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TIMOTHY TURTLE reached the
overhanging bluff in a surprisingly short time. But it must be
remembered that
he did not walk there on land, but swam down Black Creek with the
current. When
he crawled out upon the bank he was
glad to see that old Mr. Crow
was waiting for him, on a pine stump that
stood near the water.
He failed utterly to notice
that Mr. Crow was not alone. Hidden in all sorts of places were as many
as a
dozen of Mr. Crow's friends. For the old gentleman had invited his
cousin,
Jasper Jay, to come to the bluff "to enjoy the fun," as he expressed
it.
"But don't let Timothy
Turtle see you!" Mr. Crow had warned Jasper. "At least, don't let him
know you're there until after he has jumped off the big rock."
Jasper Jay had given his
solemn promise.
"And don't let him hear
you, either," Mr. Crow had said. And Jasper had agreed to that, too,
although
he said that it might be a hard thing to do.
Well, Timothy Turtle crawled
out upon the bank and took a long look at the high bluff above him,
from which
the great rock hung over the water of the creek.
"I believe – " he
said to old Mr. Crow – "I believe I'd better wait till
tomorrow before I
try to fly. I've just had a long swim, you know. And I want to feel
fresh when
I take my first lesson."
"Nonsense!" Mr.
Crow exclaimed. "Everything's all ready. You're not too tired, are you,
to
climb to the top of the bluff?"
"No," Timothy
Turtle admitted.
"Then you've no reason
for waiting," Mr. Crow assured him. "Coming down will be much easier
than going up."
"I dare say that's
true," Timothy remarked. "But I don't quite like to think
about this
business of flying."
"Then you certainly
ought not to wait any longer," Mr. Crow urged him. "For the longer
you wait the more time you'll have to think."
That appeared to Timothy
Turtle to be a good bit of advice. And yet he still seemed uneasy.
"There's just one thing
that troubles me," he confessed. "After I've jumped from the rock I
might find that I couldn't fly. And I'd get a bad fall."
"But you'd land in the
water," Mr. Crow reminded him. "And that would be much better than
falling on the land.... I don't need to tell you," he added, "that
water is soft. And you're a fine swimmer."
So Timothy Turtle yielded.
And thereupon he began to drag himself up the steep bluff.
It seemed to Mr. Crow that
he had never known anybody to walk so slowly. But then, of course, he
was in a
hurry to see the fun. And it couldn't really begin until Mr.
Turtle should
reach the big rock and take the leap that Mr. Crow had
suggested to him.
Jasper Jay and the rowdies
he had brought with him stirred impatiently. And Jasper said aloud to
one of
them:
"What an old slow-poke
he is!"
"What's that?"
Timothy Turtle inquired, as he stopped and looked around at
Mr. Crow.
"I didn't speak,"
Mr. Crow told him. Timothy glared at his teacher for a few moments. And
Mr.
Crow began to think that Jasper Jay had spoiled the fun. But at last
Timothy
Turtle plodded on. And when his back was turned old Mr. Crow flew over
to the
place where Jasper Jay was hidden and whispered to him that he had
better keep
still or there would be trouble for him.