Charles Finster's first camping trip took place in the summer of 1961, when he was four years old. His father Marvin had taken him along, intending to teach the boy how to fish for trout and how to use a bow and arrow.

Marvin would say to Chas, "Now, remember, Charles, keep the bow steady, keep the arrow straight, and concentrate on the target."

And Marvin would fire his arrow at the target and get a perfect bull's-eye.

"Okay, dad," said Chas.

But once, Chas fired his arrow, he missed the target by a mile, to the confusion of both father and son.

"Hey, where did my arrow go?" asked Chas.

Marvin looked and saw a swarm of angry hornets, for Chas' arrow had pierced their nest. Then, he said to his little son, "I forgot to tell you one more important thing: aim for the target, and nothing else!"

When Chas saw the hornets, he got so scared he ran off as fast as he could!

Back in the cabin that night, Marvin was helping Chas recover from the hornet stings.

Chas sighed, "It's a wonder I survived this."

"Maybe a fishing trip to-morrow will help you get your mind off that," said Marvin. "Now, get some sleep, because you'll need it."

"Thanks, dad."

And while Marvin was sound asleep, Chas' was a fitful sleep.

Meanwhile, in the cabin next door, Lou was out camping with his boys, four-year-old Drew and two-and-a-half-year-old Stu.

"I get the top bunk!" cried Stu.

"You always get the top bunk!" cried Drew.

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Boys, boys, less noise, please," said Lou, who was trying to sleep.

This gave Stu leeway to climb to the top bunk, while Drew sullenly slunk into the bottom bunk.

"No fair," grumbled Drew. "He's not even potty-trained."

The next day, out on the dock, Stu and Drew were fishing with their father, and Chas was fishing with his father.

Lou said, "Hello, Marv."

And Marvin said, "Hi, Lou."

"How's your son doing?"

"Not so good. I can't seem to toughen him up enough. When we first went into our cabin, he ran off screaming from a bear rug!"

Flashback

Yes, on the first day of their camping trip, Marvin said to Chas, "And this, slugger, is where we're staying for the week."

Chas looked around and, before he was able to even look at the bunk, he saw a bear rug and screamed, "AH! What's that?! MOMMY!"

And he ran off screaming as Marvin rolled his eyes and said, "Who could have seen that coming?"

End of flashback

As Marvin shook his head, Lou said, "Relax, Marvin. Your son's only four years old. He'll probably grow out of his cowardice by the time he's in fifth or sixth grade."

"Probably?" asked Marvin with shock.

Meanwhile, Stu, Drew, and Chas were trying to fish for trout. Luckily for Chas, Drew was there to give him a few pointers: "You gotta keep the pole steady. That way, the fish will be able to bite more easily."

Presently, Drew felt a nibble, and as he reeled it in, he saw that he had caught a big trout. "Take this beauty, for instance."

It wasn't long before Stu caught an even bigger trout. "That's nothing! Check this out!"

"No fair!" groaned Drew. "Stu's a dumb baby of a little brother!"

Chas also felt a tug on his fishing pole. "Hey, I caught something too!" he cried out with joy as he reeled it in. But he became disappointed when he saw that it was another boot that he had caught.

"Seriously?" sighed Chas as he threw the boot to the back of the dock. "That's the fifth boot this week, and it's only Tuesday."

On the last night of their camping trip, Chas, Stu, and Drew were seated around the campfire with Marvin and Lou. Here, they had the opportunity to roast their own marshmallows and make s'mores.

After what he had been through all week, Chas knew that he needed the levity… and a nice, delicious snack.