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"Wake up, Reggie! We've overslept."
From his little realm of total safety and comfort, Reggie wished his brother would shut up and let him sleep just a bit longer. He meant to tell him so, too, but didn't really feel like spending the energy on something that was likely to make Bingo angry. Yet he moved plenty quickly when Bingo began poking him in the side.
"All right, alright, Aunt Hilda. I'm getting up!" Reggie grumbled good-naturedly. Bingo went to go rouse the others, shaking his head slightly at the younger hobbit. Reggie smoothed his rumpled clothes, and then shook out and rolled up his blanket, wondering what was for breakfast. Apples, as it would seem -- hardly a hearty meal, but a tasty one all the same. He crunched into a tart, juicy apple as he helped the others load everything back onto the raft.
When everything was tied down or balanced to their satisfaction, Sondo declared that they could be off. Rory and Marroc pushed the raft off the bank with two long poles, and soon they were moving at a fair speed. Reggie laid down on his stomach, careful not to upset the raft's balance. There was no need to repeat their previous capsizing. He peered over the edge into the water, watching silver-scaled fish of all sizes swimming beneath the surface. The water at the raft's edges swirled vigorously. The river had risen a little, Bingo had told him, and that was why they had been moving faster yesterday. Reggie had thought it had been quite exciting, even better than the swing he and his cousins played on. You could fly through the air upon it, and feel the wind rushing past your face. It made him a little dizzy sometimes, but he didn't mind it. But the feeling on the raft was even more fun. There was no rope to hold you to one place if you didn't want it, and there was no Aunt Hilda to tell you when to stop playing and come inside. Instead there were adventures, and friends, and freedom.
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