got stuck.

"But our boat will be all right," said Tom, "for it has a flat bottom
and it doesn't lie very deep in the water. It could almost be rowed in a
good rain storm."

Farther and farther up the creek Tom rowed the children. The trees met
in a green arch overhead, and the only sounds were those of the dripping
waters from Tom's oars, the call of woodland birds or the distant splash
of a fish jumping up to get a fly that was close to the top of the
water.

"Shall I fish here?" asked Bunny.

"Yes, you ought to get a few here."

Bunny cast in, and it was not long before he had a bite. But when he
pulled up there was no fish on his hook.

"You must yank up quicker," said Tom. "They are only nibbling to fool
you. Pull up quickly."

"Look out!" suddenly called Bunny. He yanked his pole up so suddenly
that he pulled the fish out of the water, right over the heads of
himself, his sister and Tom, and with a splash the fish came down in the
water on the other side of the boat. There it wiggled off the hook.

"You pulled _too_ hard this time," said Tom with a laugh.

"I'll do it just right next time," said Bunny. And he did. When he felt
something pulling on his line he, too, pulled and this time he caught a
sun fish, large enough to cook. It had very pretty colors on it.

"It's too pretty to catch," said Sue. "But, oh! Look at the pretty pond
lilies!" and she pointed to some farther up the creek. "Can we get some,
Tom?"

"Wait until I catch one more fish," begged Bunny.

Bunny soon caught another fish, which had stripes around it "like a
raccoon," Sue said.

"That's a perch," Tom told the children. "They're good to eat, too. But
now we'll row up for the lilies."

However, in spite of the fact that their boat did not take much water,
it ran aground before it reached the lilies.

"Oh, how are we going to get them?" asked Sue, in disappointment.

"I'll wade after them," said Tom. "I can take off my shoes and socks.
The water won't be much more than up to my knees after I get over the
mud bar on which the boat has stuck."

Tom was soon wading in the mud and water, his trousers well rolled up.
He was just reaching for one very large lily when he gave a sudden call,
threw up his hands and sank down out of sight.

"Oh, Tom's gone! He's drowned!" cried Sue.

"We've got to save him!" shouted Bunny, struggling with the oars. But
the boat was fast in the mud, and he could not move it.

"What shall we do?" gas