Our Pond

Chapter 9

NOZZLE, always worked from a plan.

The secret of a good plan was to have the animals that were going to do the work, also be the ones that made the plan . . . with his help, of course. Everything should be included, and those animals were the ones that would know what everything was!

NOZZLE knew they had to work fast!

A huge amount of water was gushing down the hill. They must quickly build a pathway for the water to get down to the lake area--and not make a swamp on the way. Hundreds, and hundreds, of Wise Birds would have to  build  that  pathway, and dig a big, deep place for the Lake itself--or  there  were going to be floods everywhere.

They needed to dig a drinking pond to catch the first water  coming out of  the hole immediately!  NOZZLE wanted  this to be a drinking pond large enough for every bird to get a long drink every day.

NOZZLE knew this had to be done right away.

He jumped up, and called all the Friends of Our Pond that he could see, to follow him. He ran over to the surging water coming out of the side of the hill, waded in, and used his long nose to start digging a low place. This would become the first drinking area.

CLUMP, the toad, was there. He hopped slowly into the water, and began digging until he disappeared--maybe for a sleep on the bottom? SNAG was soon there to help. But he only stayed  a short while. He had other work to  direct.

Then, suddenly the White Cloud Bird COMMANDER sailed down on his great wings. That was all it took! He nodded his head, and an organized line of Birds, with beaks open, began crashing into the water. Things got very muddy,  but  soon  there was a nice pool. The Birds had dug it with an overflow stream, pointed down the hill, where the Lake would  be  formed.

The job was quickly done!

NOZZLE stepped back out of the water, which was mostly clear, waved to the COMMANDER, and shouted, “ Wow!”

NOZZLE would always wonder how the Birds had learned to do that digging so fast.

The COMMANDER smiled, and shouted, “ Wow!” back.

The COMMANDER had never really learned how to  use  the word ‘Wow’. From that first day of ‘BIG WATER’ success,  he  had used it as a greeting. When the COMMANDER saw  NOZZLE, he always shouted, “ Wow” . Maybe it was confusing, but ‘Wow’ always meant a lot to both of    them.

The size and shape of the Lake had to be decided. How much water was there going to be in the Lake? Where would some of it go when the Lake was full? They were leaving that to SNAG, and POSEY, who would have to direct the great work from start  to finish.

SNAG, and POSEY, would have to outline the edge of the Lake with logs, and mud, to form a heavy, thick wall. SNAG would choose the logs, and cut them into shape.  POSEY, with the  help of NOZZLE, would have to push the logs into place, and hundreds of Birds would have to bring huge loads of mud to stick it all together. This was going to take days, and days, of real work.

What was the big secret that JAZZ kept saying was not ready yet? NOZZLE knew it was something very important. Whatever it was, JAZZ went away with some Wise, White Birds every day. Each day, the number of Birds seemed to get bigger and bigger, and they worked somewhere on something new.

NOZZLE never tried to discover the secret. JAZZ was his oldest friend. NOZZLE knew that whatever it was, it was going to be super--and everyone would love the surprise. Little  did NOZZLE know what a great surprise it would be,  but  the  speed of that first digging of the Drinking Pool might have given him a hint.

As soon as the water started to flow, the White Bird area was a happier place. No one was ‘THIRSTY’. The work was long, and hard, but they all enjoyed the  progress.  HIDE,  and  RIDE,  found all the Birds that needed the “mint cure”, and organized extra Word lessons for Birds that were late in  getting  their  “mint”.

Our Pond, and the Apple Tree Hill, were pretty far apart. For those that had to walk, a  ride with  POSEY  and her  Chariot was fun, but the trip was not all that fast. If you were a Bird,    or for that matter, a dragonfly, the trip  was  quick--a  flight back and forth between the two Communities only  took  a  short time.

Our Pond was still Our Pond, and all the Friends of Our Pond lived together. The Birds had Words. They could all talk to each other--and hundreds  of Birds and animals did it all   day.

But, there were still two Communities, and they were a bit different.