And that he's slow ashore.
Don't ask us if he wears a shell
Until we tell you more.
Don't ask us if he's fond of fish
Nor seek to learn his age.
And kindly don't express a wish
To see him in a rage!
Don't ask us if his claws are strong
And if he has a tail.
It might be short and blunt, or long
And pointed like a nail.
We do not want to cause you pain.
We would not give offense--
But, sir, you'll not come here again
If you have any sense.
After the last echo of the song had lost itself in the depths of Cedar
Swamp, the singers all turned, smiling, to their listener.
But his face wore no smile. On the contrary, Timothy Turtle frowned
darkly.
"You can't fool me!" he cried. "You don't like me! You don't want me
here!"
Ferdinand Frog swallowed a few times.
"Well," said he, "of course my manners are so elegant that I simply
_couldn't_ dispute one of my elders. And anyhow, Mr. Turtle, you'd find
that our singing sounded twice as well if you were half a mile away."
"It certainly couldn't sound any worse than it does here," Timothy
Turtle declared--a remark which made the Frog family grin broadly.
He said no more, but slipped into the water and struck out towards home.
There was a lively scattering of those who found themselves in Timothy
Turtle's path. And for a time it looked as if the singing party had
broken up in disorder.
But after a while everybody came back again--that is, everybody but
Timothy Turtle. He hurried away and spent most of the whole night buried
in the mud at the bottom of Black Creek. For even until daybreak that
merry song came floating now and then across Pleasant Valley.
And Timothy Turtle did not like it. He thought it not only loud and
long, but most unpleasant as well.
THE END
Little Jack Rabbit Books
(Trademark Registered)
By DAVID CORY
Author of "Little Journeys to Happyland"
Colored Wrappers With Text Illustrations.
A new and unique series about the furred and feathered little people of
the wood and meadow.
Children will eagerly follow the doings of little Jack Rabbit, and the
clever way in which he escapes from his three enemies, Danny Fox, Mr.
Wicked Wolf and Hungry Hawk will delight the youngsters.
LITTLE JACK RABBIT'S ADVENTURES
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND DANNY FOX
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE SQUIRREL BROTHERS
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND CHIPPY CHIPMUNK
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE BIG BROWN BEAR
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND UNCLE JOHN HARE
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND PROFESSOR CROW
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND OLD MAN WEASEL
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND MR. WICKED WOLF
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND HUNGRY HAWK
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE POLICEMAN DOG
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND MISS MOUSIE
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND UNCLE LUCKY
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE YELLOW DOG TRAMP
GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK
LITTLE JOURNEYS TO HAPPYLAND
By DAVID CORY
PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED. INDIVIDUAL COLORED WRAPPERS.
Printed in large type--easy to read. For children from 6 to 8 years.
A new series of exciting adventures by the author of the LITTLE JACK
RABBIT books. This series is unique in that it deals with unusual and
exciting adventures on land and sea and in the air.
THE CRUISE OF THE NOAH'S ARK
This is a good rainy day story. On just such a day Mr. Noah invites
Marjorie to go for a trip in Noah's Ark. She gets aboard just in time
and away it floats out into the big wide world.
THE MAGIC SOAP BUBBLE
The king of the gnomes has a magic pipe with which he blows a wonderful
bubble and taking Ed. with him they both have a delightful time in
Gnomeland.
THE ICEBERG EXPRESS
The Mermaid's magic comb changes little Mary Louise into a mermaid. The
Polar Bear Porter on the Iceberg Express invites her to take a trip with
him and away they go.
THE WIND WAGON
Little Hero stepped aboard the Wind Wagon and started on a journey to
many wonderful places and had a delightful time.
THE MAGIC UMBRELLA
A little old man gave Jimmy the Magic Umbrella which took him to
Happyland, where he had many adventures.
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
End of Project Gutenberg's The Tale of Timothy Turtle, by Arthur Scott Bailey