But that wild duck!  Oh, my, goodness me!  How he did fly.  Around and around, and around that pond he went, never touching the water once.  Then he came to where Jimmie and Lulu were, and he told them how sorry he felt for them, before he flew away to a far, far distant land, where only wild ducks live.  Then Grandfather Goosey-Gander went up to those two Wibblewobble children, and so did Alice, to lend Lulu her handkerchief.  And Grandfather Goosey said:  “It is better for tame ducks to stay on the water, or on land.  They were not made for flying.”  So that was the end of Jimmie trying to become an air ship.  To-morrow night you may hear about Lulu and the gold fish, that is if the lemon squeezer doesn’t pinch me.

STORY VII

LULU AND THE GOLD FISH

Well, here we are again, after a rest over night, and all ready for another story, I suppose.  Let me see, it was to be about the fairy prince and Alice Wibblewobble—­no, hold on there, I’m wrong.  I know it.  Lulu and the gold fish; to be sure!  Well, here we go.  Now, of course, I could make this about the fairy prince—­in fact, he has something to do with this story—­but as the gold fish has more, I put her name at the top.

Lulu Wibblewobble, the little duck girl, who could throw stones almost as straight as a boy, was swimming around the pond near the pen where she lived.  It was a nice, warm, sunshiny day, and Lulu wanted to do something, but she didn’t just know what.  Jimmie, her brother, was off playing with Bully, the frog, and Alice, her sister, was straightening out her feathers in the back parlor bedroom, where a piece of tin could be used for a looking glass.

All at once Lulu’s mamma called to her: 

“Lulu, I want you to go to the store to get some acorn meal and a yeast cake.  I am going to set bread to-night.  Hurry, now, that’s a good girl.”

“All right, mamma,” answered Lulu, and she steered herself around, just like a motorboat in the water, and started for the store, paddling as hard as she could.

She had not gone very far, with the little ripples and waves chasing each other across the pond, before she saw something swimming close beside her.  Lulu looked down, and what do you think she saw?  Well, you might guess, but then again, you might not, so I’ll tell you.  It was a gold fish.

Oh, it was such a beautiful gold fish, with red and silvery spots and streaks, and a long, feathery tail that looked like lace in the water.

“Hello!” exclaimed Lulu; “I didn’t know you lived here.”

“Oh, yes,” answered the fish.  “I have lived here for some time, but, you see, during the cold weather I stay down in the mud.  However, as it is now spring, I have come up, and I am going to play around all summer.”

“That’s nice,” remarked Lulu.  “What’s your name?”

“My name is Fannie Tail,” replied the fish.  “You see I got that name because my tail is shaped like a fan, but most persons just call me Fan Tail.  You may, if you like.”