The theoretic turtle started out to see the toad; He came to a stop at a liberty-pole in the middle of the road. "Now how, in the name of the spouting whale," the indignant turtle cried, "Can I climb this perpendicular cliff, and get on the other side? If I only could make a big balloon, I'd lightly over it fly; Or a very long ladder might reach the top, though it does look fearfully high. If a beaver were in my place, he'd gnaw a passage through with his teeth; I can't do that, but I can dig a tunnel and pass beneath." He was digging his tunnel, with might and main, when a dog looked down at the hole. "The easiest way, my friend," said he, "is to walk around the pole."