"I should think you'd rather walk a mile," said Susie, looking at Joe's shoes, "than come down that bank when it's so muddy."
"Humph! we don't mind a little mud," said Dick, wiping his feet on the grass.
"You've brought some of your land over to us, I see," laughed Uncle Robert. "Mr. Leonard will be obliged to you. He is always glad when the soil is left on his side."
"I don't see why it is," said Joe, "that our land is being cut away all the time and yours is getting bigger. It isn't fair."
"We can't help it, Joe," said Susie. "It's the river that does it. You ask Uncle Robert. He'll tell you all about it."
"I can tell you how it is," said Donald. "You know how strong the current is over on your side? Well, that's the reason your land is washed away. The water flows slower here, so it drops all the stuff it brings with it on our side. See?"
"My!" said Dick, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "doesn't he know a lot!"
"Well, it's so," declared Donald, giving his head a nod. "You can see it yourself if you keep your eyes open."
"My eyes are always open," said Dick, "but that doesn't keep our land."
"You ought to have a creek," said Frank, "if you want your land to grow.
Just look, uncle, what a lot of dirt has been left here."