The Tale of Timothy Turtle | Page 5

that Timothy Turtle was gratified.
"He must be a fine bird--this Mr. Alligator!" he exclaimed.
Old Mr. Crow spluttered. And he had to hang on tight to save himself
from tumbling off his perch.
A bird! Timothy Turtle thought that Mr. Alligator was a bird!
The mistake was so amusing that Mr. Crow wanted to laugh. But he
knew that would never do--if he wanted any more fun with Timothy
Turtle.
So he pretended to cough. And he wrapped his muffler more snugly
about his neck, remarking that there was a cold wind that day, even
though the sun was warm.

VI
MR. CROW'S KIND OFFER
"I suppose----" Timothy Turtle said to his young friend, old Mr.
Crow--"I suppose Mr. Alligator is a fine flier."
"He's a very powerful fellow," old Mr. Crow replied with a sly smile.
"Did you ever try to follow him?" Timothy wanted to know.
Mr. Crow shook his head.
"No!" he answered. "I shouldn't want to do that, because one never
could tell when he might take a notion to jump into the water."
"Oh! Then he can swim, can he?"
"Certainly!" Mr. Crow assured him.

"Then that's another way in which he's like me!" Timothy Turtle cried.
"And if I could only fly, I'd be still more like him."
"Why don't you learn?" Mr. Crow suggested wickedly.
"I'm too old," Timothy sighed.
"Not at all!" Mr. Crow hastened to assure him. "One can never be too
old to try a thing."
But Timothy Turtle replied that even if he was young enough to
attempt such a feat as flying, he hadn't the least idea of the way to go
about it.
Old Mr. Crow was most helpful.
"I'll tell you what you ought to do," he advised. "You swim down the
creek as far as the big bluff. And it will be a simple matter for you to
climb up to the top of the bluff and jump off the rock that hangs high
up over the water."
Timothy Turtle looked far from happy at that suggestion.
"I shouldn't care to do that," he said.
"Why not?" Mr. Crow asked him. "You know there's only one way of
flying, and that's through the air."
"I might fall," Timothy objected.
"What if you did?" said Mr. Crow glibly. "You'd only fall into the
water. And everybody agrees that you're a fine swimmer.... You aren't
afraid of getting your feet wet, are you?" And he laughed loudly at his
own joke.
For some reason Timothy lost his temper. Perhaps he thought Mr.
Crow was disrespectful to his elders.
"Look here, young man!" he snapped, glaring angrily at old Mr. Crow.

"If you're laughing at me, I'll invite you to drop down here and stand on
the end of my nose."
Old Mr. Crow grew sober at once. The mere thought of perching
himself in so dangerous a place was enough to put a quick end to his
noisy haw-haws.
"My dear sir!" he cried. "I wouldn't dream of standing on the nose of a
fine old gentleman like you. No indeedy! My manners are too good for
that."
Timothy Turtle said bluntly that he had always been told that Mr. Crow
was the rudest person in all Pleasant Valley--unless it was Mr. Crow's
boisterous cousin, Jasper Jay.
When he heard that, Mr. Crow pretended to wipe a tear away from each
of his eyes.
"I've always been misunderstood," he declared mournfully. "I'm really
a kind-hearted soul. And just to prove to you that I want to be helpful,
I'll meet you at the bluff any time you say, and tell you exactly what to
do if you want to learn to fly."
Timothy Turtle seemed to think that the chance was too good a one to
lose.
"I accept your offer," he shouted. "And I'll start downstream this very
moment."

VII
LEARNING TO FLY
Timothy Turtle reached the overhanging bluff in a surprisingly short
time. But it must be remembered that he did not walk there on land, but
swam down Black Creek with the current. When he crawled out upon
the bank he was glad to see that old Mr. Crow was waiting for him, on

a pine stump that stood near the water.
He failed utterly to notice that Mr. Crow was not alone. Hidden in all
sorts of places were as many as a dozen of Mr. Crow's friends. For the
old gentleman had invited his cousin, Jasper Jay, to come to the bluff
"to enjoy the fun," as he expressed it.
"But don't let Timothy Turtle see you!" Mr. Crow had warned Jasper.
"At least, don't let him know you're there until after he has jumped off
the big rock."
Jasper Jay had given his solemn promise.
"And don't let him hear you,