When Pinkie Whiskers reached home, he told Mother and Father Gray all
about how he chopped down the tree and how the beautiful Tree-Fairy was
freed from her prison. Mother Gray said:
"My son, you have had a very wonderful experience, but please be careful
what you do and where you go. Country life is very different from city
life and you are very young."
"Yes, mother, I will be careful, but I want to do everything that anyone
else does," replied Pinkie Whiskers.
"Now, now," spoke Uncle Whiskers, "let the boy have his way. I am sure
that he is a genius. If Pinkie Whiskers does all of the things which he
longs to do, he will be ready for anything. Why, he may be able to
write a book about the wonderful things he sees and hears or perhaps he
may paint a beautiful picture."
"That sounds very nice," replied Mother Gray, "but I am afraid something
dreadful will happen to him, while he is doing all of these things."
Just then Billy Jay flew onto the window-sill and called out, "I invite
you all to come with me down to the creek. I want to show you city rats
something that you have never seen before."
"Oh, goodie!" cried Twinkle.
"Oh, goodie!" cried Winkle.
"Hurrah! hurrah!" shouted Pinkie Whiskers.
"Now, children, please stop shouting while I tell you my plan," begged
Mother Gray. "It will soon be supper time, so how would you like to take
our supper with us and eat it down by the creek?"
"Oh, yes, a picnic, a picnic! Let us have a picnic!" shouted the three
little brothers at once.
They all hurried about and helped Mother Gray put up the lunch and very
soon they were all scampering off to the creek for their picnic.
Billy Jay flew ahead of them and they followed him to a place in the
creek, where the shore curved and the rocks sheltered the water so that
it was as quiet and as still as a pond.
Pinkie Whiskers, Winkle and Twinkle raced down to the creek and looked
down into the water. To their amazement, they saw their faces reflected:
Pinkie Whiskers cried out:
"Is this the surprise? Is this what you wished to show us?"
"No," laughed Billy Jay. "You look again and forget about your
reflection and tell me what you see."
They all looked again and this time they saw funny little creatures
wiggling and swimming about. Pinkie Whiskers asked:
"What are they and where are they going?"
Mother Gray and Father Gray looked and they also were surprised, for
they had never seen or heard of anything like them.
Billy Jay was thoroughly enjoying himself, for it is always fun to show
something strange to your friends. He laughed as he answered:
"They are tadpoles and they are not going anywhere. They just swim
around and around here near the shore, for this is their home just as
the cheese factory is your home."
"Will they always be small like this?" inquired Pinkie Whiskers.
"Bless your heart, no," replied Billy Jay. "They will grow into great,
big frogs."
They all watched the tadpoles swim about until Mother Gray said: "Come,
children, we will have our supper now."
They found a very nice place to eat and everyone was so hungry that they
began to eat at once.
Pinkie Whiskers kept thinking of the tadpoles and without saying a word
he slipped away from the others and went back to the creek. Right beside
a big rock, he found a fish rod and net.
He picked them up and began to fish. In a moment a tadpole swallowed the
hook. Pinkie Whiskers jerked him out of the water and put the net under
him.
"You are the little tadpole I have been fishing for," he cried.
The little tadpole was so amazed that he could not speak. He just hung
and flopped on the hook.