set off down the river bank and took up his position.

He still did not catch anything, attracting only suspicious dogs and friends who used to picnic at his feet.