A Fishy Tale

One day many years ago, a fisherman's wife blessed her husband with twin
sons.  They loved the children very much, but couldn't think of what to
name their children.  Finally, after several days, the fisherman said,
"Let's not decide on names right now.  If we wait a little while, the
names will simply occur to us."

After several weeks had passed, the fisherman and his wife noticed a
peculiar fact.  When left alone, one of the boys would also turn towards
the sea, while the other boy would face inland.  It didn't matter which
way the parents positioned the children, the same child always faced the
same direction. "Let's call the boys Towards and Away," suggested the
fisherman.  His wife agreed, and from that point on, the boys were
simply known as TOWARDS and AWAY.

The years passed and the lads grew tall and strong.  The day came when
the aging fisherman said to his sons, "Boys, it is time that learned how
to make a living from the sea."  They provisioned their ship, said their
goodbyes, and set sail for a three month voyage.

The three months passed quickly for the fisherman's wife, yet the ship
had not returned.  Another three months passed, and still no ship.

Three whole years passed before the grieving woman saw a lone man
walking towards her house.  She recognized him as her husband.  "My
goodness!  What has happened to my darling boys?" she cried.

The ragged fisherman began to tell his story:

"We were just barely one whole day out to see when Towards hooked into a
great fish.  Towards fought long and hard, but the fish was more than
his equal.  For a whole week they wrestled upon the waves without either
of them letting up. Yet eventually the great fish started to win the
battle, and Towards was pulled
over the side of our ship.  He was swallowed whole, and we never saw
either of them again."

"Oh dear, that must have been terrible!  What a huge fish that must of
been! What a horrible fish.  What a horrible fish."

"Yes, it was, but you should have seen the one that got Away...."

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