straight, and they were, believe me, as straight as straight can be.

Well, of course, Jimmie won the race, being a very good swimmer, but Lulu
was close behind him, and would have beaten, only one of her legs got
caught in a weed. Now I call that too bad, don't you? For I was hoping,
all the while, that Lulu would win. But you never can tell what is going
to happen in this world; now can you? No, indeed.

"Let's race back again," proposed Lulu, after she had rested.

"Oh, don't race any more," spoke Alice, swimming up just then. "Let's walk
out on land and see if we can't find some nice corn meal. I'm sure it must
be almost dinner time, and I just love corn meal."

"I know something better than that," suddenly said a quivery-quavery
voice, right beside the ducks, and when they looked around who should be
there but Mr. Goosey-Gander, the grandfather of all the ducks in the pen.
"I know something better than corn meal, little ones," he said, and he
splashed his wings in the water.

"What is it?" asked Lulu, as quickly as you can shoot a marble into the
ring and out again. "Is it gum drops?"

"No," answered Grandfather Goosey-Gander, "it is not gum drops. It is
better than that. It is nice, sweet roots and grasses that grow down under
water," and, with that, what do you think he did? Why, he stood right up
on his head, and reached his bill down beneath the pond, and got some of
the nicest grass that ever was. "There," said the old gentleman duck,
poking up his head, "do as I did, little ones."