PUSS, JUNIOR, had gone but a short distance when he heard a sad voice
say:
"Oh dear, I've lost my brother,
Where will I ever find another?
He never should have left the bog,
Alas, Alas! poor Rowley Frog!"
"Dear me," cried Puss to Mrs. Duck and he looked about him for the owner
of the sad croaky voice. Pretty soon he saw a big bullfrog in a brook.
"Come along with me," cried Puss, Junior.
Just then a little muskrat jumped out of the water and from behind a
tree ran a pretty gray squirrel and a striped chipmunk.
"Did you call us?" they asked Puss all at once.
"No, my little friends," he replied, "but come along," and when they
reached Beaver Dam, they looked around to see what had become of the old
bullfrog. There he was in the water about halfway down the stream,
swimming away for all he was worth.
[Illustration]
"Ker-chunk, ker-chunk!" he cried, as he came up to them, "Why don't you
wait for a fellow? And why didn't you tell me you were going up
stream?"
Puss, Junior, felt very sorry to think that he had really forgotten all
about the old bullfrog.
"Well, you got here all right, didn't you?" asked the muskrat. "Now," he
continued, "I'm going to knock three times on the dam to let Mr. Beaver
know that we would like to cross."
After giving three loud knocks, Mr. Beaver looked over and said: "What's
the matter? Who are you? What do you want? Where did you come from?
Where are you going?"
"We'll answer the last question first," said Puss, Junior, with a grin.
"We'd like to cross over on your beautiful great big dam."
"The toll is a penny," said the beaver, looking them over carefully.
"I haven't got a penny with me," said the little squirrel, "but I have a
dandy big nut, if that will do."
"All right," said the beaver, "give me the nut." He put it in his
pocket, remarking as he did so, "it looks like a good nut. I only hope I
shall not be disappointed when I crack it."