=Original Picture:= Corcoran Gallery, Washington,
D.C.
=Artist:= Emile Renouf (r[~e] n[=oo]f´´).
=Birthplace:= Paris, France.
=Dates:= Born, 1845; died, 1894.
=Questions to arouse interest.= Of what is this a picture? Where are
this man and little girl? Where do you think they are going? What do
you suppose the man does for a living? why? How is he dressed? What
makes you think he loves the little girl? For what is the long pole
with the rope around it used? How is the man guiding the boat now?
What do you see ahead that he is trying to turn away from? What is the
little girl doing? How is she dressed? Why do you think she cannot
help very much? What kind of a boat is it? What else do you see in the
boat? in the picture? Why is it called "A Helping Hand"?
=The story of the picture.= When we go fishing for a few hours or half a
day we think it great fun, but a real fisherman, who earns his living
that way, has to work very hard. Fishermen usually start out at four or
five o'clock in the morning, and do not come home again until late at
night. Sometimes they go away for several days, fishing night and day.
Very probably this little girl is not awake mornings when her father
eats his breakfast and starts out. He wears a rain-proof hat and heavy
coat, for one never can tell what the weather will be out on the
water. He must take a good lunch with him, too, for he is sure to get
hungry. The mother will see that the lunch is ready.
When the wind is blowing in the right direction he puts up the heavy
pole you see in the center of the boat, lets out the sail, and
tightens the rope. Then, with a good wind, how fast he can go! He
knows just where each kind of fish likes to stay, and goes straight to
the very best place. Here he drops his heavy iron anchor into the
water. This anchor is fastened to the boat and keeps it from drifting.
Sometimes the fish do not bite at all, and he has very few to carry
home after his hard day's work. Then again his great boat is filled
full of shiny fish. "Fisherman's luck," that is called.
He probably uses that net with the long wooden handle to help him
catch the big fish. He may have used it also to catch his minnows for
bait. No doubt he catches all the minnows he needs before he starts,
because they live in the shallow water near the shore and it is easier
to catch them there.
Some fishermen use very long nets, something like those you see on a
tennis court, only wider and stronger. It takes several men to manage
them. The fish get tangled up in the net, and then it is very easy to
catch them.
[Illustration: From a Thistle Print, Copyright Detroit Publishing Co.
_A Helping Hand_]
A flat-bottomed boat is the best for fishing, they say. You can move
about in it without much danger of tipping over, and it holds more.
The fish often think it is a wharf or a good cool place under which to
hide, and you can catch them easily.
Very likely this little girl has never been out with her father on one
of his long trips, for it would be much too tiresome for so small a
girl. It would seem, rather, as if he had finished his day's work,
and was taking his little daughter with him on some short errand.
Perhaps they are on their way home, and there is something in that
sack the mother needs. Just now there is no wind, or it is not in the
right direction, for they do not use the sail.
Can you see the other oar? It must be in the bottom of the boat. The
man must row hard with the oar he is pulling at or they will run into
that great rock you see ahead.
It looks as if those little sailboats far off in the distance are
standing still. Perhaps they have no oars, and are waiting for the wind
to come up and blow them home. If they were anchored the sails would be
rolled up and put away. A good sailor must take good care of his boat
and sails. If a sail is not stretched out in the sun and allowed to dry
after a heavy dew or rain, it will rot and soon fall to pieces.
A sailor knows how to tie a very tight knot which is called a
"sailor's knot." He needs to know how to tie this, for if the knots
are not tight and his rope should come untied, or anything give way
when there is a heavy wind, the boat would very likely be overturned.
The little girl looks as if she were putting all her strength into
those tiny hands that cannot near go around the oar. How pleased her
father seems to be to have her try to help him! He knows she is doing
the best she can, and he lets her think she is helping row the boat.
It must help him somewhat, just to know that she is trying so hard and
wants to help.
She must slip about on that seat every time the oar moves, for her
feet do not touch the bottom of the boat. She will be tired when she
reaches home, and warm too, no doubt.
They will not lose their hats even if the wind does blow, for the
little girl's bonnet is tied under her chin, and her father has pulled
his rubber hat tight over his head. Often, when he is out fishing on
the deep sea, the spray dashes over the fisherman's boat, and he is
glad to have a rubber hat and coat to wear.
The little girl wears a large handkerchief around her neck, fastened
under her arms. What do you think is in the pockets of her apron to
make them puff out so? It must be in the summer time, or she would
surely wear a coat and rubber boots. What a big, heavy boat it is! No
wonder it takes such a large oar to row it.
=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= Tell something
about a fisherman's day. When does he start? How does he go? Where?
How does he keep his boat from drifting while he fishes? What is meant
by "fisherman's luck"? What is his net for? What makes you think the
fisherman is going home now? Why does he not use his sail? Why does he
have a flat-bottomed boat? How does a good sailor care for his boat
and sails? What is a "sailor's knot"? Of what use is it? Why does the
fisherman wear a rubber hat and coat? How many think the little girl
is helping? Why do you think her father is so pleased to have her try?
What has she on her head? around her neck? What time of the year do
you think it is?
=To the Teacher:= The children might be allowed to draw or cut out a
sailboat and a fisherman's hat.
=The story of the artist.= Very little is known about the boyhood of
the man who painted this picture. His paintings were usually of
fisherfolk, and of boats on the water. We know that in 1886 he came to
America and spent one year in New York City. It was during this time
that he painted his picture of Brooklyn Bridge, now in the museum in
Le Havre, the town in France where he died. "A Helping Hand" is the
most popular of his pictures, and may be seen in the Corcoran Gallery
at Washington, D.C.
=Questions about the artist.= Who painted this picture? What class of
people did he like to paint? What did he paint during his visit to
America? Where may this picture be seen?