So Billy Mink jumped and skipped far ahead; Little Joe Otter ran; JerryMuskrat walked, for he soon gets tired on land; Grandfather Frog hopped;Spotty the Turtle crawled, and way, way up in the blue, blue sky, OFMistah Buzzard flew, all looking for the trouble which had stopped thelaughing of the Laughing Brook and the smiling of the Smiling Pool.
CHAPTER XIII: Ol' Mistah Buzzard Sees Something
"Wait for me!" cried Little Joe Otter to Billy Mink, but Billy Mink wasin too much of a hurry and just ran faster.
"Wait for me!" cried Jerry Muskrat to Little Joe Otter, but Little Joewas in too much of a hurry and just ran faster.
"Wait for me!" cried Grandfather Frog to Jerry Muskrat, but Jerry was intoo much of a hurry and just walked faster.
"Wait for me!" cried Spotty the Turtle to Grandfather Frog, butGrandfather Frog was in too much of a hurry and just jumped faster.
So running and walking and jumping and crawling, Billy Mink, Little JoeOtter, Jerry Muskrat, Grandfather Frog, and Spotty the Turtle hurried upthe Laughing Brook to try to find out why it laughed no more. And highoverhead in the blue, blue sky sailed Ol' Mistah Buzzard, and he alsowas looking for the trouble that had taken away the laugh from theLaughing Brook and the smile from the Smiling Pool.
Now Ol' Mistah Buzzard's eyes are very sharp, and looking down from wayup in the blue, blue sky he can see a great deal. Indeed, Ol' MistahBuzzard can see all that is going on below on the Green Meadows and inthe Green Forest. His wings are very broad, and he can sail through theair very swiftly when he makes up his mind to. Now, as he looked down,he saw that Billy Mink was selfish and wouldn't wait for Little JoeOtter, and Little Joe Otter was selfish and wouldn't wait for JerryMuskrat, and Jerry Muskrat was selfish and wouldn't wait for GrandfatherFrog, and Grandfather Frog was selfish and wouldn't wait for Spotty theTurtle.
"Ah reckon Ah will hurry up right smart and find out what the troubleis mahself, and then go back and tell Brer Turtle; it will save him apowerful lot of work, and it will serve Brer Mink right if Brer Turtlefinds out first what is the trouble with the Laughing Brook," said Ol'Mistah Buzzard and shot far ahead over the Green Forest towards thatpart of it from which the Laughing Brook comes. In a few minutes he wasas far ahead of Billy Mink as Billy was ahead of Spotty the Turtle.
For wings are swifter far than legs, On whatsoever purpose bent,But doubly swift and tireless Those wings on kindly deed intent.
And this is how it happened that Ol' Mistah Buzzard was the first tofind out what it was that had stopped the laughing of the Laughing Brookand the smiling of the Smiling Pool, but he was so surprised when he didfind out, that he forgot all about going back to tell Spotty the Turtle.He forgot everything but his own great surprise, and he blinked his eyesa great many times to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. Then he sailedaround and around in circles, looking down among the trees of the GreenForest and saying over and over to himself:
"Did yo' ever? No, Ah never! Did yo' ever? No, Ah never!"
CHAPTER XIV: Spotty The Turtle Keeps Right On Going
"One step, two steps, three steps, so! Four steps, five steps, six steps go! Keep right on and do your best; Mayhap you'll win while others rest."
Spotty the Turtle said this over to himself every time he felt a littledown-hearted, as he plodded along the bed of the Laughing Brook. Andevery time he said it, he felt better. "One step, two steps," he keptsaying over and over, and each time he said it, he took a step andthen another. They were very short steps, very short steps indeed, forSpotty's legs are very short. But each one carried him forward justso much, and he knew that he was just so much nearer the thing he wasseeking. Anyway, he hoped he was.
You see, if the Laughing Brook would never laugh any more, and theSmiling Pool would never smile any more, there was nothing to do butto go down to the Big River to live, and no one wanted to do that,especially Grandfather Frog and Spotty the Turtle.
Now, because Billy Mink could go faster than Little Joe Otter, andLittle Joe Otter could go faster than Jerry Muskrat, and Jerry could gofaster than Grandfather Frog, and Grandfather Frog could go faster thanSpotty the Turtle, and because each one wanted to be the first to findthe trouble, no one would wait for the one behind him. So Spotty theTurtle, who has to carry his house with him, was a long, long way behindthe others. But he kept right on going.
"One step, two steps, three steps, so!"
and he didn't stop for anything. He crawled over sticks and around bigstones and sometimes, when he found a little pool of water, he swam. Healways felt better then, because he can swim faster than he can walk.
After a long, long time, Spotty the Turtle came to a little pool wherethe sunshine lay warm and inviting. There, in the middle of it, on amossy stone, sat Grandfather Frog fast asleep. He had thought that hewas so far ahead of Spotty that he could safely rest his tired legs.Spotty wanted to climb right up beside him and take a nap too, but hedidn't. He just grinned and kept right on going.
"One step, two steps, three steps, so!"
while Grandfather Frog slept on.
By and by, after a long, long time Spotty came to another little pool,and who should he see but Jerry Muskrat busily opening and eating somefreshwater clams which he had found there. He was so busy enjoyinghimself that he didn't see Spotty, and Spotty didn't say a word, butkept right on going, although the sight of Jerry's feast had made himdreadfully hungry.
By and by, after a long, long time, he came to a third little pool witha high, smooth bank, and who should he see there but Little Joe Otter,who had made a slippery slide down the smooth bank and was having aglorious time sliding down into the little pool. Spotty would have likedto take just one slide, but he didn't. He didn't even let Little JoeOtter see him, but kept right on going.
"One step, two steps, three steps, so!"
By and by, after a long, long time, he came to a hollow log, and justhappening to peep in, he saw some one curled up fast asleep. Who was it?Why, Billy Mink, to be sure! You see, Billy thought that he was so farahead that he might just as well take it easy, and that was what he wasdoing. Spotty the Turtle didn't waken him. He just kept right on goingthe same slow way he had come all day, and so, just as jolly, round,red Mr. Sun was going to bed behind the Purple Hills, Spotty the Turtlefound the cause of the trouble in the Laughing Brook and the SmilingPool.
CHAPTER XV: What Spotty The Turtle Found
Spotty the Turtle stared and stared and stared, until it seemed as ifhis eyes surely would pop out of his funny little head. Of course hecould believe his own eyes, and yet--and yet--well, if anybody else hadseen what he was looking at and had told him about it, he wouldn't havebelieved it. No, Sir, he wouldn't have believed it. You see, he couldn'thave believed it because--why, because it didn't seem as if it could bereally and truly so.
He wondered if the sun shining in his eyes made him think he saw morethan he really did see, so he carefully changed his position. It made nodifference. Then Spotty was sure that what he saw was real, and that hehad found the cause of the trouble in the Laughing Brook, which had madeit stop laughing and the Smiling Pool stop smiling.
Spotty the Turtle was feeling pretty good. In fact, Spotty was feelingvery good indeed, because he had been the first to find out what wasthe matter with the Laughing Brook. At least, he thought that he was thefirst, and he was of all the little people who live in the Smiling Pool.Only Ol' Mistah Buzzard had been before him, and he didn't count becausehis wings are broad, and all he had to do was to sail over the GreenForest and look down. The ones who really counted were Billy Mink andLittle Joe Otter and Jerry Muskrat and Grandfather Frog. Billy Mink hadstopped for a nap. Little Joe Otter had stopped to play. Jerry Muskrathad stopped to eat. Grandfather Frog had stopped for a sun-nap. ButSpotty the Turtle had kept right on going, and now here he was, thefirst one to find the cause of the trouble in the Laughing Brook. Do youwonder that he felt proud and very happy?
Keeping at it, that's the way Spotty won the race that day.
But now Spotty was beginning to wish that some of the others would hurryup. He wanted to know what they thought. He wanted to talk it all over.It was such a surprising thing that he could make neither head nor tailof it himself, and he wondered what the others would say. And now thelong black shadows were creeping through the Green Forest, and if theydidn't get there pretty soon, they would have to wait until the nextday.
So Spotty the Turtle found a good place to spend the night, and then hesat down to watch and wait. Right before him was the thing which he hadfound and which puzzled him so. What was it? Why, it was a wall. Yes,Sir, that is just what it was--a wall of logs and sticks and mud, andit was right across the Laughing Brook, where the banks were steepand narrow. Of course the Laughing Brook could laugh no longer; therecouldn't enough water get through that wall of logs and sticks and mudto make even the beginning of a laugh. Spotty wondered what lay behindthat wall, and who had built it, and what for, and a lot of otherthings. And he was still wondering when he fell asleep.
CHAPTER XVI: The Pond In The Green Forest
SPOTTY THE TURTLE was awake by the time the first rays of the rising sunbegan to creep through the Green Forest. He was far, far up the LaughingBrook, very much farther than he had ever been before, and as he yawnedand stretched, he wondered if after all he hadn't dreamed about the wallof logs and sticks and mud across the Laughing Brook. When he had rubbedthe last sleepy-wink out of his eyes, he looked again. There it was,just as he had seen it the night before! Then Spotty knew that it wasreal, and he began to wonder what was on the other side of it.
"I cannot climb it, for my legs were never made for climbing," saidSpotty mournfully as he looked at his funny little black feet. "Oh,dear, I wish that I could climb like Happy Jack Squirrel!" Just then athought popped into his head and chased away the little frown that hadcrept into Spotty's face. "Perhaps Happy Jack sometimes wishes that hecould swim as I can, so I guess we are even. I can't climb, but he can'tswim. How foolish it is to wish for things never meant for you!"
And with that, all the discontent left Spotty the Turtle, and hebegan to study how he could make the most of his short legs and hisperseverance, of which, as you already know, he had a great deal. Helooked this way, and he looked that way, and he saw that if he couldclimb to the top of the bank on one side of the Laughing Brook, he wouldbe able to walk right out on the strange wall of logs and sticks andmud, and then, of course, he could see just what was on the other side.
So Spotty the Turtle wasted no more time wishing that he could dosomething it was never meant that he should do. Instead, he picked outwhat looked like the easiest place to climb the bank and started up. My,my, my, it was hard work! You see, he had to carry his house along withhim, for he has to carry that wherever he goes, and it would have beenhard enough to have climbed that bank without carrying anything. Everytime he had climbed up three steps he slipped back two steps, but hekept at it, puffing and blowing, saying over and over to himself:
"I can if I will, and will if I can! I'm sure to get there if I follow this plan."
Half-way up the bank Spotty lost his balance, and the house he wascarrying just tipped him right over backward, and down he rolled to theplace he had started from.
"I needed to cool off," said Spotty to himself and slid into a littlepool of water. Then he tried the bank again, and just as before heslipped back two steps for every three he went up. But he shut his mouthtight and kept at it, and by and by he was up to the place from which hehad tumbled. There he stopped to get his breath.
"I can if I will, and will if I can! I'm sure to get there if I follow this plan,"
said he and started on again. Twice more he tumbled clear down to theplace he had started from, but each time he laughed at himself and triedagain. And at last he reached the top of the bank.
"I said I could if I would, and I would if I could, and I have!" hecried.
Then he hurried to see what was behind the strange wall. What do youthink it was? Why, a pond! Yes, Sir, there was a pond right in themiddle of the Green Forest! Trees were coming up right out of the middleof it, but it was a sure enough pond. Spotty found it harder work tobelieve his own eyes now than when he had first seen the strange wallacross the Laughing Brook.
"Why, why, why, what does it mean?" exclaimed Spotty the Turtle.
"That's what I want to know!" cried Billy Mink, who came hurrying upjust then.
CHAPTER XVII: Who Had Made The Strange Pond?
Who had made the strange pond? That is what Spotty the Turtle wanted toknow. That is what Billy Mink wanted to know. So did Little Joe Otterand Jerry Muskrat and Grandfather Frog, when they arrived. So didOl' Mistah Buzzard, looking down from the blue, blue sky. It was verystrange, very strange indeed! Never had there been a pond in that partof the Green Forest before, not even in the days when Sister South Windmelted the snow so fast that the Laughing Brook ran over its banks andthe Smiling Pool grew twice as large as it ought to be.
Of course some one had made it. Spotty the Turtle had known that as soonas he had seen the strange pond. All in a flash he had understood whatthat wall of logs and brush and mud across the Laughing Brook was for.It was to stop the water from running down the Laughing Brook. And ofcourse, if the water couldn't keep on running and laughing on its wayto the Smiling Pool, it would just stand still and grow and grow into apond. Of course! There was nothing else for it to do. Spotty felt veryproud when he had thought that out all by himself.
"This wall we are sitting on has made the pond," said Spotty the Turtle,after a long time in which no one had spoken.
"You don't say so!" said Billy Mink. "How ever, ever, did you guess it?Are you sure, quite sure that the pond didn't make the wall?"
Spotty knew that Billy Mink was making fun of him, but he is toogood-natured to lose his temper over a little thing like that. Hetried to think of something smart to say in reply, but Spotty is a slowthinker as well as a slow walker, and before he could think of anything,Billy was talking once more.
"This wall is what Farmer Brown's boy calls a dam," said Billy Mink, whois a great traveler. "Dams are usually built to keep water from runningwhere it isn't wanted or to make it go where it is wanted. Now, whatI want to know is, who under the sun wants a pond way back here inthe Green Forest, and what is it for? Who do you think built this dam,Grandfather Frog?"
Grandfather Frog shook his head. His big goggly eyes seemed more gogglythan ever, as he stared at the new pond in the Green Forest.
"I don't know," said Grandfather Frog. "I don't know what to think."
"Why, it must be Farmer Brown's boy or Farmer Brown himself," said JerryMuskrat.
"Of course," said Little Joe Otter, just as if he knew all about it.
Still Grandfather Frog shook his head, as if he didn't agree. "I don'tknow," said Grandfather Frog, "I don't know. It doesn't look so to me."
Billy Mink ran along the top of the dam and down the back side. Helooked it all over with those sharp little eyes of his.
"Grandfather Frog is right," said he, when he came back. "It doesn'tlook like the work of Farmer Brown or Farmer Brown's boy. But if theydidn't do it, who did? Who could have done it?"
"I don't know," said Grandfather Frog again, in a dreamy sort of voice.
Spotty the Turtle looked at him, and saw that Grandfather Frog's facewore the far-away look that it always does when he tells a story ofthe days when the world was young. "I don't know," he repeated, "but itlooks to me very much like the work of--" Grandfather Frog stopped shortoff and turned to Jerry Muskrat. "Jerry Muskrat," said he, so sharplythat Jerry nearly lost his balance in his surprise, "has your big cousincome down from the North?"
CHAPTER XVIII: Jerry Muskrat's Big Cousin
Fiddle, faddle, feedle, fuddle! Was there ever such a muddle? Fuddle, feedle, faddle, fiddle! Who is there will solve the riddle?
Here was the Laughing Brook laughing no longer. Here was the SmilingPool smiling no longer. Here was a brand new pond deep in the GreenForest. Here was a wall
of logs and bushes and mud called a dam, builtby some one whom nobody had seen. And here was Grandfather Frog askingJerry Muskrat if his big cousin had come down from the North, when Jerrydidn't even know that he had a big cousin.
"I--I haven't any big cousin," said Jerry, when he had quite recoveredfrom his surprise at Grandfather Frog's question.
"Chugarum!" exclaimed Grandfather Frog, and the scornful way in which hesaid it made Jerry Muskrat feel very small. "Chugarum! Of course you'vegot a big cousin in the North. Do you mean to tell me that you don'tknow that, Jerry Muskrat?"
Jerry had to admit that it was true that he didn't know anything aboutthat big cousin. If Grandfather Frog said that he had one, it must beso, for Grandfather Frog is very old and very wise, and he knows a greatdeal. Still, it was very hard for Jerry to believe that he had a bigcousin of whom he had never heard.
"Did--did you ever see him, Grandfather Frog?" Jerry asked.
"No!" snapped Grandfather Frog. "I never did, but I know all about him.He is a great worker, is this big cousin of yours, and he builds damslike this one we are sitting on."