And once he set off to go down the stream . But the stream was very low ; and when he came to the shallows he could not keep under water , for there was no water left to keep under . So the sun burned his back and made him sick ; and he went back again and lay quiet in the pool for a whole week more . And then , on the evening of a very hot day , he saw a sight . He had been very stupid all day , and so had the trout ; for they would not move an inch to take a fly , though there were thousands on the water , but lay dozing at the bottom under the shade of the stones ; and Tom lay dozing too , and was glad to cuddle their smooth cool sides , for the water was quite warm and unpleasant . But toward evening it grew suddenly dark , and Tom looked up and saw a blanket of black clouds lying right across the valley above his head , resting on the crags right and left . He felt not quite frightened , but very still ; for everything was still . There was not a whisper of wind , nor a chirp of a bird to be heard ; and next a few great drops of rain fell plop into the water , and one hit Tom on the nose , and made him pop his head down quickly enough . And then the thunder roared , and the lightning flashed , and leapt across Vendale and back again , from cloud to cloud , and cliff to cliff , till the very rocks in the stream seemed to shake : and Tom looked up at it through the water , and thought it the finest thing he ever saw in his life . But out of the water he dared not put his head ; for the rain came down by bucketsful , and the hail hammered like shot on the stream , and churned it into foam ; and soon the stream rose , and rushed down , higher and higher , and fouler and fouler , full of beetles , and sticks ; and straws , and worms , and addle-eggs , and wood-lice , and leeches , and odds and ends , and omnium-gatherums , and this , that , and the other , enough to fill nine museums . Tom could hardly stand against the stream , and hid behind a rock . But the trout did not ; for out they rushed from among the stones , and began gobbling the beetles and leeches in the most greedy and quarrelsome way , and swimming about with great worms hanging out of their mouths , tugging and kicking to get them away from each other . And now , by the flashes of the lightning , Tom saw a new sight -- all the bottom of the stream alive with great eels , turning and twisting along , all down stream and away . They had been hiding for weeks past in the cracks of the rocks , and in burrows in the mud ; and Tom had hardly ever seen them , except now and then at night : but now they were all out , and went hurrying past him so fiercely and wildly that he was quite frightened . And as they hurried past he could hear them say to each other , `` We must run , we must run . What a jolly thunderstorm ! Down to the sea , down to the sea ! '' And then the otter came by with all her brood , twining and sweeping along as fast as the eels themselves ; and she spied Tom as she came by , and said `` Now is your time , eft , if you want to see the world . Come along , children , never mind those nasty eels : we shall breakfast on salmon to-morrow . Down to the sea , down to the sea ! ''
Then came a flash brighter than all the rest , and by the light of it -- in the thousandth part of a second they were gone again -- but he had seen them , he was certain XXXXX it -- Three beautiful little white girls , with their arms twined round each other 's necks , floating down the torrent , as they sang , `` Down to the sea , down to the sea ! ''
So above across against as down in of on past