Free Toad Heaven by Morris Gleitzman Page A

doubtful.
    “Excuse me,” said the turtle. “This is a very interesting conversation, but I've only got another three hundred years to live and I've got things to do. Goodbye.”
    The turtle dived down into the depths.
    “Look,” said Limpy, pointing to the disappearing turtle. “His feet are webbed, like ours. I reckon we can learn to live in water too.”
    Charm rolled her eyes.
    “What about that time you came down the mud slide too fast and nearly drowned in the swamp?” she said.
    “I was young and careless,” said Limpy. “I forgot to leave part of me sticking out of the water. This time I've got a plan. I'll hang over the side of the cooler lid and you hold on to my feet. That way I can breathe through my bottom.”
    Slowly Limpy's eyes got used to the salt water.
    Wow, he thought.
    He'd never seen so much food.
    The water was full of it.
    Fish and yabbies and worms and slugs and heaps of other delicious-looking food items, all swarming and darting and slithering around.
    This is perfect, thought Limpy.
    And everything was so colorful.
    “Wow,” he said out loud, making bubbles. His mouth filled up with salty water, which wasn't quite so perfect, but he didn't care.
    This was heaven.
    He wondered if nature had made all this food different colors for a reason. Perhaps to help consumers make a choice. Blue for breakfast, yellow for lunch, purple for tea, that sort of thing.
    The food at home was mostly brown or gray. It was so boring to look at that sometimes Goliath turned a lizard inside out before he ate it, just to make it a bit more colorful.
    We wouldn't have to do that with this tucker, thought Limpy happily.
    There was only one problem.
    With Charm and Goliath holding on to his legs above the surface, he couldn't reach any of it.
    “Deeper?” said Charm as Limpy clambered back onto the cooler lid. Her little face furrowed with concern.“If you go any deeper, you'll drown.”
    “Not,” said Limpy, “if I have something to breathe through.”
    He looked around the cooler lid and saw just the thing.
    The sun had dried the palm fronds to a crisp. He grabbed one and stripped off the shriveled leaves.
    “This'll do it,” he said. He stuck one end of the long fat hollow stem into his mouth. “You both hang on to the other end and don't let it go under the surface, okay?”
    Charm and Goliath looked at him, puzzled.
    Limpy took the stem out of his mouth and said it again.
    Understanding dawned on their faces. “Oh, right,” said Goliath. “I thought you said you wanted us both to jump in with you.”
    Limpy slid down through the sunlit depths until he was standing on a colorful rocky outcrop shaped like a pile of wombat intestines. Fields of pastel ferns rippled slowly in the warm currents, delicate as the most delicate ribbons of mucus. Next to Limpy was a cliff face covered in beautiful patterns of little bumps, like the inside of a lizard's stomach.
    This is almost as beautiful as the swamp at home, thought Limpy. If it had some mud, it would be.
    He sucked in a lungful of air through the palm stem and blew out a cascade of sparkling bubbles.
    Nearby, a blue and pink and silver yabbie strolled along a row of tiny trees that seemed to be made of mouse brains.
    Limpy waved.
    The yabbie waved back.
    What a wonderful place to live, thought Limpy happily.
    He smiled as he imagined Mum and Dad's faces when they saw it. Mum had always particularly liked the look of mouse brains.
    Then he felt a stab in his guts as he remembered the virus germs. Which meant he wouldn't actually be able to see Mum and Dad in their new home.
    Ever.
    It was too upsetting to think about, so Limpy concentrated on the other pangs in his guts. The hunger ones.
    No wonder I'm so hungry, he thought. I've only eaten one beetle leg all day.
    Limpy hopped down to the next rock ledge and picked up a delicious-looking green and black and orange slug.
    “I'm very salty,” said the slug. “You probably won't like me.”
    Limpy gave