Snoutie and His Friends - страница 5

“I think we’ll find a tasty lunch on the other side of the stream,” said Snoutie. “We just have to figure out how to get over there.”

“But first let’s sit down and rest,” answered Michelle.

A large, flat, brown rock lay near the shore. The tired travelers decided to sit on it and take a little break.

But as soon as they sat down, they felt the rock begin to move.

“You’re not very courteous, are you, young creatures? You have just sat down right on the roof of my house, which, if you must know, is not a bench for tourists!” said a scratchy voice.

Michelle jumped up in alarm, and Snoutie grunted in fear and rolled off onto the grass.

“There’s no reason to jump up and grunt!” continued the grumpy voice.

“Oh, please excuse us,” said the travelers in unison, still unsure who the voice belonged to. “Would you be so kind as to tell us the best place to cross this stream? It’s so wide and so fast.”

“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you,” said the same grumbling voice, and a small, wrinkled head popped out from under the stone they had just been sitting on.

“I am Turtle,” said the head in a scratchy voice. “Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you, too,” said Snoutie, embarrassed. “My name is Snoutie, and this is Michelle. We are traveling through the forest. We want to cross to the other side of the stream to find something tasty to eat, but we don’t know how to do it.”

“Walk down that way a little farther. It’s narrower there and the wind has blown a lot of branches into the water,” explained Turtle. “You won’t find it very hard to cross at that point. You’ll probably meet Croaky the Feel Good Froggy and Beaver the Builder and his little beaver cubs on your way. Once you get across the stream, you should follow Burly Boary’s tracks along the well-trodden path. You will pass the leaning tree, where Robin the Elder has built his nest at the very tippy top. Then you will see a thicket of burdock, where Loppy the Bunny has dug his den. After that, you will come out into a large field that has been completely turned over by Sir Mole. Lots of sweet potatoes and wild strawberries grow there.”

Snoutie and Michelle thanked Turtle and happily ran on down the stream. They soon heard the splashing of water and a loud croaking coming from somewhere behind a growth of ferns.