Muskrat Is Grumpy

Part One · Too Bright

Muskrat woke up grumpy. He could not explain why. Nothing had gone wrong at all.

The sunshine was too bright. The frogs were too noisy. The water was too wet.

"The water is always wet," said Muskrat. "It is a pond." That made him grumpier.

Newt hopped over. "Good morning!" he said. "It is a lovely day!"

"No," said Muskrat. Newt's tail drooped. He went away to think of something better.

Part Two · Cheering Up

Newt came back with a joke. It was about a frog in a hat.

He told it three times, louder each time. Muskrat covered both of his ears.

Heron appeared next. She said nothing. She held out a yellow water lily.

Muskrat looked at it. It was a perfectly nice lily. That made him grumpier still.

"I do not want a lily," he said. Heron put it down very carefully and stepped back.

Part Three · Beside Him

Then Duck came. She did not sing. She did not bring a thing.

She sat down in the mud beside him. Her quack was the loudest in the pond. She kept it shut.

They sat there for a long time. A cloud drifted across the sun. The reeds went quiet.

The shade was back, the cool kind. Muskrat let his tail slide into the water. It was not too wet at all.

"I am still grumpy," said Muskrat. "All right," said Duck. She did not move away.

Later, Heron set the lily on the log between them. Duck split a bunch of cress. She gave Muskrat the biggest piece.