did you ever go fishing? did you ever catch a salmon? i doubt it. it takes a mighty sharp fisherman to catch me.

i am called "the king of the fresh water fish." i am the most valuable and delicate of all fish. my flavor is excellent and i have few troublesome bones.

my home is in the sea. but in the autumn of the year i leave it and travel to the river where i was born. there i deposit eggs in the shallow creeks. the eggs remain there until the next spring. then they are hatched into baby salmons.

these children remain for two years in the river. then, in the third spring, they seek the cool waters of the sea.

often, on my journey from the sea to my birthplace, i come to roaring waterfalls. to reach the top of these is hard and dangerous. but i am never afraid. i curl my body so that my tail almost reaches my mouth. then i give an upward spring. sometimes i fail, but if i do i try again. did you ever see a picture of a "salmon leap?"