And do you know why the tug boat and the steamer were talking like this? It is because they were afraid they might bump into some other ship in the fog for they can’t see in the fog. You know how white and thick the fog can be.
So the old steamer and the little tug boat both kept tooting until they were way out in the middle of the river.
“Toot, toot, I’m moving.” “Tootootootootoot, I’m awful smart.”
Now when they were way out in the middle of the river, the little tug boat dropped the rope from the big steamer and turned around. As it puffed away it called out:
“Too-too-too-tootoot, I’m going home
Too-too-too-tootoot, I’m awful smart.”
Then the big steamer moved slowly down the river towards the great ocean calling through the fog:
“Toot, toot, I’m moving.”
Up on the captain’s bridge stood the pilot. He is the man who tells just where to make the steamer go in the harbor. He knows where everything is. He knows where the rocks are on the right and he didn’t let the steamer bump them. He knows where the sand reef is on the left and he didn’t let the steamer get on to that. He knows just where the deep water is and he kept the steamer in it all the time.