The Saucy Jane Family by Enid Blyton

Author:Enid Blyton [Blyton, Enid]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Classics, fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Family, Action & Adventure, juvenile, General
ISBN: 9781444928068
Google: 620cCgAAQBAJ
Amazon: 0749708050
Publisher: Egmont Childrens Books
Published: 2015-09-03T09:38:26.540000+00:00

7. ANN HAS A DREADFUL SHOCK

The happy summer days went by, and soon the family felt as if they had been living on the Saucy Jane for weeks! The weather was hot, the canal was blue and silver from dawn to dusk, and the swan became so tame that he hardly ever left the boat, but bobbed about by it all day. All night too, Belinda said, for once when she had gone on deck in the middle of the night she had seen him sleeping near by, his head tucked under his wing.

Mike and Belinda could swim well now. Mike especially was a fine strong swimmer, and Daddy was proud of him. But Ann was still foolish. She squealed when she first went into the water and always made a fuss. And she wouldn’t try to swim at all.

But one afternoon something happened that made her change her mind. Mummy was lying down in the cabin, glad to be out of the blazing sun. Daddy had gone to talk to a fisherman up the canal. Mike and Belinda were on the bank at the back of the houseboat, lying in the cool grass.

Ann was playing with Stella, one of her best-loved dolls. And quite suddenly Stella slid along the deck and fell overboard into the water.

Ann gave a squeal. “Oh, Stella! Don’t drown! Keep still and I’ll reach you with a stick!”

She got a stick and, leaning over the edge of the boat, she tried to hook poor Stella up to safety. But instead of doing that, she found herself slipping too, and suddenly into the water she went with a splash! She screamed as she fell, “Mike! Mike!” Then she could say no more, for she went right under the water and sank down, choking. She struck out with her arms, but she had not learnt to swim, and she was terrified.

“Why didn’t I learn, why didn’t I learn?” she thought, as she went down deeper. Water poured into her nose and mouth, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t do anything at all!

Mike heard the shout. He shot up from the bank when he heard the splash. He ran on to the boat, looked over the edge and saw poor Ann sinking down into the canal.

“MUMMY!” yelled Mike. “Ann’s fallen in!”

Then the plucky boy jumped straight into the canal himself and tried to reach Ann. He found her, and tried to pull her up. In a terrible fright the little girl clutched him, and began to pull him down under the water too.

Goodness knows what would have happened next if Mummy hadn’t gone into the water too, and somehow got the two of them into the shallow part, where Mike could stand. He was gasping and choking. “Oh, Mummy, she nearly drowned me.”

Mummy carried Ann up on deck. The little girl’s eyes were closed, but she was breathing. She had not been in the water long enough for any great harm to be done. She soon opened her eyes, choked, and began to cry with fright.

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