First Subro had dragged the mud up from the bottom of the lake with long tongs. Then Rhamon had helped him mix the mud with twigs and shape it into big round clumps. They had let these dry in the sun. Later, when they had enough of them, they had bound the clumps together with long reeds to make a sort of raft. Now the garden was all finished, and ready to be planted.
So it would not drift away, Subro had stuck a great pole through it down into the muddy bottom of the lake. But if Subro grew tired of the river and the friendly little canals and wished to move his floating home to some more open spot, he could also move this floating garden. He would just take up the pole that held it fast and tie a rope around one end of the garden. The other end of the rope he would fasten to a ring in the deck of the houseboat.
Rhamon had often helped his father move their boat out into the lake. Standing at the front of the houseboat Subro would take a long
