Puddlejumpers by Christopher Carlson Mark Jean

lake without hesitation. He paddled fiercely toward Grandfather Oak while Chop ferried around him. As the undertow took hold, Shawn rolled onto his back and shot feet-first into the hollow of the tree. Tucking his arms and pointing his toes, he plunged down the steep gorge. He and Chop screamed during the plummet, but as soon as they splashed into the Laughing Grotto, they popped to the surface hooting. After their swim, they sat on the sandy beach and practiced whistling with an acorn cap. Chop showed him how to form his thumbs in the shape of a V to make the shrill sound.
    One day Chop tried to teach him how to skitter across a stream in the cavern, but Shawn didn’t have webbed feet and sank to the bottom, cutting his foot on a sharp rock. Shawn didn’t cry, but when Chop saw the blood, he tried not to panic and rushed him to Pav.
    This wasn’t Shawn’s first visit. He was a human being learning to be a Puddlejumper and had earned lots of cuts, scrapes, twists, and bruises. While Chop anxiously watched Pav clean the cut on Shawn’s foot, he noticed a dark cloud cross her face.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” he asked.
    â€œNothing,” she answered.
    After they left, Pav brooded about the disturbing break she’d seen in the Rainmaker’s lifeline. She was skilled at reading the fleshy webbing of a Puddlejumper’s foot, but not a sole belonging to a human. She found Greystone at the Well and told him about it. Disturbed, he hurried to Root and Runnel’s den.
    While Shawn slept, the Ancient Guide delicately traced his lifeline. His fingers hovered at the break. Pav, Root, and Runnel pressed close, awaiting his word. After a time of contemplation, he simply said, “Matuba ka-lo-lo.” Matuba was the potion that would transform Shawn into a Puddlejumper. It was a powerful concoction that required strong bones and a conscious mind. To be safe, they’d decided to wait until he was five before allowing him to “sip the acorn.”
    â€œOnce he grows small, we’ll study his foot again,” Greystone promised. But even while reassuring them, he knew that whatever was inscribed on Shawn’s sole, there was nothing they could do to change it. Like the river, he would find his own path.
    Unsettled by what he’d seen, Greystone advanced the timetable—Shawn needed to learn to puddlejump immediately. The sooner he could get in and out of the Underneath on his own, the safer he would be. He chose Root and Runnel for the task, which surprised them. They thought the honor should go to Cully or Buck, who were both experts in the art of jumping.
    The very next morning, Root and Runnel brought Shawn to a puddle deep in the timber. They began by showing him how to plant his Spiral Tattoo flush on the face of the puddle, but that was as far as they got. Each time he ran up to the puddle, he would stop short or miss his plant or skid onto his rear. Puddlejumping came naturally to Puddlejumpers, but for Shawn it seemed impossible. Root and Runnel tried to be patient. After all, he was only human.
    Shawn plopped down in the puddle. “I can’t do it,” he muttered, his lower lip starting to tremble.
    â€œKeep your eye on the puddle,” reminded Runnel.
    Root scaled a stump to climb onto his back. “I’ll jump with you this time,” he said.
    Buoyed by their encouragement, Shawn rose slowly to his feet and returned to his starting position. Straddling his neck, Root got a good grip on Shawn’s ears. “We are the water,” he whispered. “And so are you.”
    With a running start, Shawn sprinted toward the puddle. When Root yanked his ears, Shawn lifted off the ground, tucked his arms, hit the puddle flush, and passed through straight as an arrow. Root somersaulted off just before Shawn tumbled into a pile of leaves that had been gathered to soften his landing. He couldn’t wait to go again.
    For the rest of the day, Root and