One day Smeagol was walking down by a lake and he saw some boys rowing around in rowboats and canoes. He stood and watched for a while wishing he could have some fun like that. Then the boys saw him and one boat came over to the shore.

"Would you like to get in the boat with us?" one of the boys asked.

"Yes!" cried Smeagol.

He got in the boat and they rowed out onto the lake. There were four boats altogether, two canoes and two rowboats. The boys did a lot of splashing around and racing the boats plus there was some swimming involved alongside and between the boats.

Sometimes Smeagol got to row or paddle the boats and sometimes he just jumped in and swam around with the other boys. He felt like he had not had so much fun in a long time.

At the end of the day the boys all went home and Smeagol was tired and happy. He walked home in his damp clothes and when his mother saw him she laughed.

"Where have you been all day?" she asked.

He told her about the boys and the boats and she smiled as he went on and on about all that they did. She was glad that he had finally found some friends.

He gobbled his supper down ravenously and then fell into bed and went into a happy slumber immediately, dreaming of his new friends and the boats..