The river was wide enough for the two magically-sized swans to swim side-by-side. Orson looked over to see her rummage around in the satchel and bring out another book. It shrank in size, and Shelly took it from her, handing Jane her old book in exchange. Jane dropped that one back into the pouch and settled it beside her once more.

She turned and caught him staring at her. His stomach dropped when she scowled and turned away, turning all her attention to the book in her hands. He sighed. He would have to apologize again, maybe even a few times before her anger would pass.

The rain started, gentle at first, then progressed to a tremendous downpour. He, and all his companions, stayed dry, protected by bubbles of magic that surrounded each bird. Archibald and Wendy were special friends, and Orson was grateful for their help. The two swans were well known by all for their adventurous nature, the kind that was perfect for their mission.

"Hey! G'day, mate!" came a voice from the other side of Archibald.

Orson spied a river otter on his back, paddling alongside. Orson waved. "Hi. How are you?"

"Where you ankle-biters off to?" hollered the otter.

Ordon scowled. He didn't like being called a child. He knew he was small for his age, but he hadn't been five in quite some time. He almost snapped something snarky to the animal but kept his temper in check. It never hurt to be polite.

"We're going to the mountains. We're on a mission assigned by my father." Orson emphasized 'father,' knowing the otter would figure out who that was pretty quick. Only Mr. Thomas would have the clout to send someone on a mission, with permission to use the swans, no less.

The otter, annoyingly, wasn't impressed. "On walkabout, then. Yeah, well, we thought you might be hosting a tide turner."

"That we are, my good man!" Archibald declared.

"Wait..." Orson began. A party was not what they needed right now. It was vital they reach the mountains.

"It's a floating one, though," the swan insisted. "Must be on the move, you know. Serious business and all that."

"Right, right. Well, I'll go let me friends know about it, mate. Be back!" The otter dove under the water and disappeared.

"Archibald! Don't get distracted, okay? We need to get to the mountains!" Orson pleaded.

"Right you are! And so we shall. Not a thing says we can't have fun on the way!" insisted the bird.

Orson heard Jane squeal in delight.

"A talking otter!"

He both rolled his eyes and smiled. It seemed unlikely that Jane would ever get used to the magic of his realm. He wanted to find it annoying but instead found it endearing. He'd never been around someone with such childlike wonder.

"We're going to have a 'walkabout tide tuner.'" he shouted to her.

"A what?" she called back.

He explained, "A floating party as we paddle upstream. The otters are our first guests."

Jane beamed, her anger of minutes before gone. "Fun! What can I do?"

He thought for a moment. "You might also ask Shelly if sweet stuff might be in the bag. Otters love sugar, even though it makes them even more hyper."

Jane and Shelly got busy pulling out cakes, sweet rolls, and candy. There was an entire raft of otters heading toward them from the shore by the time they finished. Orson cocked an eyebrow when he noticed many were on their backs instead of swimming properly, carrying something. He soon saw what: many frogs and the occasional bullfrog were hitching rides.

Oh, this is going to be fun, he thought. Jane will love the singing frogs.

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As soon as the ferried frogs arrived, Jane invited them aboard Wendy, with the swan's permission, of course. The amphibians gratefully hopped onto her back and arranged themselves as a choir, smaller frogs in front and larger bullfrogs in back.

Jane gasped when they began to sing a Gregorian chant, one that she had heard a few times in the big church when her family had visited the city.

"That was beautiful!" she exclaimed, happiness bubbling through her. "Do you know the ballad 'Foy Porter?'"

The choir director bowed to her. "Of course! Any good bard worth their salt knows 'Foy Porter!'"

The frogs began the ballad, one of chivalrous love between the singer and his lady. She hummed along, tears coming to her eyes during the most tender parts. "How lovely!" she proclaimed when they had finished. She smiled ear-to-ear and clapped to show her appreciation.

By the time the frogs had sung several songs, the tide turner was in full swing with otters, frogs, ducks, geese, more swans, and even the occasional jumping fish. They were still making progress upriver, and it had begun to storm in earnest, but those gathered didn't seem to care. Shelly had invited the otters two and three at a time up for cake. After they ate, with impeccable manners Jane noticed, they slid off back into the water.

The otters decided this was an entertaining game, and soon, they had set up a sliding tournament off of Archibald's back. Jane laughed at Archibald's encouragement of the game and the crazy antics of the otters. A goose and a gander, along with a mallard drake and hen, judged the sliding contest. The rest of the waterfowl mingled and chatted. Jane was delighted when the Dragonfly Action Corp joined the fun and showed off their impressive precision flying skills, even in the storm's gusty winds. Someone had even ferried across the fighting mantis group who wowed everyone with their mastery of kung fu.

Everything was great fun until the alligators showed up.

Jane immediately knew something was wrong when the frogs stopped mid-song. Her stomach fluttered as she looked around, wondering what would happen. The otters had disappeared, stranding the frogs on Wendy's back. The dragonflies, working in pairs, grabbed the praying mantis and hurried away. The other waterfowl proceeded to leave in a mass exodus. Soon, there was no one but Archibald and Wendy left.

The gators didn't even have time to snap hello before Wendy called, "Hang on! We're getting airborne, dude!" The great swan flapped her wings and did her best to run across the water to get into the sky. It took some doing, rattling everyone round on her back, but she managed. They soon found themselves in the middle of the raging storm, exactly where they didn't want to be.

"Alligators are nothing but trouble," Shelly told her as she sat on Jane's shoulder. "They'd as soon try to eat everyone as party with them."

Jane's eyes grew wide. "Really?"

"Really."

Jane clutched the satchel to her, more for the comfort of having something to hold than out of fear it would fall. "But, now we're up here close to the lightning!" As if in echo of Jane's words, a streak of white-hot electricity spread through the cloud above them.

"We have a better chance of avoiding danger up here than on a river of gators, trust me," Shelly insisted.

Stomach clenching as they banked hard, Jane squeaked. She had a hard time believing Shelly but decided she had no choice. She closed her eyes, but it made things worse, what with Wendy blown about by the gusting wind. Wendy and Archibald flew for all they were worth as everyone held themselves in place as best they could.

"Look!" Shelly shouted to Jane. "To our left!"

Jane turned her head, and the sight of the sun pouring through a break in the clouds lifted her spirits. The swans banked left and headed straight for the reprieve. The difference between the storm and clear sky was like night and day. Soon, they were landing on the river again, and they made arrangements for getting the frogs home by other members of the Swan Aerial Transport. Jane felt terrible for them; they looked a bit more green than usual, and it would be a long flight home. She guessed they'd not be flying again any time soon, even though they thanked Wendy profusely for the safe passage.

"That's what we do, dudes!" Wendy insisted with a salute before giving their new ride directions.

Jane breathed a sigh of relief when Archibald declared it was time for a break. She searched through the sack to find more substantial food than the cake they'd all had earlier. With her belly full, she became sleepy and began to nod off as she reclined against Wendy's soft feathers.

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Shelly, somewhat recovered from the morning's ordeal, looked off to the west. In all the craziness, she'd not checked on the mountains; she was surprised to see how much larger they were. Oh! We're getting closer! She fluttered to Orson as he ate the last of his bread and cheese.

"Hey, Orson," she stage-whispered, trying to be heard but not wake Jane. "How much longer will it take us to get to the mountains?"

Orson paused, studying them in the distance. "I'm not sure. A day perhaps?"

"I estimate seven hours and twenty-eight minutes of flight time, my dear lady," Archibald announced, keeping his voice down. "Provided all is smooth flying from here on out."

Shelly groaned. "Oh, let's hope so!" She shook a finger at the male swan. "And no more tide turners!"

He winked and mock saluted her. "Aye, aye, cap'n."

"That was quick thinking back there, Archibald," Orson praised. "Those alligators were up to no good, for sure!"

Shelly agreed. "Now, the only challenge will be the mountain goats. They've got anger management issues."

Orson nodded. "Yeah. Just as likely to head-butt you off the mountain as to help you climb."

"We'll stop tomorrow and see if the Bears of the Applewoods can spare some fruit. Billy goats love apples!" Archibald assured them. "Whenever they get mad, just chuck one at them. It'll shut them right up, especially if you can get one to get impaled on a horn."

Shelly watched Orson blink, clearly processing the story, before letting out a loud guffaw. Even though she felt bad about startling Jane awake, she grinned along with him. Clearly, he couldn't help laughing at the thought of a mean, tough ol' goat trying to get an apple off its horn.

"What? What's so funny?" Jane said, rubbing her eyes.

Shelly flew to her, landing in her familiar spot, and explained the apples and goats. Even Jane thought it was funny.

"So, we need to get back up in the air," Shelly proclaimed. "We have some flying to do if we want to reach the Applewoods before nightfall. Then, tomorrow, we should get to the base of the mountains in the early afternoon."

Jane's shoulders sagged. "Do we have to?" she whined.

"You're the one on the tight schedule," Shelly said. "Think about your dad and Audrey. They've got to be worried sick about you! The sooner you get the gold, the sooner you can go home."

Her friend sat a little taller. "You're right, Shelly. I want to go home." Jane's hand flew to her mouth. "Not that I haven't enjoyed my time with you all! Please don't think that!"

Shelly patted her ear. "We don't think that at all, Jane. I'm homesick, too."

Orson humphed. "I guess I'm the only one glad to be away?"

"Nah, dude. Archy and I are glad to be on a mission. It's been a while! We start to get a little twitchy when we haven't transported for a great adventure in a while."

"And a grand adventure it's been!" declared Archibald.

Shelly clapped her hands. "Alright, everyone! Mount up, and let's get in the sky! We've got some bears to meet!"

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