Billy Mink's Swimming Party

BILLY MINK'S SWIMMING PARTY

Billy Mink came down the bank of the Laughing Brook, feeling very good. He had eaten a big breakfast. The sun was warm. Little white cloud ships sailed across the blue sky, and their shadows sailed across the Green Meadows below. Birds were singing. Bees were humming. Billy Mink felt like singing too — but his voice was not made for singing.

After a while, he came to the Smiling Pool. This was where the Laughing Brook stopped to rest on its way to the Big River. It stopped all its noisy laughing and singing, and just lay there… smiling in the warm sunshine. Little flowers on the bank leaned over and nodded to it. The old beech tree sometimes dropped a leaf into it. The cat-tails kept their feet cool at the edge.

Billy Mink hopped out on the Big Rock and looked down into the water. Over on a green lily pad sat old Grandfather Frog.

"Hello, Grandfather Frog," said Billy Mink.

"Hello, Billy Mink," said Grandfather Frog. "What mischief are you up to this fine sunny morning?"

Just then Billy Mink spotted a little brown head swimming along the edge of the Smiling Pool.

"Hello, Jerry Muskrat!" shouted Billy Mink.

"Hello your own self, Billy Mink!" shouted Jerry Muskrat. "Come in and have a swim! The water's fine!"

"Good," said Billy Mink. "We'll have a swimming party."

So Billy Mink called all the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind. They were playing with the flowers on the bank. He sent them off to find Little Joe Otter and invite him to the swimming party. Soon the Little Breezes came back, and with them came Little Joe Otter.

"Hello, Billy Mink!" said Little Joe Otter. "Here I am!"

"Hello, Little Joe Otter! Come up here on the Big Rock. Let's see who can dive the deepest into the Smiling Pool."

So Little Joe Otter and Jerry Muskrat climbed up on the Big Rock beside Billy Mink. They stood side by side in their little brown bathing suits, looking down into the water.

"When I count three, we all dive in together," said Billy Mink. "One!"

"Two!"

"THREE!"

SPLASH!

Oh, what a splash they made! They bumped old Grandfather Frog right off his lily pad. They scared Mr. and Mrs. Trout so much that the trout jumped clean out of the water. And tiny Tadpole got such a fright that he hid way, way, way down in the mud — with only the tip of his funny little nose sticking out.

"Chug-a-rum," grumbled old Grandfather Frog, climbing back onto his lily pad. "If I wasn't so old, I would show you how to dive."

"Come on, Grandfather Frog!" cried Billy Mink. "Show us how to dive!"

And old Grandfather Frog got so excited… he climbed right up on the Big Rock.

SPLASH! In went Grandfather Frog.

SPLASH! In went Billy Mink right behind him.

SPLASH! SPLASH! In went Little Joe Otter and Jerry Muskrat right at Billy Mink's heels.

"Hurrah!" shouted Mr. Kingfisher from a branch of the old beech tree. Then — just to show he could dive too — SPLASH! In he went.

What a noise they made! All the Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind danced for joy on the bank. Blacky the Crow and Sammy Jay flew over to see what was going on.

"Now let's see who can swim the farthest under water!" cried Billy Mink.

They all lined up at one edge of the Smiling Pool.

"GO!" shouted Mr. Kingfisher.

In they plunged. Little ripples ran across the water. Then the Smiling Pool grew smooth and still again — as if nothing had splashed in at all.

Now old Grandfather Frog began to remember that he was not as young as he used to be. He could not swim as fast as the others. His breath started running out. So he swam up and poked just the tip of his nose out to get some air.

Sammy Jay's sharp eyes spotted him right away.

"There's Grandfather Frog!" he shouted.

Grandfather Frog popped his head up, blinked once, and swam back to his green lily pad to rest.

But way out past the Big Rock — three long rows of tiny bubbles came rising to the top of the Smiling Pool. One row for Billy Mink. One row for Little Joe Otter. One row for Jerry Muskrat. Swimming way down deep, out of sight. The bubbles went straight across the Smiling Pool, all the way to the far side.

Then — POP — two little heads broke through the water, close together. Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter!

And a moment later — POP — up came Jerry Muskrat right beside them.

They had swum all the way across.

Billy Mink's swimming party was a great success.