... little crayfish ...

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ohhhhhhhhhh ....

the little crayfish sighed ...

as he woke up ...

he wiggled his antennas ...

to shake the little bubbles that ....

that gathered on them while he slept ...

the tiny bubbles floated off ....

to the surface of the little pond ...

he had fallen asleep ...

in the opening of the hole where he lived ...

it was just below the surface of the pond ...

.............................................


it was going to be another beautiful day ...

he decided to go up to the edge of the pond ...

as he popped his head out of the water ...

he saw that there was a mist hanging over the pond ...

the sun was coming up ...

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it had been a very rainy spring ...

raining almost every day ...

the pond was as deep as he had ever seen ...

the ground above the pond ...

was wet ...

it had never had a chance to dry out ...

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the little crayfish ducked back down into the pond ...

to walk along the bottom of it ...

there he met his friend ...

the minnows ...

they always swam together in a school ...

they gathered around him ...

and started to nibble at him ...

this always tickled him ...

he didn't mind ....

because this is the way they cleaned his shell ...

the minnows then swam away ...

the little crayfish walked on ...

as he walked ...

he wondered to himself ...

what will i do today ...

he thought ...

i have lived all my life in this little pond ...

it had been a good place to live ...

he wondered what was out side the pond ...

maybe i should go for a walk ...

on the grounds around the pond ...

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so, he swam to the edge of the pond ....

he can't swim the way the minnows do ...

swimming forward ...

looking straight ahead ...

he swims ...

using his tail ....

snapping it ....

swimming backwards ...

he can still see were he is going ...

because his eyes stick out of his head on long stalks ...

reaching the edge of the pond ...

he crawls out ...

looking around ..

which way should i go ...

he thinks to himself ...

he sees a big shady tree ...

i will go that way ...

and off he goes toward the tree ...

as he walks ...

he passes though ...

the tall grasses and wild flowers ....

they are covered in the morning dew ...

sparkling in the sun light ...

he wades though the little puddles ....

it is good for him ...

he must keep his shell wet ...

he get to the bottom of the shady tree ...

and looks around ...

it's at the top of a little hill ...

from there he can see far ...

i think i will go a little farther ...

and so, he does ...

as he goes onward ...

the clouds start to cover the sun ...

it begins to rain ...

it is a light misty rain ...

it feels good to him ...

keeping his shell wet ...

i am so glad that i went for this walk ...

he thinks to himself ...

he finds a large patch of tall beautiful flowers ..

there are all kinds and colors ...

he has never seen any thing like these before ...

he walks into the middlle of them ...

then circling around and around ...

enjoying the beautiful surroundings ...

the air around the flowers smelt so sweet ...

he could have stay there forever ...

then, he realized that he had lost his way ...

every direction seemed the same to him ...

what will i do to get back to my little pond ...

as he thought ...

the rain came down harder ..

big drops of rain were hitting his shell ...

it rained so hard ...

it made walking difficult for the little crayfish ...

then, he saw it ...

a hole at the bottom of a big flower ...

it reminded him of his own home in the pond ...

so he went in ...

it was big enough for him to crawl into ...

so, down he went in ...

when he got to the bottom ...

the tunnel opened up very wide and deep ...

with several small holes on the side ...

i'll stay here till the rain stops ...

then he rested for a while ...

this has been good day ...

i am so glad to have gone on my walk ...

but i still have to find my way home ...

then he heard something ...

it sounded like scratching ...

all of a sudden ...

another hole appeared on the side of the tunnel ...

out of it ...

came a little mouse ...

they looked at each other ...

crayfish never saw a creature like this before ...

the mouse was covered with a soft fur ...

and had a long thin tail ...

the mouse never saw a crayfish before too ....

with his hard shell, antennas, and fan like tail ..

is this your home ...

crayfish said to the mouse ...

yes, it is said the mouse ...

i only came in here to get out of the rain ...

your welcome to stay said the mouse ...

so they began to talk to each other ...

crayfish talked of the walk he was on ...

and how he found himself in the tall flowers ...

the mouse called where his home was a garden ...

he had lived there all his life ...

they both noticed ...

the sound of the rain ...

had stopped while they were talking ...

good, said the crayfish ...

now,i can go home ...

but i'm afraid that i have lost my way ...

maybe i can help you, said the mouse ...

i know the grounds around the garden well ...

what did you walk by on your way here ...

there was a very big shade tree ...

that i walked by on my way here ...

said the little crayfish ...

i think i know that tree ...

i like to climb up it ...

to eat the acorns that grow there ...

follow me ...

i'll show you the way ...

off they went ...

soon they were at the shade tree ...

on the top of the hill ...

this looked very familiar the the crayfish ...

then he saw his little pond ...

thank you for showing me the way home ...

they both went down to the edge of the pond ...

the little mouse took a drink from it ...

the water tasted very sweet to the mouse ...

come here to drink at my pond any time ...

said the crayfish ...

thank you, i will ...

it would be nice to see you again ...

they both said together ....

they both giggled at that ...

it started to rain again ...

i better get home said the mouse ...

off he ran ...

dodging the rain drops as he went ...

crayfish slid into the water ...

and down to the hole he called home ...

what a wonderful day it had been ...

he thought ...

what will i do tomorrow ...

it felt good to be a ...

... little crayfish ...

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