It was a great deal of fun at first.  They had competitions to see who could row fastest, and the royal swans paddled alongside the boats looking very pretty.  There was just enough wind to cool them off without making them cold, and the sun had come out from behind the clouds.

But before long some people began to get tired, and other people began to get blisters from rowing.  The royal swans got in the way of the boats and some people muttered that they were a nuisance.  Then the rowers found that they didn't need to row so hard to move the boats along.  A current was pulling the boats, and the great raft, faster and faster.

Before anyone could become alarmed, they had all been pulled off the flooded lake and right into the river, its currents moving very fast because of all the rain;  the people in the smaller boats were frightened that they might tip over.  The people on the raft were afraid that the castle would fall right off the raft as it bobbed along in the rapids.  The nervous knight became so frightened and seasick that he had to go inside the castle and lie down with a damp cloth on his forehead.

But luckily, it wasn't long until they passed through the rapids and into calmer water.   They paddled close to the shore so Catrina could look for a good place to stop.   It was growing late and everyone was starting to get hungry and cross.

Next: The Fairy Willow