So it has come to this, thought Billy as he bobbed about on the ocean surface. He'd have to swim to Europe now and there was no way he'd make it there in time for school to start.

He was very concerned that he be wouldn't let in to school at all if he showed up even a day late ... he had heard the Europeans can be very particular about time. Perhaps he'd have no where to go at all once he got there and would have to wander foreign streets until spring.

    Yes, he thought, I shall have to swim very quickly, but for now it is getting dark I should get some rest before this arduous swim. So he blew some air under his shirt to make him float and let the rise and fall of waves lap him to sleep

    And he dreamed a fitful dream of impossible beauty that he was on his tricycle riding down a rolling green hill spotted with purple and red and blue flowers which whispered past his knees but as he picked up speed and the trike began rolling faster than he could pedal. Afraid that he might pedal his legs right off he lifted his legs out in front of him and let go of the wheel . But his tricycle was going too much fast and he couldn't slow down. Then with a large crash and a bump, he ran into a very large man in a green plaid suit who offered him, oddly enough, an umbrella.