On a quiet afternoon, a boy goes fishing by the Tagus River and is surprised by a huge fish that pulls at his hook. Unfortunately, the line breaks, letting him escape. He runs to his grandparents' house, hoping to return, re-tap his rod, and "settle the score with the monster." Of course, upon reaching the same spot on the river, the boy finds nothing left, only the silence of the water. His sadness is not complete only because the fish, as he says, "with my hook caught in its gills, bore my mark, it was mine."  Illustrated by Manuel Estrada, this short autobiographical tale becomes a fable of extraordinary beauty and wisdom