Otto wanted to open his striped picnic chest. He had packed sandwiches, berry jars, and a little tart. He carried a brass key in his paw.
Otto set the chest on the little yellow boat. The boat bobbed near the reed-covered riverbank. Otto hummed a tune.
Otto leaned to reach the brass key. His paw slipped. The key slipped out. The key fell into the water with a small plink.
Otto said, "Oh! The key is in the river."
Otto wanted his chest open now. He looked at the boat. The small boat floated slowly away.
Otto had an idea. He took a bright yellow sticker. He pressed it onto the side of the boat. He thought, "If I mark the boat, I will know where the key is."
Otto said, "There. A sticker. I'll come back for the key."
The boat drifted. The sticker drifted too. Otto watched. The sticker moved farther from the reed bank.
Otto frowned. He took another yellow sticker. He put that sticker near the little mast. He hoped two stickers would help more.
Otto said, "Two stickers should work."
The boat floated again and the second sticker floated too. Both stickers bobbed away like tiny suns. Otto sighed.
Otto tried one more time. He wrapped a yellow sticker around the stern. He tied it tight with a bit of grass.
Otto said, "Now it will stay. Now it cannot float away."
The river moved. The boat moved. The wrapped sticker moved with the boat. Otto watched every float, every bob.
Heron landed on a reed a little way downriver. Heron said, "You are marking the boat. The boat moves. Look at the bank stones and the willow root knot. Those do not move."
Otto blinked. He walked along the reed-covered bank. He peered at the stones. He saw a flat pebble near a willow root knot. He saw a place where the water was shallow and clear.
Heron said, "The key likely fell near that willow root. The chest was sitting on the boat by the bank. The chest is now at the shore where the boat hit the shallow stones."
Otto and Heron looked together at the flat pebble and the willow root knot. Otto waded in the shallow clear water. He found the brass key among the pebbles and reed roots.
Otto laughed and said, "Thank you!" He ran the key along his whiskers and placed it into the striped chest lock.
The lock clicked open. Otto lifted the lid. Sandwiches smelled warm and berries glinted. Heron pecked gently at a tart crust.
Otto put the brass key on his nose like a tiny hat and grinned. Heron laughed softly. They sat on the reed bank and ate slowly.