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The Bedtime Story-Books
THE ADVENTURES OF GRANDFATHER FROG
by
THORNTON W. BURGESS
Author of _The Adventures of Reddy Fox_, _Old Mother West Wind_, etc.
With Illustrations by HARRISON CADY
Boston
Little, Brown, and Company
1920
[Illustration: "Have a nice nap?" inquired Jerry, with a broad grin.
(Frontispiece)]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. BILLY MINK FINDS LITTLE JOE OTTER
II. LONGLEGS THE BLUE HERON RECEIVES CALLERS
III. LONGLEGS VISITS THE SMILING POOL
IV. THE PATIENCE OF LONGLEGS THE BLUE HERON
V. GRANDFATHER FROG JUMPS JUST IN TIME
VI. LONGLEGS AND WHITETAIL QUARREL
VII. GRANDFATHER FROG'S BIG MOUTH GETS HIM IN TROUBLE
VIII. SPOTTY THE TURTLE PLAYS DOCTOR
IX. OLD MR. TOAD VISITS GRANDFATHER FROG
X. GRANDFATHER FROG STARTS OUT TO SEE THE GREAT WORLD
XI. GRANDFATHER FROG IS STUBBORN
XII. GRANDFATHER FROG KEEPS ON
XIII. DANNY MEADOW MOUSE FEELS RESPONSIBLE
XIV. GRANDFATHER FROG HAS A STRANGE RIDE
XV. GRANDFATHER FROG GIVES UP HOPE
XVI. THE MERRY LITTLE BREEZES WORK HARD
XVII. STRIPED CHIPMUNK CUTS THE STRING
XVIII. GRANDFATHER FROG HURRIES AWAY
XIX. GRANDFATHER FROG JUMPS INTO MORE TROUBLE
XX. GRANDFATHER FROG LOSES HEART
XXI. THE MERRY LITTLE BREEZES TRY TO COMFORT GRANDFATHER FROG
XXII. GRANDFATHER FROG'S TROUBLES GROW
XXIII. THE DEAR OLD SMILING POOL ONCE MORE
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
"HAVE A NICE NAP?" INQUIRED JERRY, WITH A BROAD GRIN
"THANK YOU," SAID LONGLEGS. "I BELIEVE I HAVE AN ERRAND UP THAT WAY"
AS SOON AS THEY SAW GRANDFATHER FROG, THEY BEGAN TO LAUGH, TOO
"YOU WON'T SEE MUCH OF THE GREAT WORLD IF YOU JUMP LIKE THAT EVERY
TIME YOU GET A SCARE," SAID DANNY
HE SEIZED THE OTHER END OF THE STRING AND BEGAN TO PULL
"THAT'S JUST WHAT I'M AFRAID OF!" CROAKED GRANDFATHER FROG
THE ADVENTURES OF GRANDFATHER FROG
I
BILLY MINK FINDS LITTLE JOE OTTER
Billy Mink ran around the edge of the Smiling Pool and turned down by
the Laughing Brook. His eyes twinkled with mischief, and he hurried as
only Billy can. As he passed Jerry Muskrat's house, Jerry saw him.
"Hi, Billy Mink! Where are you going in such a hurry this fine morning?"
he called.
"To find Little Joe Otter. Have you seen anything of him?" replied
Billy.
"No," said Jerry. "He's probably down to the Big River fishing. I heard
him say last night that he was going."
"Thanks," said Billy Mink, and without waiting to say more he was off
like a little brown flash.
Jerry watched him out of sight. "Hump!" exclaimed Jerry. "Billy Mink is
in a terrible hurry this morning. Now I wonder what he is so anxious to
find Little Joe Otter for. When they get their heads together, it is
usually for some mischief."
Jerry climbed to the top of his house and looked over the Smiling Pool
in the direction from which Billy Mink had just come. Almost at once he
saw Grandfather Frog fast asleep on his big green lily-pad. The legs of
a foolish green fly were sticking out of one corner of his big mouth.
Jerry couldn't help laughing, for Grandfather Frog certainly did look
funny.
"He's had a good breakfast this morning, and his full stomach has made
him sleepy," thought Jerry. "But he's getting careless in his old age.
He certainly is getting careless. The idea of going to sleep right out
in plain sight like that!"
Suddenly a new thought popped into his head. "Billy Mink saw him, and
that is why he is so anxious to find Little Joe Otter. He is planning to
play some trick on Grandfather Frog as sure as pollywogs have tails!"
exclaimed Jerry. Then his eyes began to twinkle as he added: "I think
I'll have some fun myself."
Without another word Jerry slipped down into the water and swam over to
the big green lily-pad of Grandfather Frog. Then he hit the water a
smart blow with his tail. Grandfather Frog's big goggly eyes flew open,
and he was just about to make a frightened plunge into the Smiling Pool
when he saw Jerry.
"Have a nice nap?" inquired Jerry, with a broad grin.
"I wasn't asleep!" protested Grandfather Frog indignantly. "I was just
thinking."
"Don't you think it a rather dangerous plan to think so long with your
eyes closed?" asked Jerry.
"Well, maybe I did just doze off," admitted Grandfather Frog sheepishly.
"Maybe you did," replied Jerry. "Now listen." Then Jerry whispered in
Grandfather Frog's ear, and both chuckled as if they were enjoying some
joke, for they are great friends, you know. Afterward Jerry swam back to
his house, and Grandfather Frog closed his eyes so as to look just as he
did when he was asleep.
Meanwhile Billy Mink had hurried down the Laughing Brook. Half-way to
the Big River he met Little Joe Otter bringing home a big fish, for you
know Little Joe is a great fisherman. Billy Mink hastened to tell him
how Grandfather Frog had fallen fast asleep on his big green lily-pad.
"It's a splendid chance to have some fun with Grandfather Frog and give
him a great scare," concluded Billy.
Little Joe Otter put his fish down and grinned. He likes to play pranks
almost as well as he likes to go fishing.
"What can we do?" said he.
"I've thought of a plan," replied Billy. "Do you happen to know where we
can find Longlegs the Blue Heron?"
"Yes," said Little Joe. "I saw him fishing not five minutes ago."
Then Billy told Little Joe his plan, and laughing and giggling, the two
little scamps hurried off to find Longlegs the Blue Heron.
II
LONGLEGS THE BLUE HERON RECEIVES CALLERS
Longlegs the Blue Heron felt decidedly out of sorts. It was a beautiful
morning, too beautiful for any one to be feeling that way. Indeed, it
was the same beautiful morning in which Grandfather Frog had caught so
many foolish green flies.
Jolly, round, bright Mr. Sun was smiling his broadest. The Merry Little
Breezes of Old Mother West Wind were dancing happily here and there over
the Green Meadows, looking for some good turn to do for others. The
little feathered people to whom Old Mother Nature has given the great
blessing of music in their throats were pouring out their sweetest
songs. So it seemed as if there was no good reason why Longlegs should
feel out of sorts. The fact is the trouble with Longlegs was an empty
stomach. Yes, Sir, that is what ailed Longlegs the Blue Heron that
sunshiny morning. You know it is hard work to be hungry and happy at the
same time.
So Longlegs stood on the edge of a shallow little pool in the Laughing
Brook, grumbling to himself. Just a little while before, he had seen
Little Joe Otter carrying home a big fish, and this had made him
hungrier and more out of sorts than ever. In the first place it made him
envious, and envy, you know, always stirs up bad feelings. He knew
perfectly well that Little Joe had got that fish by boldly chasing it
until he caught it, for Little Joe can swim even faster than a fish. But
Longlegs chose to try to make himself think that it was all luck.
Moreover, he wanted to blame some one for his own lack of success, as
most people who fail do. So when Little Joe had called out: "Hi,
Longlegs, what luck this fine morning?" Longlegs just pretended not to
hear. But when Little Joe was out of sight and hearing, he began to
grumble to himself.
"No wonder I have no luck with that fellow racing up and down the
Laughing Brook," said he. "He isn't content to catch what he wants
himself, but frightens the rest of the fish so that an honest fisherman
like me has no chance at all. I don't see what Old Mother Nature was
thinking of when she gave him a liking for fish. He and Billy Mink are
just two worthless little scamps, born to make trouble for other
people."
He was still grumbling when these two same little scamps poked their
heads out of the grass on the other side of the little pool. "You look
happy, Longlegs. Must be that you have had a good breakfast," said
Little Joe, nudging Billy Mink.
Longlegs snapped his great bill angrily. "What are you doing here,
spoiling my fishing?" he demanded. "Haven't you got the Big River and
all the rest of the Laughing Brook to fool around in? This is my pool,
and I'll thank you to keep away!"
Billy Mink chuckled so that Longlegs heard him, and that didn't improve
his temper a bit. But before he could say anything more, Little Joe
Otter spoke.
"Oh," said he, "we beg your pardon. We just happen to know that
Grandfather Frog is sound asleep, and we thought that if you hadn't had
good luck this morning, you might like to know about it. As long as you
think so ill of us, we'll just run over and tell Blackcap the Night
Heron."
Little Joe turned as if to start off in search of Blackcap at once.
"Hold on a minute!" called Longlegs, and tried to make his voice sound
pleasant, a difficult thing to do, because, you know, his voice is very
harsh and disagreeable. "The truth is, I haven't had a mouthful of
breakfast and to be hungry is apt to make me cross. Where did you say
Grandfather Frog is?"
"I didn't say," replied Little Joe, "but if you really want to know, he
is sitting on his big green lily-pad in the Smiling Pool fast asleep
right in plain sight."
"Thank you," said Longlegs. "I believe I have an errand up that way, now
I think of it. I believe I'll just go over and have a look at him. I
have never seen him asleep."
[Illustration: "Thank you," said Longlegs. "I believe I have an errand
up that way." _Page 10_.]
III
LONGLEGS VISITS THE SMILING POOL
Longlegs the Blue Heron watched Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter
disappear down the Laughing Brook. As long as they were in sight, he sat
without moving, his head drawn down between his shoulders just as if he
had nothing more important to think about than a morning nap. But if you
had been near enough to have seen his keen eyes, you would never have
suspected him of even thinking of a nap. Just as soon as he felt sure
that the two little brown-coated scamps were out of sight, he stretched
his long neck up until he was almost twice as tall as he had been a
minute before. He looked this way and that way to make sure that no
danger was near, spread his great wings, flapped heavily up into the
air, and then, with his head once more tucked back between his shoulders
and his long legs straight out behind him, he flew out over the Green
Meadows, and making a big circle, headed straight for the Smiling Pool.
All this time Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter had not been so far away
as Longlegs supposed. They had been hiding where they could watch him,
and the instant he spread his wings, they started back up the Laughing
Brook towards the Smiling Pool to see what would happen there. You see
they knew perfectly well that Longlegs was flying up to the Smiling Pool
in the hope that he could catch Grandfather Frog for his breakfast. They
didn't really mean that any harm should come to Grandfather Frog, but
they meant that he should have a great fright. You see, they were like a
great many other people, so heedless and thoughtless that they thought
it fun to frighten others.
"Of course we'll waken Grandfather Frog in time for him to get away with
nothing more than a great scare," said Little Joe Otter, as they hurried
along. "It will be such fun to see his big goggly eyes pop out when he
opens them and sees Longlegs just ready to gobble him up! And won't
Longlegs be hopping mad when we cheat him out of the breakfast he is so
sure he is going to have!"
They reached the Smiling Pool before Longlegs, who had taken a
roundabout way, and they hid among the bulrushes where they could see
and not be seen.
"There's the old fellow just as I left him, fast asleep," whispered
Billy Mink.
Sure enough, there on his big green lily-pad sat Grandfather Frog with
his eyes shut. At least, they seemed to be shut. And over on top of his
big house sat Jerry Muskrat. Jerry seemed to be too busy opening a
fresh-water clam to notice anything else; but the truth is he was
watching all that was going on. You see, he had suspected that Billy
Mink was going to play some trick on Grandfather Frog, so he had warned
him. When he had seen Longlegs coming towards the Smiling Pool, he had
given Grandfather Frog another warning, and he knew that now he was only
pretending to be asleep.
Straight up to the Smiling Pool came Longlegs the Blue Heron, and on the
very edge of it, among the bulrushes, he dropped his long legs and stood
with his toes in the water, his long neck stretched up so that he could
look all over the Smiling Pool. There, just as Little Joe Otter had
said, sat Grandfather Frog on his big green lily-pad, fast asleep. At
least, he seemed to be fast asleep. The eyes of Longlegs sparkled with
hunger and the thought of what a splendid breakfast Grandfather Frog
would make. Very slowly, putting each foot down as carefully as he knew
how, Longlegs began to walk along the shore so as to get opposite the
big green lily-pad where Grandfather Frog was sitting. And over in the
bulrushes on the other side, Little Joe Otter and Billy Mink nudged each
other and clapped their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing
aloud.
IV
THE PATIENCE OF LONGLEGS THE BLUE HERON
Patience often wins the day
When over-haste has lost the way.
If there is one virtue which Longlegs the Heron possesses above another
it is patience. Yes, Sir, Longlegs certainly has got patience. He
believes that if a thing is worth having, it is worth waiting for, and
that if he waits long enough, he is sure to get it. Perhaps that is
because he has been a fisherman all his life, and his father and his
grandfather were fishermen. You know a fisherman without patience rarely
catches anything. Of course Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter laugh at
this and say that it isn't so, but the truth is they sometimes go
hungry when they wouldn't if they had a little of the patience of
Longlegs.
Now Grandfather Frog is another who is very, very patient. He can sit
still the longest time waiting for something to come to him. Indeed, he
can sit perfectly still so long, and Longlegs can stand perfectly still
so long, that Jerry Muskrat and Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter have had
many long disputes as to which of the two can keep still the longest.
"He will make a splendid breakfast," thought Longlegs, as very, very
carefully he walked along the edge of the Smiling Pool so as to get
right opposite Grandfather Frog. There he stopped and looked very hard
at Grandfather Frog. Yes, he certainly must be asleep, for his eyes were
closed. Longlegs chuckled to himself right down inside without making a
sound, and got ready to wade out so as to get within reach.
Now all the time Grandfather Frog was doing some quiet chuckling
himself. You see, he wasn't asleep at all. He was just pretending to be
asleep, and all the time he was watching Longlegs out of a corner of one
of his big goggly eyes. Very, very slowly and carefully, so as not to
make the teeniest, weeniest sound, Longlegs lifted one foot to wade out
into the Smiling Pool. Grandfather Frog pretended to yawn and opened his
big goggly eyes. Longlegs stood on one foot without moving so much as a
feather. Grandfather Frog yawned again, nodded as if he were too sleepy
to keep awake, and half closed his eyes. Longlegs waited and waited.
Then, little by little, so slowly that if you had been there you would
hardly have seen him move, he drew his long neck down until his head
rested on his shoulders.
"I guess I must wait until he falls sound asleep again," said Longlegs
to himself.
But Grandfather Frog didn't go to sleep. He would nod and nod and then,
just when Longlegs would make up his mind that this time he really was
asleep, open would pop Grandfather Frog's eyes. So all the long morning
Longlegs stood on one foot without moving, watching and waiting and
growing hungrier and hungrier, and all the long morning Grandfather Frog
sat on his big green lily-pad, pretending that he was oh, so sleepy, and
all the time having such a comfortable sun-bath and rest, for very early
he had had a good breakfast of foolish green flies.
Over in the bulrushes on the other side of the Smiling Pool two little
scamps in brown bathing suits waited and watched for the great fright
they had planned for Grandfather Frog, when they had sent Longlegs to
try to catch him. They were Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter. At first
they laughed to themselves and nudged each other at the thought of the
trick they had played. Then, as nothing happened, they began to grow
tired and uneasy. You see they do not possess patience. Finally they
gave up in disgust and stole away to find some more exciting sport.
Grandfather Frog saw them go and chuckled harder than ever to himself.
V
GRANDFATHER FROG JUMPS JUST IN TIME
Back and forth over the Green Meadows sailed Whitetail the Marsh Hawk.
Like Longlegs the Blue Heron, he was hungry. His sharp eyes peered down
among the grasses, looking for something to eat, but some good fairy
seemed to have warned the very little people who live there that
Whitetail was out hunting. Perhaps it was one of Old Mother West Wind's
children, the Merry Little Breezes. You know they are always flitting
about trying to do some one a good turn.
They love to dance and romp and play
From dawn to dusk the livelong day,
But more than this they love to find
A chance to do some favor kind.
Anyway, little Mr. Green Snake seemed to know that Whitetail was out
hunting and managed to keep out of sight. Danny Meadow Mouse wasn't to
be found. Only a few foolish grasshoppers rewarded his patient search,
and these only served to make him feel hungrier than ever. But old
Whitetail has a great deal of persistence, and in spite of his bad luck,
he kept at his hunting, back and forth, back and forth, until he had
been all over the Green Meadows. At last he made up his mind that he was
wasting time there.
"I'll just have a look over at the Smiling Pool, and if there is nothing
there, I'll take a turn or two along the Big River," thought he and
straightway started for the Smiling Pool. Long before he reached it, his
keen eyes saw Longlegs the Blue Heron standing motionless on the edge of
it, and he knew by the looks of Longlegs that he was watching something
which he hoped to catch.
"If it's a fish," thought Whitetail, "it will do me no good, for I am no
fisherman. But if it's a Frog--well, Frogs are not as good eating as fat
Meadow Mice, but they are very filling."
With that he hurried a little faster, and then he saw what Longlegs was
watching so intently. It was, as you know, Grandfather Frog sitting on
his big green lily-pad. Old Whitetail gave a great sigh of satisfaction.
Grandfather Frog certainly would be very filling, very filling, indeed.
Now Longlegs the Blue Heron was so intently watching Grandfather Frog
that he saw nothing else, and Grandfather Frog was so busy watching
Longlegs that he quite forgot that there might be other dangers.
Besides, his back was toward old Whitetail. Of course Whitetail saw
this, and it made him almost chuckle aloud. Ever so many times he had
tried to catch Grandfather Frog, but always Grandfather Frog had seen
him long before he could get near him.
Now, with all his keen sight, old Whitetail had failed to see some one
else who was sitting right in plain sight. He had failed because his
mind was so full of Grandfather Frog and Longlegs that he forgot to look
around, as he usually does. Just skimming the tops of the bulrushes he
sailed swiftly out over the Smiling Pool and reached down with his
great, cruel claws to clutch Grandfather Frog, who sat there pretending
to be asleep, but all the time watching Longlegs and deep down inside
chuckling to think how he was fooling Longlegs.
Slap! That was the tail of Jerry Muskrat hitting the water. Grandfather
Frog knew what that meant--danger! He didn't know what the danger was,
and he didn't wait to find out. There would be time enough for that
later. When Jerry Muskrat slapped the water with his tail that way,
danger was very near indeed. With a frightened "Chugarum!" Grandfather
Frog dived head first into the Smiling Pool, and so close was old
Whitetail that the water was splashed right in his face. He clutched
frantically with his great claws, but all he got was a piece of the big
green lily-pad on which Grandfather Frog had been sitting, and of course
this was of no use for an empty stomach.
With a scream of disappointment and anger, he whirled in the air and
made straight for Jerry Muskrat. But Jerry just laughed in the most
provoking way and ducked under water.
VI
LONGLEGS AND WHITETAIL QUARREL
"You did!" "I didn't! I didn't!" "You did!"
Such a terrible fuss when Grandfather hid!
You see Longlegs the Blue Heron had stood very patiently on one foot all
the long morning waiting for Grandfather Frog to go to sleep on his big
green lily-pad. He had felt sure he was to have Grandfather Frog for his
breakfast and lunch, for he had had no breakfast, and it was now lunch
time. He was so hungry that it seemed to him that the sides of his
stomach certainly would fall in because there was nothing to hold them
up, and then, without any warning at all, old Whitetail the Marsh Hawk
had glided out across the Smiling Pool with his great claws stretched
out to clutch Grandfather Frog, and Grandfather Frog had dived into the
Smiling Pool with a great splash just in the very nick of time.
Now is there anything in the world so hard on the temper as to lose a
good meal when you are very, very, very hungry? Of course Longlegs
didn't really have that good meal, but he had thought that he was surely
going to have it. So when Grandfather Frog splashed into the Smiling
Pool, of course Longlegs lost his temper altogether. His yellow eyes
seemed to grow even more yellow.
"You robber! You thief!" he screamed harshly at old Whitetail.
Now old Whitetail was just as hungry as Longlegs, and he had come even
nearer to catching Grandfather Frog. He is even quicker tempered than
Longlegs. He had whirled like a flash on Jerry Muskrat, but Jerry had
just laughed in the most provoking manner and ducked under water. This
had made old Whitetail angrier than ever, and then to be called bad
names--robber and thief! It was more than any self-respecting Hawk could
stand. Yes, Sir, it certainly was! He fairly shook with rage as he
turned in the air once more and made straight for Longlegs the Blue
Heron.
"I'm no more robber and thief than you are!" he shrieked.
"You frightened away my Frog!" screamed Longlegs.
"I didn't!"
"You did!"
"I didn't! It wasn't your Frog; it was mine!"
"Chugarum!" said Grandfather Frog to Jerry Muskrat, as they peeped out
from under some lily-pads. "I didn't know I belonged to anybody. I
really didn't. Did you?"
"No," replied Jerry, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he watched
Longlegs and Whitetail, "it's news to me."
"You're too lazy to hunt like honest people!" taunted old Whitetail, as
he wheeled around Longlegs, watching for a chance to strike with his
great, cruel claws.
"I'm too honest to take the food out of other people's mouths!" retorted
Longlegs, dancing around so as always to face Whitetail, one of his
great, broad wings held in front of him like a shield, and his long,
strong bill ready to strike.
Every feather on Whitetail's head was standing erect with rage, and he
looked very fierce and terrible. At last he saw a chance, or thought he
did, and shot down. But all he got was a feather from that great wing
which Longlegs kept in front of him, and before he could get away, that
long bill had struck him twice, so that he screamed with pain. So they
fought and fought, till the ground was covered with feathers, and they
were too tired to fight any longer. Then, slowly and painfully, old
Whitetail flew away over the Green Meadows, and with torn and ragged
wings, Longlegs flew heavily down the Laughing Brook towards the Big
River, and both were sore and stiff and still hungry.
"Dear me! Dear me! What a terrible thing and how useless anger is," said
Grandfather Frog, as he climbed back on his big green lily-pad in the
warm sunshine.
VII
GRANDFATHER FROG'S BIG MOUTH GETS HIM IN TROUBLE
Grandfather Frog has a great big mouth. You know that. Everybody does.
His friends of the Smiling Pool, the Laughing Brook, and the Green
Meadows have teased Grandfather Frog a great deal about the size of his
mouth, but he hasn't minded in the least, not the very least. You see,
he learned a long time ago that a big mouth is very handy for catching
foolish green flies, especially when two happen to come along together.
So he is rather proud of his big mouth, just as he is of his goggly
eyes.
But once in a while his big mouth gets him into trouble. It's a way big
mouths have. It holds so much that it makes him greedy sometimes. He
stuffs it full after his stomach already has all that it can hold, and
then of course he can't swallow. Then Grandfather Frog looks very
foolish and silly and undignified, and everybody calls him a greedy
fellow who is old enough to know better and who ought to be ashamed of
himself. Perhaps he is, but he never says so, and he is almost sure to
do the same thing over again the first chance he has.
Now it happened that one morning when Grandfather Frog had had a very
good breakfast of foolish green flies and really didn't need another
single thing to eat, who should come along but Little Joe Otter, who had
been down to the Big River fishing. He had eaten all he could hold, and
he was taking the rest of his catch to a secret hiding-place up the
Laughing Brook.
Now Grandfather Frog is very fond of fish for a change, and when he saw
those that Little Joe Otter had, his eyes glistened, and in spite of his
full stomach his mouth watered.
"Good morning, Grandfather Frog! Have you had your breakfast yet?"
called Little Joe Otter.
Grandfather Frog wanted to say no, but he always tells the truth.
"Ye-e-s," he replied. "I've had my breakfast, such as it was. Why do you
ask?"
"Oh, for no reason in particular. I just thought that if you hadn't, you
might like a fish. But as long as you have breakfasted, of course you
don't want one," said Little Joe, his bright eyes beginning to twinkle.
He held the fish out so that Grandfather Frog could see just how plump
and nice they were.
"Chugarum!" exclaimed Grandfather Frog. "Those certainly are very nice
fish, very nice fish indeed. It is very nice of you to think of a poor
old fellow like me, and I--er--well, I might find room for just a little
teeny, weeny one, if you can spare it."
Little Joe Otter knows all about Grandfather Frog's greediness. He
looked at Grandfather Frog's white and yellow waistcoat and saw how it
was already stuffed full to bursting. The twinkle in his eyes grew more
mischievous than ever as he said: "Of course I can. But I wouldn't think
of giving such an old friend a teeny, weeny one."
With that, Little Joe picked out the biggest fish he had and tossed it
over to Grandfather Frog. It landed close by his nose with a great
splash, and it was almost half as big as Grandfather Frog himself. It
was plump and looked so tempting that Grandfather Frog forgot all about
his full stomach. He even forgot to be polite and thank Little Joe
Otter. He just opened his great mouth and seized the fish. Yes, Sir,
that is just what he did. Almost before you could wink an eye, the fish
had started down Grandfather Frog's throat head first.
Now you know Grandfather Frog has no teeth, and so he cannot bite things
in two. He has to swallow them whole. That is just what he started to do
with the fish. It went all right until the head reached his stomach. But
you can't put anything more into a thing already full, and Grandfather
Frog's stomach was packed as full as it could be of foolish green flies.
There the fish stuck, and gulp and swallow as hard as he could,
Grandfather Frog couldn't make that fish go a bit farther. Then he tried
to get it out again, but it had gone so far down his throat that he
couldn't get it back. Grandfather Frog began to choke.
VIII
SPOTTY THE TURTLE PLAYS DOCTOR
Greed's a dreadful thing to see,
As everybody will agree.
At first Little Joe Otter, sitting on the bank of the Smiling Pool,
laughed himself almost sick as he watched Grandfather Frog trying to
swallow a fish almost as big as himself, when his white and yellow
waistcoat was already stuffed so full of foolish green flies that there
wasn't room for anything more. Such greed would have been disgusting, if
it hadn't been so very, very funny. At least, it was funny at first, for
the fish had stuck, with the tail hanging out of Grandfather Frog's big
mouth. Grandfather Frog hitched this way and hitched that way on his
big green lily-pad, trying his best to swallow. Twice he tumbled off
with a splash into the Smiling Pool. Each time he scrambled back again
and rolled his great goggly eyes in silent appeal to Little Joe Otter to
come to his aid.
[Illustration: As soon as they saw Grandfather Frog, they began to
laugh, too. _Page 37._]
But Little Joe was laughing so that he had to hold his sides, and he
didn't understand that Grandfather Frog really was in trouble. Billy
Mink and Jerry Muskrat came along, and as soon as they saw Grandfather
Frog, they began to laugh, too. They just laughed and laughed and
laughed until the tears came. They rolled over and over on the bank and
kicked their heels from sheer enjoyment. It was the funniest thing they
had seen for a long, long time.
"Did you ever see such greed?" gasped Billy Mink.
"Why don't you pull it out and start over again?" shouted Little Joe
Otter.
Now this is just what Grandfather Frog was trying to do. At least, he
was trying to pull the fish out. He hadn't the least desire in the world
to try swallowing it again. In fact, he felt just then as if he never,
never wanted to see another fish so long as he lived. But Grandfather
Frog's hands are not made for grasping slippery things, and the tail of
a fish is very slippery indeed. He tried first with one hand, then with
the other, and at last with both. It was of no use at all. He just
couldn't budge that fish. He couldn't cough it up, because it had gone
too far down for that. The more he clawed at that waving tail with his
hands, the funnier he looked, and the harder Little Joe Otter and Billy
Mink and Jerry Muskrat laughed. They made such a noise that Spotty the
Turtle, who had been taking a sun-bath on the end of an old log, slipped
into the water and started to see what it was all about.
Now Spotty the Turtle is very, very slow on land, but he is a good
swimmer. He hurried now because he didn't want to miss the fun. At first
he didn't see Grandfather Frog.
"What's the joke?" he asked.
Little Joe Otter simply pointed to Grandfather Frog. Little Joe had
laughed so much that he couldn't even speak. Spotty looked over to the
big green lily-pad and started to laugh too. Then he saw great tears
rolling down from Grandfather Frog's eyes and heard little choky sounds.
He stopped laughing and started for Grandfather Frog as fast as he could
swim. He climbed right up on the big green lily-pad, and reaching out,
grabbed the end of the fish tail in his beak-like mouth. Then Spotty
the Turtle settled back and pulled, and Grandfather Frog settled back
and pulled. Splash! Grandfather Frog had fallen backward into the
Smiling Pool on one side of the big green lily-pad. Splash! Spotty the
Turtle had fallen backward into the Smiling Pool on the opposite side of
the big green lily-pad. And the fish which had caused all the trouble
lay floating on the water.
"Thank you! Thank you!" gasped Grandfather Frog, as he feebly crawled
back on the lily-pad. "A minute more, and I would have choked to death."
"Don't mention it," replied Spotty the Turtle.
"I never, never will," promised Grandfather Frog.
IX
OLD MR. TOAD VISITS GRANDFATHER FROG
Grandfather Frog and old Mr. Toad are cousins. Of course you know that
without being told. Everybody does. But not everybody knows that they
were born in the same place. They were. Yes, Sir, they were. They were
born in the Smiling Pool. Both had long tails and for a while no legs,
and they played and swam together without ever going on shore. In fact,
when they were babies, they couldn't live out of the water. And people
who saw them didn't know the difference between them and called them by
the same names--tadpoles or pollywogs. But when they grew old enough to
have legs and get along without tails, they parted company.
You see, it was this way: Grandfather Frog (of course he wasn't
grandfather then) loved the Smiling Pool so well that he couldn't think
of leaving it. He heard all about the Great World and what a wonderful
place it was, but he couldn't and wouldn't believe that there could be
any nicer place than the Smiling Pool, and so he made up his mind that
he would live there always.
But Mr. Toad could hardly wait to get rid of his tail before turning his
back on the Smiling Pool and starting out to see the Great World.
Nothing that Grandfather Frog could say would stop him, and away Mr.
Toad went, when he was so small that he could hide under a clover leaf.
Grandfather Frog didn't expect ever to see him again. But he did,
though it wasn't for a long, long time. And when he did come back, he
had grown so that Grandfather Frog hardly knew him at first. And right
then and there began a dispute which they have kept up ever since:
whether it was best to go out into the Great World or remain in the home
of childhood. Each was sure that what he had done was best, and each is
sure of it to this day.
So whenever old Mr. Toad visits Grandfather Frog, as he does every once
in a while, they are sure to argue and argue on this same old subject.
It was so on the day that Grandfather Frog had so nearly choked to
death. Old Mr. Toad had heard about it from one of the Merry Little
Breezes of Old Mother West Wind and right away had started for the
Smiling Pool to pay his respects to Grandfather Frog, and to tell him
how glad he was that Spotty the Turtle had come along just in time to
pull the fish out of Grandfather Frog's throat.
Now all day long Grandfather Frog had had to listen to unpleasant
remarks about his greediness. It was such a splendid chance to tease him
that everybody around the Smiling Pool took advantage of it. Grandfather
Frog took it good-naturedly at first, but after a while it made him
cross, and by the time his cousin, old Mr. Toad, arrived, he was sulky
and just grunted when Mr. Toad told him how glad he was to find
Grandfather Frog quite recovered.
Old Mr. Toad pretended not to notice how out of sorts Grandfather Frog
was but kept right on talking.
"If you had been out in the Great World as much as I have been, you
would have known that Little Joe Otter wasn't giving you that fish for
nothing," said he.
Grandfather Frog swelled right out with anger. "Chugarum!" he exclaimed
in his deepest, gruffest voice. "Chugarum! Go back to your Great World
and learn to mind your own affairs, Mr. Toad."
Right away old Mr. Toad began to swell with anger too. For a whole
minute he glared at Grandfather Frog, so indignant he couldn't find his
tongue. When he did find it, he said some very unpleasant things, and
right away they began to dispute.
"What good are you to anybody but yourself, never seeing anything of the
Great World and not knowing anything about what is going on or what
other people are doing?" asked old Mr. Toad.
"I'm minding my own affairs and not meddling with things that don't
concern me, as seems to be the way out in the Great World you are so
fond of talking about," retorted Grandfather Frog. "Wise people know
enough to be content with what they have. You've been out in the Great
World ever since you could hop, and what good has it done you? Tell me
that! You haven't even a decent suit of clothes to your back."
Grandfather Frog patted his white and yellow waistcoat as he spoke and
looked admiringly at the reflection of his handsome green coat in the
Smiling Pool.
Old Mr. Toad's eyes snapped, for you know his suit is very plain and
rough.
"People who do honest work for their living have no time to sit about in
fine clothes admiring themselves," he replied sharply. "I've learned
this much out in the Great World, that lazy people come to no good end,
and I know enough not to choke myself to death."
Grandfather Frog almost choked again, he was so angry. You see old Mr.
Toad's remarks were very personal, and nobody likes personal remarks
when they are unpleasant, especially if they happen to be true.
Grandfather Frog was trying his best to think of something sharp to say
in reply, when Mr. Redwing, sitting in the top of the big hickory-tree,
shouted: "Here comes Farmer Brown's boy!"
Grandfather Frog forgot his anger and began to look anxious. He moved
about uneasily on his big green lily-pad and got ready to dive into the
Smiling Pool, for he was afraid that Farmer Brown's boy had a pocketful
of stones as he usually did have when he came over to the Smiling Pool.
Old Mr. Toad didn't look troubled the least bit. He didn't even look
around for a hiding-place. He just sat still and grinned.
"You'd better watch out, or you'll never visit the Smiling Pool again,"
called Grandfather Frog.
"Oh," replied old Mr. Toad, "I'm not afraid. Farmer Brown's boy is a
friend of mine. I help him in his garden. How to make friends is one of
the things the Great World has taught me."
"Chugarum!" said Grandfather Frog. "I'd have you to know that--"
But what it was that he was to know old Mr. Toad never found out, for
just then Grandfather Frog caught sight of Farmer Brown's boy and
without waiting even to say good-by he dived into the Smiling Pool.
X
GRANDFATHER FROG STARTS OUT TO SEE THE GREAT WORLD
Grandfather Frog looked very solemn as he sat on his big green lily-pad
in the Smiling Pool. He looked very much as if he had something on his
mind. A foolish green fly actually brushed Grandfather Frog's nose and
he didn't even notice it. The fact is he did have something on his mind.
It had been there ever since his cousin, old Mr. Toad, had called the
day before and they had quarreled as usual over the question whether it
was best never to leave home or to go out into the Great World.
Right in the midst of their quarrel along had come Farmer Brown's boy.
Now Grandfather Frog is afraid of Farmer Brown's boy, so when he
appeared, Grandfather Frog stopped arguing with old Mr. Toad and with a
great splash dived into the Smiling Pool and hid under a lily-pad. There
he stayed and watched his cousin, old Mr. Toad, grinning in the most
provoking way, for he wasn't afraid of Farmer Brown's boy. In fact, he
had boasted that they were friends. Grandfather Frog had thought that
this was just an idle boast, but when he saw Farmer Brown's boy tickle
old Mr. Toad under his chin with a straw, while Mr. Toad sat perfectly
still and seemed to enjoy it, he knew that it was true.
Grandfather Frog had not come out of his hiding-place until after old
Mr. Toad had gone back across the Green Meadows and Farmer Brown's boy
had gone home for his supper. Then Grandfather Frog had climbed back on
his big green lily-pad and had sat there half the night without once
leading the chorus of the Smiling Pool with his great deep bass voice as
he usually did. He was thinking, thinking very hard. And now, this
bright, sunshiny morning, he was still thinking.
The fact is Grandfather Frog was beginning to wonder if perhaps, after
all, Mr. Toad was right. If the Great World had taught him how to make
friends with Farmer Brown's boy, there really must be some things worth
learning there. Not for the world would Grandfather Frog have admitted
to old Mr. Toad or to any one else that there was anything for him to
learn, for you know he is very old and by his friends is accounted very
wise. But right down in his heart he was beginning to think that perhaps
there were some things which he couldn't learn in the Smiling Pool. So
he sat and thought and thought. Suddenly he made up his mind.
"Chugarum!" said he. "I'll do it!"
"Do what?" asked Jerry Muskrat, who happened to be swimming past.
"I'll go out and see for myself what this Great World my cousin, old Mr.
Toad, is so fond of talking about is like," replied Grandfather Frog.
"Don't you do it," advised Jerry Muskrat. "Don't you do anything so
foolish as that. You're too old, much too old, Grandfather Frog, to go
out into the Great World."
Now few old people like to be told that they are too old to do what they
please, and Grandfather Frog is no different from others. "You just mind
your own affairs, Jerry Muskrat," he retorted sharply. "I guess I know
what is best for me without being told. If my cousin, old Mr. Toad, can
take care of himself out in the Great World, I can. He isn't half so
spry as I am. I'm going, and that is all there is about it!"
With that Grandfather Frog dived into the Smiling Pool, swam across to a
place where the bank was low, and without once looking back started
across the Green Meadows to see the Great World.
XI
GRANDFATHER FROG IS STUBBORN
"Fee, fi, fe, fum!
Chug, chug, chugarum!"
Grandfather actually had started out to see the Great World. Yes, Sir,
he had turned his back on the Smiling Pool, and nothing that Jerry
Muskrat could say made the least bit of difference. Grandfather Frog had
made up his mind, and when he does that, it is just a waste of time and
breath for any one to try to make him change it. You see Grandfather
Frog is stubborn. Yes, that is just the word--stubborn. He would see for
himself what this Great World was that his cousin, old Mr. Toad, talked
so much about and said was so much better than the Smiling Pool where
Grandfather Frog had spent his whole life.
"If old Mr. Toad can take care of himself, I can take care of myself out
in the Great World," said Grandfather Frog, to himself as, with great
jumps, he started out on to the Green Meadows. "I guess he isn't any
smarter than I am! He isn't half so spry as I am, and I can jump three
times as far as he can. I'll see for myself what this Great World is
like, and then I'll go back to the Smiling Pool and stay there the rest
of my life. Chugarum, how warm it is!"
It was warm. Jolly, round, bright Mr. Sun was smiling his broadest and
pouring his warmest rays down on the Green Meadows. The Merry Little
Breezes of Old Mother West Wind were taking a nap. You see, they had
played so hard early in the morning that they were tired. So there was
nobody and nothing to cool Grandfather Frog, and he just grew warmer and
warmer with every jump. He began to grow thirsty, and how he did long
for a plunge in the dear, cool Smiling Pool! But he was stubborn. He
wouldn't turn back, no matter how uncomfortable he felt. He _would_ see
the Great World if it killed him. So he kept right on, jump, jump, jump,
jump.
Grandfather Frog had been up the Laughing Brook and down the Laughing
Brook, where he could swim when he grew tired of traveling on the bank,
and where he could cool off whenever he became too warm, but never
before had he been very far away from water, and he found this a very
different matter. At first he had made great jumps, for that is what his
long legs were given him for; but the long grass bothered him, and after
a little the jumps grew shorter and shorter and shorter, and with every
jump he puffed and puffed and presently began to grunt. You see he never
before had made more than a few jumps at a time without resting, and his
legs grew tired in a very little while.
Now if Grandfather Frog had known as much about the Green Meadows as the
little people who live there all the time do, he would have taken the
Lone Little Path, where the going was easy. But he didn't. He just
started right out without knowing where he was going, and of course the
way was hard, very hard indeed. The grass was so tall that he couldn't
see over it, and the ground was so rough that it hurt his tender feet,
which were used to the soft, mossy bank of the Smiling Pool. He had gone
only a little way before he wished with all his might that he had never
thought of seeing the Great World. But he had said that he was going to
and he would, so he kept right on--jump, jump, rest, jump, jump, jump,
rest, jump, and then a long rest.
It was during one of these rests that he heard footsteps, and then a
dreadful sound that made cold chills run all over him. Sniff, sniff,
sniff! It was coming nearer. Grandfather Frog flattened himself down as
close to the ground as he could get. But it was of no use, no use at
all. The sniffing came nearer and nearer, and then right over him stood
Bowser the Hound! Bowser looked just as surprised as he felt. He put out
one paw and turned Grandfather Frog over on his back. Grandfather Frog
struggled to his feet and made two frightened jumps.
"Bow, wow!" cried Bowser and rolled him over again. Bowser thought it
great fun, but Grandfather Frog thought that his last day had come.
XII
GRANDFATHER FROG KEEPS ON
Grandfather Frog is old and wise,
But even age is foolish.
I'm sure you'll all agree with me
His stubbornness was mulish.
That his very last day had come Grandfather Frog was sure. He didn't
have the least doubt about it. Here he was at the mercy of Bowser the
Hound out on the Green Meadows far from the dear, safe Smiling Pool.
Every time he moved, Bowser flipped him over on his back and danced
around him, barking with joy. Every minute Grandfather Frog expected to
feel Bowser's terrible teeth, and he grew cold at the thought. When he
found that he couldn't get away, he just lay still. He was too tired
and frightened to do much of anything else, anyway.
Now when he lay still, he spoiled Bowser's fun, for it was seeing him
jump and kick his long legs that tickled Bowser so. Bowser tossed him up
in the air two or three times, but Grandfather Frog simply lay where he
fell without moving.
"Bow, wow, wow!" cried Bowser, in his great deep voice. Grandfather Frog
didn't so much as blink his great goggly eyes. Bowser sniffed him all
over.
"I guess I've frightened him to death," said Bowser, talking to himself.
"I didn't mean to do that. I just wanted to have some fun with him."
With that, Bowser took one more sniff and then trotted off to try to
find something more exciting. You see, he hadn't had the least intention
in the world of really hurting Grandfather Frog.
Grandfather Frog kept perfectly still until he was sure that Bowser was
nowhere near. Then he gave a great sigh of relief and crawled under a
big mullein leaf to rest, and think things over.
"Chugarum, that was a terrible experience; it was, indeed!" said he to
himself, shivering at the very thought of what he had been through.
"Nothing like that ever happened to me in the Smiling Pool. I've always
said that the Smiling Pool is a better place in which to live than is
the Great World, and now I know it. The question is, what had I best do
now?"
Now right down in his heart Grandfather Frog knew the answer. Of course
the best thing to do was to go straight back to the Smiling Pool as fast
as he could. But Grandfather Frog is stubborn. Yes, Sir, he certainly is
stubborn. And stubbornness is often just another name for foolishness.
He had told Jerry Muskrat that he was going out to see the Great World.
Now if he went back, Jerry would laugh at him.
"I won't!" said Grandfather Frog.
"What won't you do?" asked a voice so close to him that Grandfather Frog
made a long jump before he thought. You see, at the Smiling Pool he
always jumped at the least hint of danger, and because one jump always
took him into the water, he was always safe. But there was no water
here, and that jump took him right out where anybody passing could see
him. Then he turned around to see who had startled him so. It was Danny
Meadow Mouse.
"I won't go back to the Smiling Pool until I have seen the Great World,"
replied Grandfather Frog gruffly.
[Illustration: "You won't see much of the Great World if you jump like
that every time you get a scare," said Danny. _Page 62._]
"You won't see much of the Great World if you jump like that every time
you get a scare," said Danny, shaking his head. "No, Sir, you won't see
much of the Great World, because one of these times you'll jump right
into the claws of old Whitetail the Marsh Hawk, or his cousin Redtail,
or Reddy Fox. You take my advice, Grandfather Frog, and go straight back
to the Smiling Pool. You don't know enough about the Great World to take
care of yourself."
But Grandfather Frog was set in his ways, and nothing that Danny Meadow
Mouse could say changed his mind in the least. "I started out to see the
Great World, and I'm going to keep right on," said he.
"All right," said Danny at last. "If you will, I suppose you will. I'll
go a little way with you just to get you started right."
"Thank you," replied Grandfather Frog. "Let's start right away."
XIII
DANNY MEADOW MOUSE FEELS RESPONSIBLE