JUNE 11: The Waves’ Adventures
When the waves were told they could leave Mother Ocean they weren’t so happy as they had expected to be.
They had really expected Mother Ocean to forbid them to go—then they could continue grumbling, which they were quite enjoying. Now they felt they must start at once to show that they were really anxious to see the world. They didn’t want to let Mother Ocean see that they would rather stay where they were quite comfortable and where they could grumble! Mother Ocean was sighing a little.
“I’m sorry to see you go,” she said. “It’s the first time any of my children or grandchildren have wanted to leave me.”
The Waves didn’t look at Mother Ocean. Instead, they pulled their beautiful white caps down over their heads and shed a salt water tear or two. Then they picked up their shell suit-cases from Mother Ocean’s ground floor, packed in their sea-weed nighties and their best sea-green suits and sea-blue party dresses and were off.
They ran over the beach and rudely went right over the feet of some people who were sitting down on the beach reading books. Then they scrambled on, stumbled and scrambled on a little farther.
“Oh dear,” said one of the waves; “oh dear, the sun makes me feel so dizzy.”
“And I feel so hot and dry,” said another. “Oh dear, oh dear! I must weep.” But not even any salt tears would come to the wave’s dry eyes.
“Are you ready to have adventures?” asked a little creature who suddenly came up to the waves. He looked like a little brownie and he seemed quite amused at meeting the waves. “I’ve heard you wanted to see the world and to do great things,” he continued. They wanted to tell him he would look far better in a cool green suit than in his warm-looking brown one, but suddenly they realized that they could only speak the language of the ocean and that he couldn’t understand them, though they could understand him, for they had so often heard people speak.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say,” he grinned, “but I suppose you mean to say ‘Yes,’ as I’ve been told you’ve come to see the world.
“Well, first we shall take a trip through some forests.”
They tried to follow the brownie, and found it was very hard work. He led them along so fast, and they couldn’t make him understand that they’d like a drink of water and a cooling bath.
Pretty soon they found themselves in some very dark forests. All around them were strange birds calling to each other and singing songs about juicy worms. The waves trembled, for they thought the birds might sing soon about juicy waves, and then might swallow them down!
And they saw strange animals, rabbits and woodchucks and squirrels, all quite small but very terrifying to the waves.
They saw some little red lizards and small snakes which wriggled along and which didn’t seem in the least friendly like fishes.
After they had passed through the forests and had been frightened almost out of their wits the brownie hurried them along to the edge of a city and then right into the city.