He is too polite and good-natured to do anything
like that. So Jerry sat on the end of an old log and watched
Paddy work. The first thing to build was the foundation. This was
of mud and grass with sticks worked into it to hold it together.
Paddy dug the mud from the bottom of his new pond. And because
the pond was new, there was a great deal of grassy sod there,
which was just what Paddy needed. It was very convenient.
Jerry watched a little while and then, because Jerry is a worker
himself, he just had to get busy and help. Rather timidly he told
his big cousin that he would like to have a share in building the
new house.
"All right," replied Paddy, "that will be fine. You can bring mud
while I am getting the sticks and grass."
So Jerry dived down to the bottom of the pond and dug up mud and
piled it on the foundation and was happy. The little stars looked
down and twinkled merrily as they watched the two workers. So the
foundation grew and grew down under the water. Jerry was very
much surprised at the size of it. It was ever and ever so much
bigger than the foundation for his own house. You see, he had
forgotten how much bigger Paddy is.
Each night Jerry and Paddy worked, resting during the daytime.
Occasionally Bobby Coon or Reddy Fox or Unc' Billy Possum or
Jimmy Skunk would come to the edge of the pond to see what was
going on. Peter Rabbit came every night. But they couldn't see
much because, you know, Paddy and Jerry were working under water.
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