Chapter XXIII: A Merry Song

Timothy Turtle made such a noise that the Frog family had to stop singing.

"It's not fair!" he cried. "You're peeping!"

"Well, so are you!" Ferdinand Frog retorted.

"I only opened my eyes to make sure that you were doing as I asked you to," Mr. Turtle replied with an injured air.

"And we didn't shut ours, because we wanted to watch _you_," said Mr. Frog.

"Can't you trust me?" Timothy snapped.

"Certainly!" Ferdinand Frog replied.

"Oh, yes! We can trust you!" And he winked at his friends.

"You don't want to hurt my feelings, do you?" Timothy Turtle went on.

"No, indeed!" everybody exclaimed.

And then Ferdinand Frog told Timothy that they would sing a special song in his honor.

"Fire away!" Timothy ordered them. And the whole company knew, when he said that, that if he really cared anything at all for singing he never would have spoken of it in that fashion.

They were just about to begin the song when Timothy Turtle stopped them.

"What's this thing called?" he demanded.

"It's known," Ferdinand Frog explained, "as 'A Merry Song.'"

And then the whole Frog family began to bellow their loudest:

Come let us sing a merry song!
To you it may sound sad.
And if you think it loud and long
_We_ think that it's not bad.

"We'll sing about a grumpy one
Who snaps and bites all day.
And if you call that "having fun"
We make reply, "Go 'way!"

He has a glittering, wicked eye
And also cruel jaws.
And if you ask the reason why,
We'll answer you, _"Because!"_

He'll stretch his neck and grab you quick--
Don't let him come too near!
And if you poke him with a stick
He'll seize that too--oh, dear!

Now, we'll admit he swims quite well
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

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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

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By DAVID CORY

PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED. INDIVIDUAL COLORED WRAPPERS.

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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.

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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.

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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