It was not long, however, before the fish became frightened, and when they saw anything moving about in the water they would swim away. This made it harder and harder to get them, and Ran sometimes spent a whole day, without bringing home more than one or two. One day, while resting on the river bank, he saw a large fish snap up a little one and devour it. Ran thought that this might be a good way to bring the fish within reach of his spear, so he managed to catch several of the little fish by driving them into a shallow pool. Then he took the cord from his bow, and after tying one of the little fish to the end of it with a bit of grass, he lowered it into the water. Quick as a flash a large fish darted up, snapped away the little one, and was gone before Ran could raise his spear. When Ran saw that the strings of grass would not hold the little fish tight enough to his bow-cord, he tried to think of some better way to fasten them. One of his arrows had a head made of a sharp-pointed piece of bone about as long as his finger. Taking this piece of bone from the arrow, he sharpened the other end of it also, by rubbing it on a rough stone. Then he tied the bow-cord tightly about the middle of the piece of bone, and stuck the two sharp ends both ways into the body of one of the little fish. The large fish, he knew, would be unable to bite through the piece of bone, and while trying to tear the small fish loose, Ran believed he would have time to spear him. Once more he lowered the bow-cord into the water. Soon a big fish darted up, but instead of trying to tear the smaller one loose, he swallowed it whole, and started away. Ran had no time to use his spear, but neither was the big fish able to get away, for as soon as he jerked against the strong bow-cord, the piece of bone turned crosswise and its sharp points stuck firmly in his throat. Ran, not expecting this, was almost pulled off his feet, but he could not let go of the bow-cord because the loop at the end of it was about his wrist. In a moment he had recovered his balance and hauled the big fish ashore. Although he did not know it at the time, Ran had made a great discovery. His hook and line were very poor and clumsy, but he had caught a fish with bait, and this was something no man had ever done before. He tried again and again, and while he was not always successful, and often pulled the little fish right out of the big one's throat because the piece of bone did not turn and stick fast, he still had caught seven or eight by the time the day was over.