“Oh, we’ll be careful, but we are going to become flying machines just the same,” said Jimmie.

So the wild duck flew up on the fence, which was at one edge of the pond, and, oh, how beautiful he looked with the sun shining on his finely colored feathers.  Jimmie had quite a struggle to get on the top rail of the fence, and so did Lulu, but they finally managed it, and, just as they stood beside the wild duck, who should come along but Grandfather Goosey-Gander.  He asked the two Wibblewobble children what they were going to do, and when Jimmie said they were going to learn to become flying machines, the old duck said, “Humph!” just as quickly as he could.

“If you had such hard work getting to the top of the fence, how do you think you can fly across the pond?” he asked, and then he sneezed three times, for he was catching cold.

“Oh, we will do it,” answered Jimmie, for, of course, you see, he really thought he could.

But something is going to happen, just as sure as you can add up two and three and make five out of them.

“Are you all ready?” asked the wild duck of Jimmie and Lulu, as they stood beside him, balanced on the fence rail.

“Yes,” replied Jimmie, trying to stop his heart from beating so rapidly, “we are ready, Mr. Wild Duck.  You fly and we will fly also.”

“Watch me carefully,” said the beautiful creature, “and do exactly as I do.”

They were just about to fly, when the old rooster, who had been picking up corn down the road, come running up.

“Hold on!” he cried, “I can fly as good as that wild duck!  Wait for me and we will have a race!”

So they waited until the old rooster got up on the fence rail, too.  Then the wild duck counted:  “One to begin with, two for a show, three to make ready and four to go!”

Then he flapped his wings, gave a loud “squawk-squawk” and sailed over that pond as nice as you please.

Well, of course, I’ve got to tell exactly what happened, or it wouldn’t be fair.  Jimmie tried to fly, but I wish you could have seen him.  He only went a little way, and then, because his body was too heavy for his wings, or because his wings were too light for his body, he came flopping right down to the ground, ker-thump, and he hurt his nose considerably, let me tell you, for considerably is quite a lot.

Well, poor Lulu, if she didn’t fall, too!  Yes, sir, she turned a somersault right in the air, before all those watching ducks, and she, too, came down ker-flimmax-ker-flump, and she hurt her left-hand wing.  Then she cried once, “Boo-hoo!” just like that.  Then she stopped.

Jimmie didn’t cry at all, if you’ll believe me, no, sir, not a mite, but he felt badly all the same.  And then that rooster!  Oh, dear me, how foolish some roosters are, anyhow, now aren’t they, really?  Well, he started off all right, but just then the wind got in the wrong place, and it turned him upside down.  Now, no rooster can fly upside down, no matter what else he can do, so that one came flippity-flop down into the water ker-splash-ker-sposh; and one more besides!  Maybe he didn’t feel mortified!