THERE HAS BEEN SOME discussion among the characters. The question came up of how to bring this book to a proper ending. C.C. thought it best to show you a map, along with clear instructions on how to find the Very, Very Far North. Handsome was sure you’d want a list of his grooming tips. Magic thought it would be a great trick to reprint the same stories over and over again so that you stayed up all night reading them until you finally figured out something was wrong, but by then it would be morning and you would be too tired to go to school. Major Puff insisted that a complete history of all the puffin wars would fit in perfectly. Boo then said, “It would make the book too long.” Nobody heard her except Twitch, but she didn’t want to repeat what Boo said so as not to hurt the Major’s feelings. Duane said that I should end the book with something that is fun, that takes place in winter, and that involves a bit of adventure, but nothing too scary.
Well, that started a whole new discussion. Many stories were suggested, but this is what the characters agreed upon:
Duane awoke from a refreshing nap with more energy than he knew what to do with.
When he tried to sit still, his left foot tapped. When he focused on keeping his left foot still, his claws twiddled. When he concentrated on keeping his claws still, his right foot began to shake. So he left his cave and walked over to the frozen river, because a day when you have more energy than you know what to do with is a day when you should be practicing your sliding.
It had been Duane’s goal for a long time to be able to reach the other side of the river with a single slide. Standing at the riverbank, he felt confident that this would be the day. The conditions were perfect. The river ice was smooth, and what little wind Duane detected was blowing from behind. “Plus, I have more energy than I know what to do with,” he said to himself.
For this historic attempt, a running start was necessary. Duane would need to pick up as much speed as possible. He walked back from the smooth ice, up the riverbank side, counting fifty steps out loud as he went along. “One, two, three, four . . .” But when he got to steps thirty-seven and higher, he lost interest in counting numbers and started thinking of other things to count, like Snow Delight flavors. “Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, blackberry, huckleberry, forty-five, strawberry, thirty-two, raspberry . . .” So it is very likely that he took fewer than fifty steps, or perhaps many more.
In any case, Duane eventually stopped and turned to face the frozen river. If he made it across to the other side, he would have an amazing story to tell his friends later. He could well imagine their expressions of awe and their demands that he tell the story again. There might be an impromptu celebration including Snow Delights of different flavors, all raised in a toast to Duane’s accomplishment. Unless they didn’t believe him. Unless they thought he was exaggerating. Unless they demanded proof. Then he would have to slide again with everyone watching so that there would be witnesses.
But what if he didn’t have as much energy for that attempt? What if he was slightly tuckered out from the first attempt or from eating several delicious blackberry Snow Delights? What if he didn’t slide completely across the river the second time? His friends would think he’d lied, even though he absolutely did make it across the first time. Why even bother trying the first time if everyone was going to call him a liar later? Duane was offended that his friends wouldn’t give him the benefit of the doubt. True friends should believe one another, he insisted, and he was about to say just that when he remembered that his friends weren’t there. “This whole conversation has been happening in my head,” he scolded himself. “And I still don’t even know if I can make it across the river yet.”
With a shrug, Duane took off down the riverbank, going as fast as his legs would carry him. Whoosh! went the air rushing to get out of his way. Duane felt unstoppable. As he reached the frozen shore, he lunged forward headfirst, his belly making slippery contact with the flat, smooth ice. Whoosh! went the air again. Duane slid at a stupendous speed. It was amazing. It felt as if he hadn’t yet slowed down at all. In seconds he had already crossed a quarter of the way. “At this rate, I will make it across to the other side for sure.”
Duane’s attention was drawn to a figure coming toward him along the frozen ice. It was Sun Girl. Duane knew it was Sun Girl because she was wearing the bright red parka she loved so much. What a relief, thought Duane, for now I will have a witness to my record-breaking slide so I won’t have to do it again later to prove to my friends that I did it a first time.
“Sun Girl!” Duane yelled. “Look at me! I’m about to make history!”
If Sun Girl yelled anything back, Duane was still too far away to hear it, but she did wave in greeting. “If she waved, that means she saw me. And if she then sees me reach the other side, my friends will have to believe me and hold a party in my honor, and I will eat lots of delicious Snow Delights.” Even at the speed he was sliding across the ice, Duane could still take the time to imagine how delicious one or four blackberry Snow Delights would taste.
“Although, I wonder,” Duane hesitated, “if Sun Girl was really saying hello. Waving both arms frantically doesn’t really seem like a proper hello greeting. It seems more of a wave one would give if you were trying to warn someone of something.”
And that was when Duane noticed a large round hole cut in the river ice, directly in the path he was sliding along. “Definitely a warning wave,” Duane concluded.
With great effort, he attempted to stop his slide, first by using his front paws, then by using his back paws, then by using all paws, and then by trying to flip himself onto his back. All he managed to do was rotate 180 degrees so that he was sliding tailfirst instead of headfirst, which still had its merits, because when he finally did slide directly into the ice hole, he found himself stuck snugly in the river from the waist down, which is much better than being stuck the other way, from the waist up.
“Hello, Duane,” said Sun Girl when she reached him. “I see you’ve found my fishing hole.”
“I did,” Duane agreed. “Were you having much success?”
“Not at first,” replied Sun Girl, “but it seems I’ve caught a polar bear.”
“Yes, that would be me.”
“Will you be there long, Duane?” asked Sun Girl. “I did have my heart set on a fish dinner tonight.”
“I completely understand. And I shouldn’t be more than two shakes of a paw.” Duane pushed his front paws down against the ice in an effort to lift himself out of the hole. Even with having more energy than he knew what to do with, he didn’t have much success. “Maybe four shakes of a paw,” he clarified. Again he tried, but the results were no different.
“I was wondering,” Duane began, “perhaps you could encourage larger fish to come by if you cut your fishing hole a little bit wider?”
“I would do that, except my ice saw went into the water along with my fishing spear when you slid into the hole.”
“Oh,” said Duane, discouraged. “In that case, would you ask some of my friends to come and help? I’m quite wedged in here, and my bottom is getting very, very wet.”
Sun Girl agreed, and while she went off in search of assistance, Duane continued staying wedged in the fishing hole, pondering how the day was turning out quite differently from how he had imagined. There would be no historical single slide across the river, no amazing story to tell, and no impromptu celebration complete with blackberry Snow Delights. “You can’t plan these things,” he told himself. “You can have hopes and you can have goals, but a day will take you where a day wants to go.”
Eventually, Sun Girl returned with Handsome, Boo, Major Puff, Twitch, and Magic, as well as her eight sled dogs who referred to themselves as the Pack. She tied one end of a rope around Duane’s waist and then wrapped the remaining length around everyone else except Major Puff, who felt he would be more useful giving commands.
“Heave!” shouted the Major.
The team of friends did heave, and the ice around Duane began to crack.
“Heave!” shouted the Major, this time with even more vigor. “Come on; put some muscle into it!”
The fishing hole’s edge started to crumble.
“Heave!” shouted the Major, who was quite enjoying himself. “We’re nearly there, lads!”
With a definitive pop, Duane was set free, sending the team of friends onto their backsides. Only seconds later, C.C. flew in to join the group. She’d been following Duane’s ordeal through her telescope back on the Shipwreck and rushed over as soon as she could with a small jar of grease. Sadly, her arrival was too late to apply some science to the situation.
Duane stood up and shook himself off. Together with Sun Girl, he inspected the fishing hole, which now looked much less round. “I seem to have broken it,” he said apologetically.
Sun Girl nodded in agreement.
Duane felt personally responsible, so he crouched beside the hole and thrust one paw into the water. He thrashed about for a few seconds and shortly after, the ice saw and spear bobbed up to the surface. Sun Girl was grateful.
“Come on, Duane!” demanded Magic. “We are all dying to know how you became wedged in the fishing hole!”
“No doubt, there is an amusing story worth telling, yes?” asked Handsome.
“As a matter of fact, there is,” began Duane. “You see, I woke up from a nap with more energy than I knew what to do with, so I—”
Twitch interrupted. “I would like to suggest that we continue hearing the story at my and Major Puff’s residence. We will be serving tea, and berries that I’ve saved from last summer. Snow Delights are optional for those who prefer them.”
The present company, including Sun Girl and the Pack, approved of this suggestion, allowing the Major to take the lead. “This way, lads!”
Duane held back until everyone had gone up ahead. He looked one last time at the broken fishing hole that had prevented him from making history. But he grinned a very big grin anyway, because in a short while, he would be encircled by his friends, telling them an interesting story and eating blackberry Snow Delights. “Sometimes a day has a change of heart and decides to take you where you want to go.”
