This story took place in the very heart of Eclipse Island – in a river valley where peculiar water-cheeked creatures lived. They were called this because of their unusual ability to fill their cheeks with water and release it at great speed. The water-cheeked creatures would flood enormous trees and build dams and houses from them.
Chip was the most ordinary young water-cheeked creature, but everyone considered him very strong. He had earned this status through deception, but no one suspected it.
Water-cheeked creatures often competed with each other, filling their cheeks with water and moving stones with the stream. Chip was cunning: he moved boulders not only with the force of water, but also with the help of his friend – a transparent tail-footed creature. Of course, his stones always ended up further away than everyone else's. Chip thought it was harmless deception because no prizes were given for winning, and everyone competed just for entertainment.
The little fibber was also very sociable and could chat at length with anyone he met. Naturally, the inhabitants of Eclipse learned about his achievements very quickly.
One day something happened on the island that forced Chip not to open his mouth in the most literal sense, and thanks to this he saved all the valley's residents and came to value the truth. But let me tell you everything in order.
Life in the river valleys was bustling: water-cheeked creatures built dams, and their little ones played on the shore. The biggest concern was building a prettier dam. But suddenly the waterfall that fed all the rivers dried up. It had fallen from the highest of the cliffs surrounding the valley, and now there wasn't a drop. Fear settled in the hearts of the residents: without water they would perish.
The elders decided to send a reconnaissance team of flying crabs to the cliff. The crabs left at dawn and returned only the next day with bad news. A rockslide had occurred in the gorge, and a huge piece of rock had blocked the river that ended in the waterfall.
Water-cheeked creatures needed to be sent to the cliff urgently to break the stone with water. But climbing the mountain on foot and then walking to the blockage would take far too long, and the water in the valley was decreasing with every hour.
The flying crabs wanted to lift a water-cheeked creature to the cliff, but it didn't work out: although water-cheeked creatures are small, they are heavy. So the elders decided to choose the strongest from the tribe and launch him to the summit using a fountain that several water-cheeked creatures could create together.
The scout crabs warned that there was no water at the blockage site, so the chosen hero would have to collect it in the valley.
Chip was chosen, of course, because he was always the one who won the stone-rolling competitions. The water-cheeked creature was very frightened, but he couldn't bring himself to tell everyone that he was a cheat.
The water-cheeked creatures gathered as a tribe. Chip sat on the roof of the tallest house in the valley. His cheeks were full of water. A voice rang out:
