Story Part 29 Part 2 *Solutions*

The lion in the pond roared, and Etharpaw felt its hot breath on her face. She leaped up in terror, causing the dock to shake, which spilled her into the water.
"Etharpaw!" yowled her brothers. Eaglepaw sprinted toward the end of the dock, forgetting how unstable it was. The plank beneath him broke beneath his weight and he was spilled into the pond water also.
By now Etharpaw's head had poked above the surface of the water. "Be careful!" she yowled, just as Eaglepaw fell off.
"Too late!" called Winterpaw. He watched as Eaglepaw got his head above water and took in a deep breath. "Can you guys get out alright?" he asked.
Eaglepaw and Etharpaw were swimming strongly in the still pond water. They were, after all, FrostClan cats and FrostClan cats learn to swim almost before they walk. "The bank looks a bit steep," called Etharpaw. "And there's no way we can get back up on the dock again." She and Eaglepaw looked up at the dock looming over them.
"Well, come on! There has to be a way out!" shouted Winterpaw. "Do either of you have a brilliant idea?"
"Hmmm..." mused Eaglepaw. "Could you put some more water in the pond so we can float up to the surface and climb out?"
Etharpaw rolled her eyes. "How's he supposed to do that?"
Eaglepaw looked hurt. "I thought it was a good idea."
"No, it wasn't," snapped Etharpaw.
"Actually," meowed Winterpaw, "It may work."
"How?" asked Etharpaw and Eaglepaw in unison, but Winterpaw was already walking off.
"Hmm... If I can find a hose by the twoleg ruins, drag it over here, and turn on the water somehow, it may work," mused Winterpaw. "The pond is rather small, and while the hose fills up the pond I can dig a ditch out of the steep bank so that Eaglepaw and Etharpaw can climb up easier. It's a good thing Shortwhisker told all those random twoleg tales she learned form that talking picture-box."
Winterpaw rounded a corner by the ruins and found a hose. It's a good thing those twolegs left this here. Now, will it turn on? Winterpaw dragged the hose over to the pond and tossed its end in.
"What are you doing?" asked Etharpaw.
"Trying to save you," replied Winterpaw, heading back to the ruins. He found a knob and pawed at it with a paw. Nothing happened. Then he unsheathed his claws and scratched the metal. This only succeeded in making a shrieking sound that hurt his ears. He shook his head and grasped the knob with his teeth, trying to ignore the rusty-metal taste. He turned his head and, slowly but surely, the knob inched to the right. When he felt the water pressure in the hose, he went back to the pond.
"Hey!" exclaimed Eaglepaw. "The water just got a current."
"I turned the hose on," explained Winterpaw as he began digging a trench on the side of the pond. "That will fill up the pond and you can then swim over here and climb out." He got up and shook the dirt from between his claws.
"I didn't know the pond was so deep when we got here," mewed Etharpaw. "It looked shallow. I would have been more careful if I had noticed. I'm sorry."
"It's OK." soothed Eaglepaw. "I shouldn't have just rushed over to you and fallen in myself. That was pretty stupid."
"Yeah, you both should use more caution," suggested Winterpaw. "But don't worry, the hose shouldn't take much longer."
Eaglepaw and Etharpaw knew better than to ask Winterpaw who had told him about this twoleg invention. The answer was always the same: Shortwhisker.
*Fifteen Minutes Later...*
The pond had taken more time to fill than Winterpaw had thought. Fortunately Eaglepaw and Etharpaw were strong swimmers and were able to swim in place for the whole time. When the two came out, soaked to the bone, they shook themselves dry.
"Um... Etharpaw," meowed Eaglepaw. "Why did you fall in the water in the first place?"
"Oh, it was silly," Etharpaw could feel her fur heating up just thinking about it. "I imagined I saw a lion and it roared and scared me."
"I want to see a lion!" yowled Eaglepaw.
"Sure sure," mewed Winterpaw, who had come back from turning off the water. (They didn't want to flood the forest after all.) "But let's hope we meet some prey first to take back to camp. Or would you two like to explain why we've been gone so long?"
Etharpaw and Eaglepaw flinched. "Let's go!" they shouted.
When they all came back to camp, Snowstar was so proud that they had found so much prey that she never once asked them why they had been gone for so long.