The Adventures of Grandfather Frog | Page 5

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