After Bully and Bawly No-Tail, the frogs, and their papa, reached home
from the woods, where they met the make-believe giant, as I told you in
the story before this one, they talked about it for ever so long, and
agreed that it was quite an adventure.
"I wish I'd have another adventure to-morrow," said Bawly, as he went to
bed that night.
"Perhaps you may," said his papa. "Only I can't be with you to-morrow,
as I have to go to work in my wallpaper factory. We made the Pelican
bird give back the ink, so the printing presses can run again."
Well, the next day the frog boys' mamma said to them:
"Bully and Bawly, I wish you would go to the store for me. I want a
dozen lemons and some sugar, for I am going to make lemonade, in case
company comes to-night."
"All right, we'll go," said Bully very politely. "I'll get the sugar and
Bawly can get the lemons."
So they went to the store and got the things, and when they were hopping
out, the storekeeper, who was a very kind elephant gentleman, gave them
each a handful of peanuts, which they put in the pockets of their
clothes, that water couldn't hurt.
Well, when Bully and Bawly were almost home, they came to a place where
there were two paths. One went through the woods and the other across
the pond.
"I'll tell you what let's do," suggested Bully. "You go by the woodland
path, Bawly, and I'll go by way of the pond and we'll see who will get
home first."
"All right," said Bawly, so on he hopped through the woods, going as
fast as he could, for he wanted to beat. And Bully swam as fast as he
could in the water, carrying the sugar, for it was in a rubber bag, so
it wouldn't get wet. But now I'm going to tell you what happened to
Bawly.
He was hopping along, carrying the lemons, when all at once he heard
some one calling to him:
"Hello, little frog, are you a good jumper?"
Bawly looked all around, and there right by a great, big stone he saw a
savage, ugly fox. At first Bawly was going to throw a lemon at the bad
animal, to scare him away, and then he happened to think that the lemons
were soft and wouldn't hurt the fox very much.
"Don't be afraid," said the fox, "I won't bite you. I wouldn't hurt you
for the world, little frog," and then the fox came slowly from behind
the stone, and Bawly saw that both the sly creature's front feet were
lame from the rheumatism, like Uncle Wiggily's, so the fox couldn't run
at all. Bawly knew he could easily hop away from him, as the sly animal
couldn't go any faster than a snail.
"Oh, I guess the reason you won't hurt me, is because you can't catch
me," said Bawly, slow and careful-like.
"Oh, I wouldn't hurt you, anyhow," went on the fox, trying not to show
how hungry he was, for really, you know, he wanted to eat Bawly, but he
knew he couldn't catch him, with his sore feet, so he was trying to
think of another way to get hold of him. "I just love frogs," said the
fox.
"I guess you do," thought Bawly. "You like them too much. I'll keep well
away from you."
"But what I want to know," continued the fox, "is whether you are a good
jumper, Bawly."
"Yes, I am--pretty good," said the frog boy.
"Could you jump over this stone?" asked the fox, slyly, pointing to a
little one.
"Easily," said Bawly, and he did it, lemons and all.
"Could you jump over that stump?" asked the fox, pointing to a big one.
"Easily," answered Bawly, and he did it, lemons and all.
"Ha! Here is a hard one," said the fox. "Could you jump over my head?"
"Easily," replied Bawly, and he did it, lemons and all.
"Well, you certainly are a good jumper," spoke the fox, wagging his
bushy tail with a puzzled air. "I know something you can't do, though."
"What is it?" inquired Bawly.
"You can't jump over the church steeple."
"I believe I can!" exclaimed Bawly, before he thought. You see he didn't
like the fox to think he couldn't do it, for Bawly was proud, and that's
not exactly right, and it got him into trouble, as you shall soon see.
You know that fox was very sly, and the reason he wanted Bawly to try to
jump over the church steeple was so the frog boy would fall down from a
great height and be hurt, and then the fox could eat him without any
trouble, sore feet or none. I tell you it's best to look out when a fox
asks you to do anything.
"Yes, I can jump over the church steeple," declared Bawly, and he hopped
ahead until he came to the church, the fox limping slowly along, and
thinking what a fine meal he'd have when poor Bawly fell, for the fox
knew what a terrible jump it was, and how anyone who made it would be
hurt, but the frog boy didn't.
Bawly tucked the bag of lemons under his leg, and he took a long breath,
and he gave a jump, but he didn't go very far up in the air as his foot
slipped.
"Ha! I knew you couldn't do it!" sneered the fox.
"Watch me!" cried Bawly, and this time he gave a most tremendous and
extraordinary jump, and right up to the church steeple he went, but he
didn't go over it, and it's a good thing, too, or he'd have been all
broken to pieces when he landed on the ground again. But instead he hit
right on top of the church steeple and stayed there, where there was a
nice, round, golden ball to sit on.
"Jump down! Jump down!" cried the fox, for he wanted to eat Bawly.
"No, I'm going to stay here," answered the frog boy, for now he saw how
far it was to the ground, and he knew he'd be killed if he leaped off
the steeple.
Well, the fox tried to get him to jump down, but Bawly wouldn't. And
then the frog boy began to wonder how he'd ever get home, for the
steeple was very high.
Then what do you think Bawly did? Why, he took a lemon and threw it at
the church bell, hoping to ring it so the janitor would come and help
him down. But the lemon was too soft to ring the bell loudly enough for
any to hear.
Then Bawly thought of his peanuts, and he threw a handful of them at the
church bell in the steeple, making it ring like an alarm clock, and the
janitor, who was sweeping out the church for Sunday, heard the bell, and
he looked up and saw the frog on the steeple. Then the janitor, being a
kind man, got a ladder and helped Bawly down, and the fox, very much
disappointed, limped away, and didn't eat the frog boy after all.
"But you must never try to jump over a steeple again," said Bawly's
mamma when he told her about it, after he got home with the lemons, and
found Bully there ahead of him with the sugar.
So Bawly promised that he wouldn't, and he never did. And now, if the
postman brings me a pink letter with a green stamp on from the playful
elephant in the circus, I'll tell you next about Bully and the basket of
chips.