"Oh, don't you do it, Jimmie!" cried Lulu, who came along just then with
Alice. "Maybe you can't get the stone loose, and you'll be drowned!"

"Oh, I guess not," answered Jimmie. "I can stay under water a long time. I
want to see how it feels to dive in--ker plunk!--like a frog."

"I'm going to tell mamma," cried Alice.

"Tattle-tale! Tattle-tale!" called Jimmie. "I never tell on you!"

"Well, then, I won't tell," said Alice, "but Lulu and I will stay close
by, so if you can't get the stone off we can help you."

"Well, that's kind of you," spoke her brother, "but I'll be all right. You
will see me stand on my head, just like Bully does, and dive under the
water."

So he got a stone and a piece of long grass for a string, and Bully tied
the stone around Jimmie's neck. Now, this was a very risky thing to do,
but, you see, Jimmie didn't know any better. Neither did Bully. But you
just wait and see what happens. I'm coming to it very shortly now.

Pretty soon the stone was tied on good and tight, and then Jimmie and
Bully stood on the edge of the pond.

"Are you all ready?" asked Bully.

"Yep," replied Jimmie, and he stretched out his neck, for it felt funny to
have a stone tied around it. Oh, how foolish some ducks are; now, aren't
they, honestly?