"Oh no, not in the least," said the crocodile.
"Can you get your tail out of the water just a bit?" asked my father.
"Yes, of course," said the crocodile, and he lifted up his tail. Then my father ran along his back and fastened another lollipop with a rubber band.
"Who's next?" said my father, and a second crocodile swam up and began sucking on that lollipop.
"Now, you gentlemen can save a lot of time if you just line up across the river," said my father, "and I'll be along to give you each a lollipop."
So the crocodiles lined up right across the river with their tails in the air, waiting for my father to fasten on the rest of the lollipops.
The tail of the seventeenth crocodile just reached the other bank.