09 骑士富兰克林 Franklin THE TROOPER

Franklin could count by twos and tie his shoes. he liked to help his mother make cookies and he liked to help his father rake leaves. But one day, Franklin was tired of being a helper.

See you later, mom!

Whoa!

Aaaah!

Oh dear!

Sorry Mrs. Muskrat.

Not a problem Franklin.

I always enjoy running into a friend.

Oh, I get it.

So, where are you headed to in such a hurry?

I’m going swimming! A perfect day for it.

It’s going to be a real scorcher.

What’s all that stuff for?

Oh, just a few things I need to fix up my old boat.

A boat?! I love boats!

Yes, I want it ship-shape for the Cherry Festival fireworks.

Fireworks?

I love fireworks!

I do too. And this year, I’m going to watch them from the water.

That is , if I get my boat ready in time.

Do you need any help fixing your boat?

Oh, I could, but it’s going to be a lot of work..

That’s okay. I like working.

Then we’re a team.

Drop by my shed after your swim and I’ll get you started.

Thanks.

Thank you.

.. and when she sees how hard I work…

she might even ask me to be the captain of the boat.

Hey, if you’re the captain, you could pick me to be one of your crew.

And me!

And me!

Yahoo!

And me!

Is the boat big enough for all of us?

Oh, for sure.

Wow!

Ooooo!

It’ll be just like this one, only bigger.

This is your boat?

I told you it needed a lot of work.

But trust me, with a little elbow grease, we’ll soon have it looking like new again.

While I’m taking the oar locks off, you can start sanding the bow.

Okay.

Um….

Where is it?

Right here.

The bow is the front of the boat. The back end is called the stern.

Oh.

Don’t worry. You’ll know all kinds of fancy boat words by the time we set sail for the fireworks show.

Yeah, I can’t wait.

It’s so hot in here.

Oooh!

Like an oven.

A swim would feel good about now. but this ol’boat needs too much work to take a break yet.

Hmmmm.

I’ll have to get some more supplies from the hardware store by the looks of things. I’ll get what you need.

Alright. Then I’ll just keep right on working and you can give this to Mr. Mole.

No problem.

This is worse than sanding.

Hey Franklin!

Over here Franklin!

Hi Franklin!

Hi!

You guys are still here?

Yeah, it’s too hot to do anything else.

That’s for sure.

Are you having fun at Mrs. Muskrat’s?

Sort of.

Is the sailboat almost done?

It’s not exactly a sailboat. It’s a rowboat.

And it’s a lot more work than I thought it would be.

Oh well.

Just think about tomorrow.

You can spend the whole day swimming at the pond.

That’s where I’ll be.

Me too.

For sure.

Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.

I’ll think about tomorrow.

See you later guys.

Bye.

Bye Franklin.

See you Franklin.

Oh!

Here’s a fun job for you.

Really?

What is it?

I want you to scrape the name off the boat.

Oh.

Trooper.

It’s a trooper alright. There have been many spring floods where it’s been filled past the gunwales with families and furniture and it never tipped once.

Yes sir, trooper has weathered some bad storms in its day but it never let me down.

Well..

This boat won’t get finished with me nattering all day.

Here you go Franklin.

Ah!

Ooooo!

Oh!

Did you get a sliver?

No,a sore spot.

Oh!

Tsk..

You’ve got a blister.

I do?

Well, you’ve been working hard. Will it go away?

Oh yes.

It’ll go away.

Here, I’ve got something in my pocket to help soothe blisters and slivers and aches and pains.

What is it?

Butterscotch toffee.

Oh. Thank you. Thank you for coming to help me.

We make a good team.

mmmm….

We’ve accomplished a lot today.

I think we can call it quitting time.

I think we can too.

Bye Mrs. Muskrat.

Goodbye Franklin. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Tomorrow?

I can’t believe Mrs. Muskrat wants me to help her again tomorrow.

I thought you were excited about fixing the boat?

I was , but I didn’t know it was going to be so much work.

Some jobs are like that.

They turn out to be more than you bargained for .

That’s for sure.

The thing to remember is that if you stick to it, even when the going gets tough, in the end, the results are worth it.

That’s right.

It’s hard to stick to it when it’s so hot out and my friends are all swimming.maybe tomorrow you could go to the pond for a short swim before you work on the boat.

Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.

I win!

Lets go again, Franklin!

I can’t race very well today Bear.

My arms are too stiff from working on Mrs. Muskrat’s boat.

Oh, no!

What is it?

!

I don’t want her to see me!

I just got here!

Quick!

Hide!

Oof!

Look, she dropped her paint. I’ll take it to her later. That’ll be okay, won’t it?

What if she thinks it’s really lost and she goes to the store to buy more?

You give it to her Bear.

Then I can keep swimming.

I don’t know Franklin.

Please.

I might not get to swim again for a long time.

Okay.

Mrs. Muskrat.

You dropped something!

Oh, my paint.

Thank you Bear.

You’re welcome.

It’s a good thing you spotted this. I need it for my surprise.

What’s your surprise?

Well, I don’t want to give too much away.but I’m doing something special for Franklin. Fixing that old boat of mine….has been a tough go, and he hasn’t complained once. He just buckles down and gets the job done.

Yeah, that’s what Franklin’s like.

Anyway, I must be going, he’ll be coming soon and I want to be ready for him.

Goodbye Bear.

Bye,Mrs. Muskrat.

Those were nice things she said about me Bear…but they’re not really true.

Sure they are, Franklin. You worked hard.

Not as hard as I could have. And I’ve been complaining a lot too.

She doesn’t think so.

That’s because she’s really nice. She said we were a team. I shouldn’t be hiding from her, I should be helping her. See you later Bear.

See you Franklin.

Hi,Mrs. Muskrat.

Sorry I’m late.

You’re not late. You are right on time. I’ ve got something I want to show you.

Franklin?

That’s right.

After my dedicated helper.

Gee, thanks.

Restoring this old boat has been a bigger job than both of us expected. But you’ve stuck to it like a real trooper. And I’m going to stick with it right to the end.

You are a trooper.

And we’re a team.

Wow! This is great out here!

Yeah, it’s wonderful! it’s the best view in the world!

I can see everything!

Thanks for letting my friends come on the boat too. Mrs. Muskrat.

I’m glad to have them aboard. But you know, I wouldn’t have finished the boat on time if it weren’t for all your hard work..

It wasn’t easy.

But it sure was worth it.