at he moved ahead. Of course
he moved very slowly, because his feet were not made for use in the
water, but he moved, and that was enough. He knew then that he could get
back to land. Then he tried his wings and he found that he could rise
into the air from the water quite as easily as from the land. Right then
and there all fear of the water left him. In fact, he liked it.

"Little by little, Grandfather Quack began to understand that he had
made a great discovery. He had discovered the safest place in all the
Great World for him. Out on the water he was safe from Mr. Fox and Mr.
Wolf and all the other four-footed hunters. So he took to spending most
of his time on the water or near it. When he wanted a nap, he would hide
among the rushes that grew in the water. 'If only I didn't have to leave
the water for food!' sighed Grandfather Quack. 'If only I could find
food here, I would never leave the water.'

"At the time he was squatting at the very edge of the Smiling Pool.
Presently he noticed a funny water bug crawling on the bottom where the
water was only an inch or two deep. 'I wonder if that fellow is good to
eat,' thought he, and almost without thinking he plunged his head under
water and caught the bug. It was good. Grandfather Quack at once started
to look for more, and while doing this he discovered that there were a
great many seeds from the rushes scattered about in the mud at the
bottom of the Smiling Pool, and that these also were good to eat. Then
quite by accident he got hold of a tender root in the mud and found that
this was especially good.

"This was enough for Grandfather Quack. He had found that he could get
plenty to eat without leaving the Smiling Pool. Moreover, he didn't have
to share it with anybody, because there was no one else who thought of
looking for food there. He knew when he was well off. So Grandfather
Quack grew fat and was happy. The only things that bothered him were the
slowness with which he had to pick up seeds, one at a time, and the
slowness with which he could paddle about, for you couldn't really call
it swimming. But in spite of these things he was happy and made the best
of his lot.

"One day he tugged and tugged at a root with his head under water. When
at last he had to bring his head up for a breath, whom should he
discover but Old Mother Nature watching him from the opposite bank.
'Come over here, Mr. Quack, and tell me all about it,' she commanded.

"Grandfather Q