The huge jaws of the shark were no more than two feet away. But Tony didn't blink an eye. The jaws were all that was left of the shark. And they were hanging on the wall of his grandfather's living room.
It was summer vacation. Tony had never been to his grandfather's house before. He had made the plane trip across the country all by himself.
Tony's grandfather, Paul Rivera, had been a fisherman all his life. Now he didn't fish anymore, except for fun. He had filled his small house on the beach with all kinds of things from the sea. But the sharp-toothed shark jaws was his prize.
Tony's grandfather came into the living room and smiled. Earlier he had looked his grandson over closely. He had said proudly to Tony, "You look just like I did when I was young."
Now he said, "You like my collection? Maybe you will make your living from the sea, too."
Tony nodded. "Did you catch this shark, Grandpa?" he asked.
"Ah, the great white shark," Mr. Rivera said. He scratched his beard and smiled again. "Not all by myself. I had some help."
"It was a day much like this one. I was about your age at the time. For two months a great white shark had been seen near the shore. Everyone became afraid to go into the water. We had a town meeting. We decided what to do. A few other young fishermen and I would go out to kill the shark. We had only spear guns to fight the shark and I can't tell you how many times we speared it, but finally it died. We pulled it to shore."
"It was then that we got a good look at it. The shark's big head was full of scars. Many of them were old scars. I guess other fishermen had tried to kill it, too."
"Also, the shark had only one eye left. As it lay on the beach, I'm sure I saw that eye look right at me. It was as if the dead shark was trying to remember my face so it could somehow get even. All the same, I cut out the jaws. I took them home with me, and there they are." He pointed proudly to the wall.
Tony had listened to the tale with wide eyes. As his grandfather finished, the old man patted him fondly on the head. Then he looked thoughtful and said, "It's funny, in spite of everything, I felt a little sorry for the shark. After all, it was only doing what came naturally. It had the bad luck to come in contact with men."
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