Well, Mr. Eagle certainly told the truth about the way he said I'd
drop. I made the biggest kind of swimming motions in the direction of
one of those little haycocks, but if I made any headway in that
direction I couldn't notice it. I didn't have time, anyway. It seemed to
me that I struck bottom almost before I started from the top; still, I
must have turned myself over, for I landed on my back, exactly in the
center of that flat stone, Mr. Eagle being a center shot.

"He was wrong, though, about me breaking to pieces, and so was the story
you've heard. Our family don't break very easy, and as I said before, my
shell was thick and tough for my age. It was the stone that broke, and
probably saved my life, for if I had hit in a soft place in that marsh
meadow I'd have gone down out of sight and never been able to dig out.

"As it was, I bounced some, and landed right side up close to one of
those little haycocks, and had just about sense and strength enough left
to scrabble under it before Mr. Eagle came swooping down after me, for
he saw what had happened and didn't lose any time.

"But he was too late, for I was under that haycock, and Mr. Eagle had
never had much practice in pitching hay. He just clawed at it on
different sides and abused me as hard as he could for deceiving him, as
he called it, and occasionally I called back to him, and tried to soothe
him, and told him I was sorry not to come out and thank him in person,
but I was so shaken up by the fall that I must rest and collect myself.
Then, by and by he pretended to be very sweet, and said I had done so
well the first time, I ought to take another lesson, and if I'd come out
we'd try it again.

"But I said I couldn't possibly take another lesson to-day, and for him
to come back to-morrow, when I had got over the first one; and then I
heard him talking to himself and saying it was growing late and he must
be getting home with something to eat for those brats, and pretty soon I
heard his big wing sound; but I didn't come out, for I thought he was
most likely just trying to fool me, and was sailing around overhead and
waiting, which I still think he was, for a while. After a long time,
though, I worked over where I could see out a little, and then I found
it was night, and, of course, Mr. Eagle had really gone home.

"So then I worked along across the meadows, being pretty sore and
especially lame in the left hind leg, where Mr. Eagle had gripped me,
though