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When Stuart came back to his camp by the river, he was tired and hot. He put the canoe in the water and saw that it leaked. In a few seconds it was full of water.

“Oh, dear,” he said, “the canoe leaks! I paid seventy-five cents for it, and now I shall not be able to take Harriet out in this boat.”

Then he pulled the canoe out on the bank for repairs. He found a hole in the bottom. Then he climbed a fir tree and found some gum. With this gum he stopped the leak. Stuart was a good seaman but he was afraid to get into trouble. He carried stones from the bank down to the water and put some into the boat for ballast. Then he decided to try the canoe. It was all right, but Stuart was sorry that he did not have anything better than a cardboard spoon for a paddle.

All that afternoon Stuart worked on the canoe. In the evening he opened a can of ham, cut a dandelion and had a light supper of ham and dandelion milk. After supper he lay down under a flower, shut his eyes and dreamed about his trip with Harriet.

“I shall swim and get her a water-lily and she will see what a good swimmer I am,” he thought.

Suddenly Stuart opened his eyes and sat up. He remembered his letter to Harriet.

“I dropped it into the letter-box but it was so small! Perhaps the postman did not see it!” he thought.

He lay for a while and listened to the sound of the river, then he fell asleep.

The next morning was cloudy. Stuart hid the canoe under a cabbage leaf, tied it to a stone and went to the town to buy some new shirts.

Stuart returned from the town with a headache. He was nervous. He spent the afternoon trying on different shirts and combing his whiskers. He put on a clean shirt at two o’clock, another at three o’clock, and another at quarter past four. About five o’clock he began to look at his watch nervously. He combed his whiskers once more and looked at the sky. The sky was rainy.

Stuart was so tired that he decided to lie down for a moment and have a little rest. But as soon as he closed his eyes he heard a voice behind him.

“Hello,” said the voice, “are you Mr. Little?”

It was Harriet!

“Hello,” said Stuart and got up quickly. “Yes, I am Stuart Little. It’s nice of you to come.”

“It was very good of you to ask me,” said Harriet and smiled. She looked very nice. She wore a white sweater and a black skirt and carried a box of peppermints in her hand.

“Not at all,” said Stuart. “I only wish we had better weather. I am afraid it is going to rain.”

Harriet looked at the sky. “Oh, well,” she said, “if it rains, it rains.”

“Of course,” repeated Stuart, “if it rains, it rains. My canoe is not far from here. May I help you?” And he offered her his arm. Stuart was a very polite mouse, but Harriet said that she did not need any help. She was a strong girl and was not afraid to fall.

“I’ll show you my canoe,” said Stuart. “It is there, under that cabbage leaf. I have hidden it in the morning. This way, please... But where is it?”

Stuart’s heart sank.

“Somebody has stolen the canoe!” he said with tears in his eyes.

Then he began to run up and down the bank. He looked for the canoe everywhere. Harriet helped him in his search. At last they found the canoe. It looked awful.

“Some big boy took it and played with it!” thought Stuart.

Mud was all over the boat, one of the paddles was broken, and a long piece of rope was tied to one end. It looked just like a birchbark canoe looks when big boys play with it.

Stuart was heartbroken. He did not know what to do. He sat down on the bank and buried his head in his hands.

“What is the matter?” asked Harriet.

“Miss Ames,” said Stuart in a trembling voice, “I prepared everything so beautifully. And now look!”

“Oh, we can repair this canoe and go out in it,” said Harriet.

But Stuart did not like the idea.

“It’s no use, he said. “Look at that rope! I shall never be able to get it off.”

“Never mind the rope!” said Harriet. “We can pretend that we are fishing.” She could not understand why Stuart was so heartbroken.

“I don’t want to pretend that I am fishing,” cried Stuart. “Besides, look at that mud! Look at it!”

Harriet sat down beside Stuart. She offered him a peppermint but he shook his head. He could not eat.

“Well,” she said, “it is beginning to rain. If you are not going to take me out in your canoe, I shall go home. I don’t understand why you are so heartbroken. Would you like to come up to my house? After dinner you may take me to the dance. It will cheer you up.”

“No, thank you,” said Stuart. “I don’t know how to dance. Besides, I am going to get up early in the morning. I’ll be on the road at daybreak.”

“Are you going to sleep out in all this rain?” asked Harriet.

“Certainly,” said Stuart. “I’ll sleep under the canoe.”

Harriet shrugged her shoulders.

“Well,” she said, “good-bye, Mr. Little.”

“Good-bye, Miss Ames,” said Stuart. “I am sorry that our evening on the river had to end like this.”

“So am I,” said Harriet. And she walked away, leaving Stuart alone with his broken dreams and his broken canoe.

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This version of Stuart Little was originally published in Moscow, in 1964.  All rights are reserved by respective copyright owners and this version must not be used in any other but private ESL study settings.  Hard or electronic copies for business purposes are prohibited.

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