We went on a ride with Bessie one afternoon to relax. "Ah, a leisurely outing with Bessie, why, we could really go anywhere, do anything." Hop Pop said. "As long as it's in the valley." I added. "Oh, could we get swamp slushies?" Sprig asked. "They have new flavors." "Nope." Hop Pop chuckled. "Can we go off-road?" Polly asked. "Do some crazy stunts?" "Double no." Hop Pop replied. "Can I drive?" Anne asked. "Sure." Hop Pop replied. "Aw, c'mon, Hop Pop." Anne complained. "Wait, really?" "Absolutely, I've been trying to teach this guy for years." He said, pointing out Sprig. "It's true." Sprig added. "You can try driving too, Rowena." Hop Pop suggested. "Alright, gimme those reins, I'm ready to drive." Anne demands.

"Not before reading this, you ain't." Hop Pop ordered when we returned to the house. I honestly wasn't thinking about driving. I'm a few months older than Anne, but I'm still kinda nervous about driving. "What?" Anne exclaimed. "This is Bessie's history, before touching a snails reins, you gotta know them." Hop Pop explains. "Feel their heartbeat next to yours and become one." "Hop Pop, it's just a vehicle, we each have a family car back home, it's no biggie." Anne said. "Don't care." Hop Pop said as he gave the book to Anne. "You can't drive Bessie unless you read this cover to cover, and that's final!" "Are there pictures?" Anne asked. "There are diagrams." Hop Pop replied. "No!" Anne screamed. "Dramatic much?" I asked. "Now if you excuse me, Polly's due for a wash." Hop Pop said, getting her out of the mud. "I'll just get dirty again, you can't stop me!" Polly shouted. "I learned this from watching you, Anne and Rowena!" "I'll be old before I finish reading this thing." Anne groaned. "Yeah, page 5 is as far as I got." Sprig explains. "Too much description, not enough plot." "This is ridiculous." Anne complained. "It's not that bad, Anne." I said. "Back at home, my sister, Rosalina, took three weeks of driver's education, but that was for segment one." "But I don't need history, I need experience." Anne said. "Hey, what do you say we take a harmless test drive and prove to Hop Pop we're fast learners?" "I'm not in the rush to drive." I replied. "Do you get the feeling this is one of those decisions we'll look back on and say, "Ooh-boy, we probably shouldn't have done that"?" Sprig asked. "We'll get Swamp Slushies while we're out." Anne bribes. "No regrets!" Sprig shouted. "And I'm coming too, I don't want to help Hop Pop give Polly a bath." I said. "Hop on." Anne said as she grabbed the reins and we took off.

On the road, we saw Mrs Croaker riding around. "What in tarnation?" She asked as we sped past her, causing her vehicle to spin. "Out of the way, slowpoke!" Sprig exclaimed. "Mrs Croaker just lost control of her vehicle, I think that's frog abuse!" I shouted. "Whoa, what was that?" Anne asked. "I've always wanted to try road rage." Sprig replied. "And the verdict?" Anne asked. "Exhilarating." Sprig said. "Live your truth!" She exclaimed as we stopped for Swamp Slushies.

"Man, you were right." Sprig said. "We didn't need to read some silly book, you drive just fine." "Just fine?" Anne scoffs. "Boy, I'm a natural, wanna take this baby off-road?" "Yup." Sprig replied. Anne drove us into the woods and off a cliff, but we were surprisingly not hurt. "Okay, off-roading, fun." I said. "But how about we go back to on-roading?" "Good old reliable on-roading, yes, please." Sprig said. "Alright, Bessie, let's move." Anne said, but she didn't budge. "One more time, let's move." Still nothing. "Um, Bessie?" I asked. "You alright, girl?" "Hey, what's going on here?" Anne asked. "Does it need fuel in the tank or something, is the oil low?" "Come get the tasty fuel, Bessie!" I exclaimed as I picked up gross leaves. "Ew, Rowena, these leaves are tastier." Sprig said with a better leaf. "Here, Bessie, I got dem good leaves, girl." She still wouldn't budge. "Maybe we can push her." I suggested. "Give her a jump-start, I'm sure that's a thing." We tried to push her, but she still wouldn't budge. "Okay, she is way too heavy." Anne panted. "Also, I'm crazy out of shape." "What are we gonna do?" Sprig panicked. "We're stuck!" "We have no choice." I said. "Anne and I will stay here with Bessie while you hitch a ride back to the farm." "And..." Anne groaned. "Go get Hop Pop." "Good idea." Sprig said. "It's the right thing to do, even if we get an earful, back in a flash." Sprig hopped away, leaving us with Bessie. Anne sighed. It was just us. Just like when we arrived in Amphibia. "I'm so bored." I groaned. "Wish I had something to read." Anne said. "Read?" I wondered. "Anne that's it!" "What's it?" Anne asked. "Hop Pop's book, if we read it, we could find out how to get Bessie moving again!" I exclaimed. "Fine, but just to pass the time." Anne complained. She opened the book and dust surrounded us. "Okay, let's see here." I said. "It was an especially cold morning the day Bessie was brought into this world." Anne slammed the book because it was so boring. I took the book and opened it up. I was actually curious about Bessie's history. As I was reading to myself, Anne came closer to listen as she munched on leaves. "Yes, in your face, Snapes!" Anne exclaimed. I laughed a little. "Man, this is actually pretty good." I continued reading and I got to a part where Anne started crying. "You go, girl!" She cried. "You noble creature." "This is messing you up." I said as Anne continued reading. "The reason Bessie had hidden in her shell was clear to me now, a predator was close." Anne read. "And not just any predator, a natural enemy of snails." "Not again!" I groaned. "Uh, hello?" Anne called as she flipped through the book. "Anything in here about this predator?" "Oh, there we go." I said. "Aww, it's actually pretty cute." The monster popped up out of nowhere and startled us. "Uh oh." Anne panicked as more monsters popped up from the bushes. Anne and I climbed on top of Bessie as the monsters surrounded us. I grabbed my driver, the golf club, not Anne, and I whacked them. "Come on, come on, yes!" Anne exclaimed as she continued reading the book. "If Bessie senses danger, you gotta sit on her shell and yell at the top of your lungs, "Bessie, things are getting messy!"" Suddenly, Bessie dashed away through the forest. "Yes!" I shouted. "Eat our dust, hedgehogs!" The hedgehogs were firing their quills at us while Bessie fled. Anne opened the book as we went off a cliff. "If you still haven't escaped, give Bessie some berries from the secret compartment in the front of her shell." Anne read as she opened up the shell and grabbed some berries from a small pouch. "Let's do this thing, Bessie!" Anne fed the berries to Bessie, causing her to lose the hedgehogs. "Way to go, Bessie!" I cheered. "You are the queen of the road." Anne added. "Alright, let's go home."

When we got back on the road, we saw a familiar vehicle, it was Mrs Croaker and Sprig. "Hey, kid, need a lift?" I asked. "Rowena, Anne, thank goodness!" Sprig exclaimed. "Okay, bye, Mrs Croaker, thank you." "Bye darling, next time, try to keep that road rage in check." Mrs Croaker said as she left. "Pretty sure I just got played." Sprig said. "Oh, absolutely." I replied. "That woman is everything I wanna be." Anne added.

When we got back home, we were all exhausted. "We made it!" Sprig cheered. "And it looks like Hop Pop is still washing Polly." "You'll never take me alive!" She yelled. "Dang it, Polly." Hop Pop groaned. "You're getting filth everywhere!" "Hey, you coming?" I asked as Sprig went inside. "I think I'm gonna spend a little more time with old Bessie here." Anne replied. "Suit yourself, goodnight." I said.