“My dear,” said Little Joe, “this is the poorest fishing I have ever known. So much of the Laughing Brook is frozen over that only a few places are left in which we can fish. And we have already caught most of the fish in those places. We have got to do something about it.”
“I’ve been thinking that very thing,” replied Mrs. Otter. “Shall we take the youngsters down to the Big River?”
“I know of another brook, a bigger brook than this, which has deep spring holes in it, and many places where the water is swift and does not freeze. We might go there first,” said Little Joe.
“Is it far from here?” asked Mrs. Otter.
Little Joe admitted that it was very far from there. “But what of it?” said he. “It will give the youngsters a chance to see something of the Great World, and that will be good for them. When we reach that brook we can stay there as long as there is good fishing, and then follow it down to the Big River. Then we can come down the Big River and so back here to the Laughing Brook.”
Mrs. Otter thought this over for a few minutes. “Wouldn’t such a journey over land be dangerous?” she asked.
“Are you afraid?” asked Little Joe.
“Not for myself,” snapped Mrs. Otter rather sharply. “It is the children I am thinking of.”
“They’ve never been in any real danger,” said Little Joe. “It would be a good thing for them to make a journey on which they must watch out all the time. It would teach them how to take care of themselves.”
Mrs. Otter scratched her nose thoughtfully. “When do we start?” she asked very suddenly.