Snoutie and His Friends

My friend Burly Boary

Is sinking in water far from the shorey!

But I know what will do the trick

To help me reach him nice and quick!

A minute later, Snoutie rolled his famous pumpkin out onto the porch. He picked up the longest pole he could find in the garden and dragged the pumpkin over to the water that was lapping up against the garden. He jumped into the pumpkin, pushed off as hard as he could with the pole, and set sail. Robin the Elder perched on the edge of the pumpkin and starting giving Snoutie directions to the island where Burly Boary was waiting for an Alternative Option for saving his acorns.

“What is our Rescue Ship called, Snoutie?” asked Robin the Elder.

“I don’t know,” puffed Snoutie in reply, pushing hard with the pole and shifting from hoof to hoof in order to keep his balance. “For some reason, I didn’t have the chance to think of one. Do we really need one anyway?”

“We most certainly do, Snoutie,” Robin objected. “And it has to be a Correct Name, a Suitable Name, and an Appropriate Name. I would even say that it should be a Momentous Name. It’s not uncommon for the fate of a boat to depend on its name.”

“I see, I see,” said Snoutie, shaking his snunk. “I agree.” He had great respect for Robin the Elder, but he did get slightly tired from Robin’s Instructive Speeches. Then he exclaimed, “Luck! Yes, that’s it! Luck!”

“What do you mean to say by that, little Snoutie?” asked Robin importantly, raising his right eyebrow and sweeping his beak around to be sure that the boat was moving in the right direction.

“From now on our boat will be known as Luck. After all, that is exactly what we need today,” said Snoutie, easily pushing aside a log that was floating by with his pole.

Success sailed confidently forth towards the island, where the Economical Lover of Acorns was waiting for his friends’ arrival. Burly Boary also believed in luck.

All the big and small creatures of the Forest had gathered by the shores of the overflowing river and were watching with undisguised interest as the unusually round, orange boat floated past them.

“Snoutie and Robin the Elder are probably taking a trip along the river,” said Loppy the Believing Bunny. “Good for them! That’s an excellent sport!”

“Yes, good for them, of course, but today isn’t the best day for punting,” croaked Croaky the Feel Good Froggy, scratching behind his ear.

“Who is punting, and do I need to be afraid of him? Does he swim quickly?” chattered the Littlest Beaver Cub, who had scampered up onto a large, white mushroom and was listening in on the discussion between Loppy and Croaky.

“Punting, my little one, is sailing in boats with the help of a long pole,” explained Croaky the Feel Good Froggy with some authority.

“How can you talk about sailing in boats and punting? How can you even talk about water sports at all when all our supplies are soaking wet!” said Housey Mousey crossly. “Punting! Pudding! Punting is not pudding, and pudding is exactly what we need in this weather.”

“Yes, p-u-u-u-dding,” said Littlest Beaver Cub dreamily, stretching out the word. “Chocolate mixed with vanilla!” This topic got him so excited that he even took a bite out of the white mushroom he was sitting on.

“I don’t think that Snoutie has set out on a trip along the river,” said Wise Old Owl, shaking his head. “If that were really the case, then I would assume that I would have known something about it. I think that Snoutie has some other Idea in Mind. This isn’t about punting. Or pudding, for that matter,” said Owl gaily, nodding at the Littlest Beaver Cub.

The creatures on the shore had absolutely no idea that the event taking place in front of their eyes was nothing less than an Operation to Save the Lover of Acorns.

“Snoutie is sailing! Snoutie is sailing!” cried the beaver cubs, jumping happily along the shore as they watched the orange Luck sail straight for the island.

Luck made it there right on time: the water had risen right up to the supplies of acorns. Burly Boary, who was standing in the water grunting in alarm, was trying to raise the basket even higher.

“Hop on board, my friend Boary!” cried out Snoutie, pushing the boat right up to the island. “Hurry!” he shouted, fighting against the current to keep the pumpkin in place.

“Take the acorns first!” A worried Burly Boary handed Snoutie the basket, which Snoutie placed on the bottom of the pumpkin. “Now we can get going,” said Boary, satisfied, as he jumped lightly aboard Luck.

Luck swayed dangerously and tilted to the side, but the experienced sportsman Boary scrambled to the middle of the boat, and it straightened.

“Give me the pole, Snoutie,” said Boary, taking the initiative into his hoof. “Ah, this takes me back to my good old days as a student!” Grunting sportily, Boary pushed powerfully off from the shore with the pole.

But Luck didn’t move an inch. Burly Boary wrinkled up his snout crossly, stamped his hoof, and then pushed off again with even more strength. But the boat refused to budge.