"Someone else has to live here somewhere. I can't be the only creature in this whole Land. I'm bored. I want a pal to play with." She decides to fly off and find one.
The trees are tall in this land, and it is hard to find the other ponds. Gertrude flies along one of the narrow flyways that lead out of her pond. She is such a well-fed fat goose that by the time she gets to the next pond, she can't fly any further.
"Well, no one lives here," she pants. "But I'll have to rest before I can go on."
In another pond, a Monster was swimming by himself. Most folks didn't like his looks, so he always swam alone, but today he was feeling particularly brave.
"Did I hear splashing in a distant pond?" he asked himself. "Then it is true that a goose named Gertrude lives in this Land! I am going to find her so we can be friends."
The Monster is a huge creature. It takes tremendous wing-flapping power just to get him out of the water and into the air. "Feathers flying!" he cried. "Horns up! Claws aloft! Tail high! I'm gonna make it!" He flew past one pond while he was still on the way up. When he got to the next pond, he was so exhausted that he crashed into the water without even noticing if Gertrude was there or not. (She wasn't.) All he could say was, "Glug, glug, glug..."
There is one other person who lives in this Land. Her name is Superperson. In another pond she is enjoying a nice relaxing swim. "Oh," she said, "It's probably time for my award-winning Superperson Patrol. I'd better go fly around a bit just to be sure everything is okay. That's my job, after all." She stretched and got up.
Superperson's flying power is so great that she flies Zip!Zip!Zoom! in a blinding flash. When she takes off, she goes up over two ponds and lands in the third one without even working very hard. She lifts off, splashes into the water three ponds away and congratulates herself on her fine flying power.
By now Gertrude has had her rest and she is ready to keep looking for some company. She takes off, but she just isn't much of a flier. "Tired already," she huffs. "There's the next pond up ahead. I'm going to land and rest a bit."
The Monster tries again to find her. "Where are you Gertrude? Where are you Gertrude?" he cries, on the way up, passing over one pond. "Gertrude! Gertrude! Glug, glug, glug..." He splashed down in the second pond.
Superperson has had a nice swim, but it is time for her patrol. "I can't just have fun all day. I am a person with responsibilities," she says, and she is off. Zip! Zip! Zoom! "Wow, look at me! I'm so powerful, I couldn't fly less than three ponds if I wanted to!"
In her pond Gertrude is starting to get a little worried. She has heard the loud crashing sound of the Monster's landing in a nearby pond. "That doesn't sound like somebody I want to play with. The first thing he'll probably want is a snack! I'm getting out of here." She flies off to the pond that she hopes is the farthest one away from where the Monster is.
The Monster hears some splashing and is even more determined to find Gertrude. This will be a wonderful land to live in once he makes friends with a playmate. "Here I am Gertrude!" he cries on the way up, passing the first pond. "Where are you Gertrude?" he shouts on the way down, plummeting towards the second pond. "Glug, glug, glug..." is all you hear as he splashes into it.
Superperson wakes up from a restful nap. "It's that time again. I better go see how everything is." Zip!Zip!Zoom! Her three-pond flying tour is finished in no time.
All three of them, Gertrude, Superperson and the Monster, continue flying from pond to pond like this, until the monster surprises both Gertrude and himself by actually crashing into the pond where Gertrude is swimming nervously.
He is still saying "Glug, glug, glug...." when Gertrude attacks him wildly.
"I've got to drown this thing!" she cries. "Save me! Save me! Someone save me before it is too late!"
"Glug, glug, glug..." is all the monster can say. He is surprised that this new friend of his plays so rough.
Superperson hears Gertrude's call. "Silly Gertrude. I better go help her out before someone get's hurt."
What will happen now? Will Zip!Zip!Zoom! take Superperson into the pond where the Monster must be saved from Gertrude? Or will she whoosh right past?
If Superperson doesn't get to the pond this time, Gertrude will stop trying to hurt the monster and fly away to a different pond to escape. But the Monster will keep looking for her because he wants a friend. He thinks they already had a fun round of playing together already. If he keeps this up, he might get hurt. Will Superperson ever be able to get to their pond when they are together and show Gertrude that she really has found a friend?