Bisson_rucker_billys.. - Rudy Rucker

They gave Billy an axe and a long oar. “You have to help us row,” they said.
It was a long way across the pond. Billy got tired and h
cry.
is hands hurt. He began to
The Pond Vikings just laughed. “You’re a crybaby,” they said. They took away his
axe but they made him keep his oar.
Billy wished he had never stepped on board.
§§
They made Billy row until they found a frog. It was sitting on a lily pad. It was
bigger then the Pond Vikings, but there were more of them. They killed it with
their axes. The blood made the water pink.
Billy felt sorry for the frog. “Are you going to eat it?” he asked.
“No,” said the Pond Vikings. “We just like to kill things. We don’t eat them.”
“What do you eat?’ Billy asked. He was hungry.
“Viking food,” they said. T
him eat it.
hey gave Billy some. It wasn’t very good but they made
After a while it got dark and Billy started to cry again. The Pond Vikings just
laughed.
§§
The next day they rowed across the pond again. They killed another frog with their
axes. The blood made the water pink.
Billy felt sorry for the frogs. He hated the Pond Vikings. He didn’t like their food,
either.
“I don’t want to be a Viking,” said Billy. “I want to go home.”
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