This book was created and published on StoryJumper™

©2010 StoryJumper, Inc.   All rights reserved.

Publish your own children's book: 

www.storyjumper.com

Once upon a time there was an old Cuban man, 

named Santiago, who made a living off of 

fishing! He fished out of the Gulf Stream but, 

some days, he didn't catch much, if anything.  

The old man went 84 days with out catching a 

fish.   He got laughed at and teased by the other 

fishermen because everyone else was able to 

catch fish but him. Through these 84 days, the 

man learned to be patient, learned the true 

meaning of friendship, and   gained respect for 

the creatures of the sea.

Each and every day seemed to be a guessing 

game for the old man.   He never knew if he was 

going to catch a fish that day or not.   The 84 days 

dragged on for the old Cuban man.   This taught 

him to be patient.   He said, "Only I have no luck 

anymore.   But who knows?   Maybe today.  

Everyday is a new day" (Hemmingway 32).   He 

gained the patience to never give up and always 

look on the bright side!

One day, during the dry spell where the old 

man didn't catch any fish, he was reunited with 

an old friend.   A boy who, the old man used to 

teach, met back up with him.   The old man 

taught the boy how to fish when he was was 

very young.   The boy saw Santiago on the 

terrace and offered to buy him a drink! The old 

man allowed him to so they went as sat down.

The two men talked and rekindled the fire that had 

been once lit between them. The young man said he 

wanted to go back out on the boat with Santiago, 

just like old times.   But the old man argued and told 

him to stay on the boat he was on now because it 

was a very successful boat.   The old man said 

although he is strong, he, "may not be as strong as I 

think" (Hemmingway 23). This quote shows the 

determination of the fisherman to not give up even 

though it has been 48 days since he's caught a fish. 

It also shows that he is realistic and weaken with old 

age.

After the young boy insisted he should go with 

him, the old man agreed. The first few days 

they went out together, there was still nothing.  

They caught no fish but neither of them gave 

up! When they would go in for the night, the 

young boy would take care of the old man, 

Santiago.   Santiago was very thankful.   He 

realized that this young boy would never leave 

his side.   He knew that he could always count 

on him and that this boy, was a true friend.  

On the next morning, the young boy could not 

join the old man out on the water.   Therefore, 

the old man when out by himself. That day, he 

felt very confident in himself, he had a feeling 

that he was going to catch a fish today.   The 

morning started off pretty slow, until he drifted 

out a little further than normal.   That's when 

the old man felt the first tug.   At first he was a 

little shocked, but the second tug snapped him 

out of his thoughts and he stared to reel the 

fish in. 

As he started to reel the fish in, he could tell 

the fish was big.   So big in fact, that he had to 

stop reeling, and start giving the fish some 

slack!   If he didn't, the fish was going to break 

the line! As he gave the fish more line, the fish 

started to swim away, pulling the old man and 

his boat farther out to sea.   However, he didn't 

want to let a fish this size get away.  

As the fish pulled him away even more into the 

depths of the sea, the old man was quite 

dazzled.   He said aloud to himself, "No, he cant 

be that big" (Hemmingway 90). He was in 

disbelief that a fish could be big enough to 

drag his boat!   It was hours upon hours that 

the old man battled with this fish.   He was very 

fatigued. The fight to get the fish into his boat 

had gone on for 48 hours!! That's when he saw 

something in the water.

It was a shark!! He didn't want the shark to 

get his fish! And that is exactly what was going 

to happen.   The old man reeled in the fish as 

fast as he could and when he got the fish up to 

the boat, the shark opened his mouth as wide 

as he could and took a bite of the massive fish.  

The old man did not want the shark to get all 

of the fish, so he punched the shark right in 

the nose! He could tell it affect the shark so he 

knocked him again! Right in the nose a second 

time!  

Victory was his! The hungry shark swam away 

and Santiago pulled the fish, who he'd been 

battling with for over 48 hours, into the boat! 

When he pulled the fish in, he was slightly 

devastated because half of the fish was now 

gone. That's when the old man thought to 

himself.   He thought about the determination 

of the fish and he gained respect for it.   He 

sympathized for it.

You've previewed 11 of 17 pages.

To read more: