I was pretend-fishing in the paddling pool in the garden, when my grown-up sister joined me. She wore shorts and a t-shirt, and a grin with a dozen breeds of mischief in it. I didn’t like that grin. I didn’t like it at all.

Then she said:

“Abigail, dear,
Now listen clear,
Gotta fish safe, ya know, ya hear?

Carry a knife and a shining sword,
Bite and scratch, kick and gore
The Kraken as it comes at you:
Swing your sword fair and true!
Cast your rod! Light a flame!
’Cause if you don’t, if you’re beaten,
If you’re well and truly eaten,
You only have yourself to blame.

Li’l sis, li’l dear.
Gotta fish safe, ya know, ya hear?”

“Kraken?” I said, and I would’ve folded my arms if I wasn’t holding my fishing rod. “Flora, there’s no monsters in the garden. You said so. You said they’re allergic to hedges.”

Flora shrugged. “I lied. Hey, did I ever tell you about Billy? He was my best mate ever, until he got gobbled up in his garden.”

“C’mon, Abi. Don’t be a fool,
Nothing’s so deadly as a paddling pool.

Gruesome giants! Freaky fish!
Bone crunching,
Teeth dicing,
Skin munching,
Toe slicing—
Li’l girl is their favourite dish.

Chomping jaws with teeth so sharp,
They rip, they bite, they tear in half.
Terror of tentacles,
Suckers so many.
They drag li’l Abi to the deep, so scary!

All this in your paddling pool.
C’mon, Abi. Don’t be a fool.”

“Flora, stop it,” I went. But a chill ran through me, a thunder-thrill.

Flora was winding me up! She was always winding me up. Even so, I began to wonder what secrets lurked in the depths of the pool…

Flora gave the rod a short sharp smack, and said:

“That’s what you’ll feel when the monster bites.
Silly young Billy felt it too, that night.

‘I’ll fish with glow-worms,’ he said to me,
With boundless joy, with fish-faced glee.
‘I’ll catch a starfish!
Though not a slimy five-armed creature,
Nor a lazy filter feeder.
No!
One of stardust, moon rays and wishes—
They only emerge at night, these fishes.
Oh magic fishes of moonshine and wishes.’ ”

“Now I know you’re making this up,” I told Flora. Yet the thunder-thrill roared in my heart. As much as I hoped she’d stop, part of me wanted her – needed her – to say what had happened to Billy.

“What happened next?” Flora said. “Well, Billy got a bite, of course.

‘Super!’ he said. ‘Smashing! Devine!
A jolly fresh fish on the end of my line.

Real-life wishing fish in my paddling pool!
Now, what to wish for? Something wicked and cool.

Treasure and trophies,
Cars galore,
A fifty floor mansion
With a pool and hall.
Money, jewels,
The Queen’s best riches.
(I’ll have to make sure that no fish snitches).
A castle with ghosts,
And a hippopotamus,
Gold-plated elephants—
Is that so pompous?
A million ice-creams
With a billion flakes,
Then a trillion, fifillion flim-flam cakes.
I’ll be the happiest boy that’s ever been,
The richest kid that you’ve ever seen!’

But silly Billy, Billy so silly,
Billy so silly and yummy.
No such thing as a wishing fish!
Billy so tender and scrummy.

Up came tentacles from out of his pool,
Great nasty mouth with slobber and drool.
In one big gulp,
A scream of ‘Oh dear!’
That was the last of Billy, I fear.
Gone in a splish and a splash and a splat,
And…

… Wait, Abi. What on Earth's THAT?!”

Terror thundered over her face. She pointed at the paddling pool, and I screamed and dropped my fishing rod and spun round and—

My sister messed up.

There was nothing in the pool, of course. But Flora tried to grab me from behind to give me a scare – only to trip over my fishing rod and fall right into the water. SPLISH! SPLASH! SPLAT!

And I thought:

Poor Flora! Poor dear!
Gotta fish safe, ya know, ya hear?

I couldn’t help it. I grinned, then giggled, then before I knew it I was on the floor laughing. Flora laughed too; then we changed into our bathing things. And for the rest of the day I pretended to be Billy hunting for wish-fish, and I had to escape Flora, who was the kraken in the paddling pool.