The Story

If any of you who read this volume do not like stories, then I am sorry for you. Stories are the thread from which the fabric of the world is woven, and to dislike stories is to dislike life. But, to any such people, I would also say that if you read this story you will also learn some mathematics.

Once there was a mathematician who had little wisdom. One spring he attended a group theory conference in Scotland, which may or may not have been wise of him. Since the conference was long, he decided to take a couple of days off, which was certainly wise. He had heard much about the beauty of Scotland's rivers, and the fine salmon that swam in them, so he decided to go salmon-fishing. He did not think of the need for a licence, nor that a large charge is made for the right to fish for salmon in most places; indeed, he had not even checked whether there were salmon in the rivers at that time of year. This may seem foolish of him, but turned out not to be so.

He went to the Tweed, which was running sweetly. He saw many people fishing for salmon, but found a pool where no-one was. Not thinking that this might be because that was not a good place for salmon (for he had little wisdom, though, as we shall see, he was also lucky), he began fishing under a bright spring sky.