The hat with a reputation
Len called it his lucky hat, although the evidence was difficult to organise. It had survived a storm, a leaking shed and one unfortunate encounter with a sandwich. Mara thought survival was a different quality from luck, but she allowed the name because it made him happy. That morning the hat sat on the bow while they drifted towards the fallen eucalyptus.
An unexpected review
The kookaburra landed above them with the confidence of a person arriving at a meeting they intended to chair. It looked at the hat, looked at Len and produced a noise that Mara considered a detailed review. Len lifted the hat in greeting. The bird leaned forward. For a moment the entire river seemed to be waiting to see which of them would blink.
Terms of ownership
A breeze settled the matter by carrying the hat neatly into Mara’s lap. She put it on and announced that luck had changed management. Len protested until a fish moved somewhere behind the branch and both of them forgot the argument. When they eventually returned to the jetty, the hat went back to its usual owner. The kookaburra remained on the branch, apparently dissatisfied with the final arrangement.
This river and its characters are imagined. The adventure is fiction, with no fishing or navigation instruction.