"Bully," said the frog boy's mamma to him one Saturday morning, when
there wasn't any school, "I wish you would go on an errand for me."
"Of course I will, mother," he said. "Do you want me to go to the store
for some lemons, or some sugar?"
"Neither one, Bully. I wish you would go to Mrs. Wibblewobble's house
and tell the nice duck lady I can't come over to-day to help her sew
carpet rags, and piece-out the bedquilt. I have to put away the winter
flannels so the moths won't get in them, and then, too, it is so rainy
and foggy that we couldn't see to sew carpet rags very well. Tell her
I'll be over the first pleasant day."
"Very well," answered Bully, "and may I stay a while and play with
Jimmie Wibblewobble?"
"You may," said his mother, and off Bully hopped all alone, for his
brother Bawly had gone fishing.
It was a very unpleasant day for any one except ducks or frogs. For
sometimes it rained, and when it wasn't rainy it was misty, and moisty,
and foggy. And it was wet all over. The water dripped down off the trees
and bushes, and even the ponds and little brooks were wetter than usual,
for the rain rained into them, and splished and splashed.
But Bully didn't mind, not in the least. Away he hopped in his rubber
suit, that water couldn't hurt, and he felt very fine. Soon he was at
Mrs. Wibblewobble's house, and he delivered the message his mother had
given him.
"And now I'll go play with Jimmie," said Bully. "Where is he, and where
are Lulu and Alice, Mrs. Wibblewobble?"
"Oh! the girls went over to see Grandfather Goosey Gander," replied
their mamma. "As for Jimmie, you'll find him out somewhere on the pond.
But be careful you don't get lost, for the fog is very thick to-day."
"I should think it was," replied Bully as he hopped away, "it's almost
as thick as molasses." Well, pretty soon he came to the edge of the
pond, and in he plumped, and began swimming about.
"Jimmie! Hey, Jimmie! Where are you, Jimmie?" he called.
"Over here, making a water wheel," answered the boy duck, and though the
frog chap couldn't see him, he could tell, by Jimmie's voice, where he
was, and soon he had hopped to the right place.
Well, Bully and Jimmie had a fine time, making the water wheel, that
went splash-splash around in the water. And when they became tired of
playing that, they played water-tag with the water-spiders, and then
they played hop-skip-and-jump, at which game Bully was very good.
"Now let's go up to the house," proposed Jimmie, "and I'm sure mother
will give us some cornmeal sandwiches with jam and bread and butter on."
Off they went through the fog, and it was now so thick that they
couldn't see their way, and by mistake they went to the barn instead of
the house. I don't know what they would have done, only just then along
came Old Percival, the circus dog, and he could smell his way through
the misty fog up to the house. Maybe he could smell the sandwiches, with
jam and bread and butter on. I don't know, but anyhow Mrs. Wibblewobble
gave him one when she made some for Bully and Jimmie.
Well, now I'm coming to the Alice part of the story. As Jimmie and Bully
were eating their sandwiches on the back porch, not minding the rain in
the least, all at once Lulu Wibblewobble came waddling along. As soon as
she got to the steps she called out:
"Oh, is Alice home yet?"
"Alice home?" exclaimed Mrs. Wibblewobble. "Why, didn't she come from
Grandfather Goosey Gander's house with you?"
"No, she started on ahead, some time ago," said Lulu. "She said she
wanted to put on her new hair ribbon for dinner. She ought to have been
here some time ago. Are you sure she isn't here?"
"No, she isn't," answered Jimmie. "She must be lost in the fog!"
"Oh, dear! That's exactly what has happened!" cried the mamma duck. "Oh,
this dreadful fog! What shall I do?"
"Don't worry, Mrs. Wibblewobble," spoke Bully. "Jimmie and I will go and
hunt her. We can find her in the fog."
"Oh, you may get lost yourselves!" said the duck lady. "It's bad enough
as it is, but that would be dreadful. Oh, what shall I do?"
"I'll tell you," said Lulu. "We'll all hunt for her, and so that we will
not become lost in the fog, we'll tie several strings to our house, and
then each of us will keep hold of one string, and when we go off in the
fog we can follow the string back again, and we won't get lost."
"That's a good idea!" cried Bully, and they all thought it was. So they
each tied a long string to the front porch rail, and, keeping hold of
the other end, started off in the fog, Mrs. Wibblewobble, Jimmie, Bully
and Lulu. Off into the fog they went, and the white mist was now thicker
than ever; thicker than molasses, I guess.
Mrs. Wibblewobble looked one way, and Jimmie another, and Lulu another,
and Bully still another. And for a long time neither one of them could
find Alice.
"I'm going to call out loud, and perhaps she'll hear me," said Bully.
"She probably wandered off on the wrong path coming from Grandfather
Goosey Gander's house." So he cried as loudly as he could: "Alice!
Alice! Where are you, Alice?"
"Oh, here I am!" the duck girl suddenly cried, though Bully couldn't see
her on account of the fog. "Oh, I'm so glad you came to find me, for
I've been lost a long time."
"Walk right over this way!" called Bully, "and I'll take you home by the
string. Come over here!"
"Yes, come over here!" called another voice, and Bully looked and what
should he see but a savage alligator, hiding in the fog, with his mouth
wide open. The alligator hoped Alice would, by mistake, walk right into
his mouth so he could eat her. And he kept calling right after Bully,
and poor Alice got so confused with the two of them shouting that she
didn't know what to do.
Bully was afraid the alligator would get her, so what did he do but take
up a big stone, and, hiding in the fog, he threw the rock into the
alligator's mouth.
"There! Chew on that!" called Bully, and the alligator was so angry that
he crawled right away, taking his scaly, double-jointed tail with him.
Then Bully called again, and this time Alice found where he was in the
fog, and she waddled up to him, and she wasn't lost any more, and Bully
took her home by following the string. Then the fog blew away and they
were all happy, and had some more jam sandwiches.
Now, in case it doesn't rain and wet my new umbrella so that the pussy
cat can go to school, and learn how to make a mouse trap, I'll tell you
next about Bawly No-Tail and Lulu Wibblewobble.