Brave Little Boat: The Lantern Ride Home

Chapter 2 of Brave Little Boat. Rowing home from Grandma Goose’s island, Poppy, Otis, and Maple find a little duckling lost in the fog. Poppy remembers that God is with them, and the friends learn that when God helps us be brave, we can help someone else be brave too.

An otter, a fox, a lamb, and a duckling ride in a rowboat with a glowing lantern.

A goose holds a lantern toward a lamb on a dock while an otter and a fox wait in a rowboat.

As the picnic ended and the sun sank, Grandma Goose offered Poppy her glowing lantern. “This will light your way home,” she said. Otis and Maple watched from the waiting rowboat.

A lamb holds a lantern at the front of a rowboat with an otter and a fox.

Poppy held the lantern high at the front of the boat. “I’ll help light the way!” she said. Otis rowed them away from the island, while Maple smiled beside him.

A fox, an otter, and a lamb sit in a rowboat with a lantern on a misty lake.

Soft fog drifted across Willow Lake until the shore disappeared. Then came a tiny cry. Otis paused at the oars. Maple and Poppy listened, and Poppy held the lantern steady.

A duckling floats among reeds near a rowboat carrying an otter, a fox, and a lamb with a lantern.

“Let’s see who needs help,” said Otis. He rowed toward the cry. In the reeds, they found a little duckling named Pip, all alone on the water. The lantern’s glow showed him that help was near.

A fox holds a duckling in a rowboat beside an otter and a lamb with a lantern.

Maple leaned carefully over the side. “I’ve got you, Pip,” she said, lifting the duckling gently into the boat and close against her chest. Otis watched from the oars as Poppy kept the lantern steady.

A duckling sits beside a lamb holding a lantern, with a fox and an otter behind them in the boat.

Pip shivered beside Poppy. “I’m scared,” he whispered. Poppy remembered the windy ride, when she had felt scared too. She rested a hoof beside Pip. “God is with us, even in the fog.”

An otter, a fox, a lamb, and a duckling bow their heads around a lantern in the boat.

Poppy lowered the lantern, and the four friends bowed their heads. “Dear God, please help us find the way,” they prayed together. When they lifted their heads, Poppy felt calm again.

An otter and a fox row while a lamb and a duckling sit beside a lantern at the front of the boat.

Poppy held the lantern steady. Otis and Maple dipped their oars into the lake and rowed away from the reeds, one steady stroke at a time. Pip stayed close to the light.

Seen from behind, an otter and a fox row a boat toward a misty shore, with a lamb and a duckling at the front.

A voice called through the fog. “Pip! Pip!” Pip lifted his beak. “That’s Mama!” Otis and Maple turned the oars toward the sound, and the boat glided on.

A duck swims toward a rowboat carrying an otter, a fox, a lamb, and a duckling.

The fog began to thin. A few stars appeared above the lake. Mama Duck paddled from the shore toward the boat, calling Pip’s name. Pip leaned toward her, and Poppy held the lantern steady.

A duck touches beaks with a duckling in the water as three animals watch from a rowboat.

Mama Duck reached the boat and bent her neck toward Pip. Pip paddled happily through the shallows and nestled against her side. Poppy, Otis, and Maple watched as Mama Duck nuzzled her little duckling.

A fox, an otter, and a lamb holding a lantern sit together on a dock beside a rowboat.

Back at their dock, the friends bowed their heads. “Thank you, God, for helping us find Pip,” they prayed. Poppy smiled at Otis and Maple. “When God helps us be brave, we can help someone else be brave too.”

The end

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