It was a hot summer day. The Koopalings sat around the Koopa Lounge, fanning themselves.

"Hot," said Iggy.

"Hot," agreed Lemmy.

"Hot idea!" announced Bowser.

"Uh," grunted Wendy.

"What?" Larry had an original thought.

"Wet," said Bowser.

"Wet?" said Morton.

"Whatever," said Ludwig.

"No," said Bowser. "Not whatever, wet all over."

"Oh," said Roy.

"Oy," said Wendy.

"No oysters," said Bowser. "A just for Koopas race."

"Race?" questioned Iggy.

"Rats," said Lemmy.

"No rats either," said Bowser. "A just for Koopas swimming race."

"Race?" questioned Iggy.

"Yes!" said Lemmy.

Soon the Koopalings were lined up at one end of their Olympic size swimming pool. They stood in age order with Larry on the right end and Ludwig on the left.

Bowser gave the rules. "When I blow the whistle, you will all jump in. The winner will be the first Koopaling to touch the far wall with both hands. I will be the judge. You may walk in the water, or swim using any stroke you want. The only limitations are that you must stay in the pool, you may not hold onto the wall, and you must remain in contact with one of these at all times." Bowser produced seven kickboards.

The Koopalings groaned. "I can’t swim with one of those!" Ludwig protested.

"I can’t swim without one of those!" argued Larry.

"I rest my case," concluded Bowser. "Each of you will get a kickboard. You must be touching your own board the whole time you are in the pool. That means you have to be clever at the end to free up both hands. Each kickboard is a distinctive pattern or color so you will know which one is yours."

Bowser passed out a kickboard to each Koopaling.

"Stripes make me dizzy," complained Roy.

Larry switched boards with Roy.

"I think my board matches my hair very nicely," Ludwig said smugly.

"Hey, what are you trying to pull?" yelled Roy. "I can’t use a pink kickboard!"

Wendy traded kickboards with Roy. Roy thought his new board matched the frames of his sunglasses pretty well.

"Plaid," remarked another Koopaling. "My favorite color."

"Rainbow," another Koopa joked. "My favorite hair color."

"Fine!" snapped the first Koopaling. "Why don’t you use the plaid kickboard, O non-rainbow-haired sibling?"

The two Koopalings traded their boards. It was a first trade for both of them. The first Koopaling looked at his board. He saw that it was a pattern but could not tell what. "Wish I had some prescription goggles," thought the Koopaling.

The Koopaling who had not traded approached the Koopaling who had traded twice. The first Koopaling proposed a trade. The second Koopaling eyed his sibling’s yellow kickboard and declined.

When all the Koopalings were back in line, Bowser raised his hand. The whistle blew and six Koopalings jumped into the pool. The second Koopaling from the right had dropped his board. The Koopa Kid retrieved the kickboard and dived into last place.

Just ahead, a Koopaling was wrestling to stay in contact with a red kickboard while getting into a quick butterfly stroke. The Koopa in last passed the Koopa with the red board.

The Koopa who was now in sixth caught up with the fifth place Koopa. "I like the polka dots!" called the first Koopaling.

"Thanks, um, Lemmy?" replied the second Koopa kid, trying to see who had given the compliment. While the Koopa squinted, the other Koopaling sped ahead.

Two Koopas were tied for fourth until one stopped to fix a twisted bathing suit strap. The Koopa in fifth passed the stopped Koopaling. The Koopa kid slowly gained on the Koopaling who had been tied for fourth place. Soon the two Koopas were neck and neck. The two looked at each other and sneered. Suddenly the younger Koopa kid reached out and grabbed hold of the other Koopaling’s board.

"Hey!" the Koopaling complained. After a brief tug-of-war, one Koopaling sped away, leaving the other Koopa kid without a kickboard.

"Out of the pool!" called Bowser. Grumbling, the boardless Koopa got out of the water. "I was doing so well after my late start!" the Koopaling thought.

The winner of the tug-of-war held onto the extra board. The Koopa climbed on top of one board and used the other as a paddle. The Koopaling was now in third place, and rapidly gaining on second. When the Koopaling caught up with second place, he used the extra board to club his opponent.

The other Koopaling lost hold of a yellow board and had to leave the pool. The victorious Koopa tried desperately to catch up with first place, but was not fast enough.

Resting one foot on an unpatterned kickboard, a Koopa kid tagged the wall with both hands and won.