Summary

“Eel” by Stefanie Seddon tells the story of a boy name Archie, who is 7-8 years old. He goes eel catching with his older brothers Ted and the twins Patrick and Arthur. Archie has to beg his mother to let him go with his brothers, and she agrees under the condition that Ted watches out for him.

Archie’s brother Ted has just returned from the spring shearing in Hokitika. Ted chooses to catch eels the same way that the Maori people did. Archie insists on being involved in the eel catching, so Ted gives him the task of throwing the caught eels onto the shore. However, this is a prank, as Ted pulls the first caught eel to the shore by himself and Archie lands face down in the water.

Ashamed and upset, Archie then chooses to swim downstream. Once ashore, he spots a large eel in a shallow pool of water. This...