“Who is Captain Cookie?” I asked Madame Chamberlaine.

Madame zipped up her coat. “Well, she’s a captain of a bateau.”

“Bateau? What’s that?”

“It means a boat.”

“So you have a friend named Cookie who drives a boat. Does Captain Cookie like to eat cookies?” I asked.

Madame laughed again. “Actually not. She likes to eat du gâteau.”

“Gâteau rhymes with bateau! What does gâteau mean? Jello? Jelly beans? Green peas?”

“It means cake,” Madame said. “Alors, mes petites, are you coming with me to find Captain Cookie or are you staying home to eat du gâteau?”

“We’re coming! We’re coming!” Shuly and I said as we followed Madame out the front door.

It was a sunny, cold day. Madame Chamberlaine’s heels went clickety-clack, clickety-clack on the sidewalk as we walked. Finally, Madame turned onto a small, pebbly road. We stumbled along until we saw shimmering, blue water.

Shuly and I ran.

“Oh wow! We reached the canal!”

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Madame said. She went into an old, wooden shed and spoke to a man. He came out and pointed to a small, blue motorboat. Madame took our hands and led us to the boat.

“We’re going on that motorboat?” Shuly asked.

“Oui,” Madame said.

“But why?” I asked. “I thought we’re just looking for Captain Cookie.”

“We are,” Madame said. “We’re looking for her out on the water.”

“Is she lost?”

“Non, mes petites. She is leaving the city in her boat. I must get this cadeau to her before she leaves.”

Shuly and I looked at the box Madame was holding.

“What’s inside?” I asked.

“I told you that she likes du gâteau. I brought her a cadeau of gâteau and Captain Cookie will eat it on her bateau!”

We laughed.

“Vite, vite!” Madame said. “Put on these life vests and carefully jump in so that we can catch Captain Cookie before she leaves the city!”

The boat wobbled as we climbed inside. Madame revved the motor, and we shot away from the dock.

“Whoa! This is fun!” I said.

Shuly and I held tightly to the bar next to our seat. Freezing water splashed into our boat. We sang:

“Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream,

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is like a dream!”

Madame turned to us and sang:

“Rame, rame, rame your bateau, gently down the stream,

Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly let’s find Captain Cookie and her team!”

We sang along with Madame until she said. “Ahoy! I think I see Captain Cookie’s boat up ahead. She said her boat is red. Is that boat red?”

(Excerpted from Mishpacha Jr., Issue 745)