Henry Huggins makes a deal with his father--if Henry can keep his dog Ribsy out of trouble for a month, he can go fishing with his father. Ribsy does his best to make Henry lose the deal.
Santiago is a Cuban fisherman who encounters a giant marlin in the Gulf Stream and the battle for his catch becomes one of survival against a band of marauding sharks.
A boy learns that the truth is often stretched on the Bayou Clapateaux, and gets the chance to tell his own version of a bayou tale when he goes fishing.