Barney told the Brownies that the one who did the best in the swimming lesson would be the first to ride the sea horse.
Mrs. Williams and Miss Gordon decided they would go into the ocean too. The teacher removed her wrist watch, slipping it into the pocket of her beach robe. She left the robe lying in plain view on the sand.
“Now kiddies,” said Barney when the Brownies had gathered in a circle about him. “We’re going to pretend to be jellyfish. Watch me!”
Wading out a few feet into deeper, smoother water, he flung himself face downward in the water.
The Brownies were surprised to see that although he didn’t move arms or legs, he floated easily on the water’s surface.
“How do you breathe?” Connie asked when the life guard stood up again.
“Just hold it,” Barney instructed. “And lie perfectly still on the water. It’s easy.”
One by one the Brownies tried to float like jellyfish. Connie and Jane weren’t afraid to put their faces in the water. They learned to float quite easily.
Sunny, Rosemary and Vevi didn’t like to get their feet off the sand even when Barney held their hands and pulled them along.
“I don’t like being a jellyfish,” Vevi complained. “Whenever I put my face in the water, I taste salt.”