"I suppose you'd better try to cross the sea," said the squirrel.
So Teddy put one foot on the edge, then the other foot and then he took one step, and then he landed flat on his back with a most awful thump. This both surprised and hurt him, and he crawled on his hands and knees to the bank, feeling discouraged.
"I think I had better peel an orange," he said, " I'll never be able to walk over."
The squirrel agreed to this, and they did it together, being very careful to throw the peel behind them, so that they should not step on it.
Just as they finished, the orange slipped from Teddy's hand, skipped off on the sea, and turned into a pair of beautiful big wheels, all nicely rubber tired, like bicycle wheels, and with a little seat swung in between them. Teddy was much delighted, and lost no time in taking the seat. The wheels instantly began to roll over the sea, and when he was very nearly across he saw to his horror, looming up on the opposite bank, a very large bright green Griffin, with a long scaly tail, and very big claws. The wheels seemed to be as frightened as Teddy, for they stopped short, and Teddy and the Griffin looked at each other. Finally the Griffin roared at him.
"What do you want here boy?" Teddy didn't wish to say what he really wanted, so he gave a pleasant smile, and said:
"I came to see you." The Griffin looked as if he didn't believe that, and invited Teddy ashore, but Teddy was not to be caught so easily, and he invited the Griffin to come out on the Looking-glass Sea. This the Griffin refused to do, and Teddy asked the wheels to wheel him as close to the bank as was safe, which they did, then the little seat lowered him to the ice, and the wheels disappeared.
Teddy sat there and looked at the Griffin, and wondered what the next move should be, when it suddenly occurred to him that it was time to use another orange. There was no place to leave the peel except on the sea, but the squirrel managed to carry the pieces quite off to the right, so that they wouldn't be in the way.
When Teddy had finished peeling, the orange slipped out of his hand, just as the other had done, shot to the bank, and promptly turned into a dozen little cakes.
"Have some cake," said Teddy.