Puss Junior and Robinson Crusoe Part 9

A lily-white duck came and gobbled him up, So there was an end of one, two and three, Heigh-ho, says Rowley.

The Rat, the Mouse and the little Frog-gee, With a rowley, powley, gammon and spinach, Heigh-ho, says Anthony Rowley!"

"This is dreadful," cried Puss, as he saw his small friend disappear down the duck's long neck; "it has been a sad day. All three of my little friends are gone."

"Never mind," cried the lily-white duck, looking up at Puss standing mournfully by the side of the brook, "Frogs are good to eat, and if they will run away from home, it's their own lookout. They should stay in their ponds and not go wandering about strange places."

Puss did not answer. It seemed pretty hard to meet such a sad fate, and he did not like the lily-white duck at all.

"Come, come," cried the duck, "cheer up, I'll ferry you across the brook if you wish to reach the other side."

"That's kind of you," said Puss, seating himself on her back.

"I'm not such a bad sort of duck," she continued, paddling swiftly toward the opposite bank, "but I must eat, and frogs are mighty good eating, let me tell you."

As she finished speaking she waddled up the bank, and Puss sprang nimbly from her back. "Thank you, Mrs. Duck," he said, "indeed, I'm obliged to you; but I wish you hadn't eaten my friend, the little frog."

Just then nine little yellow ducklings waddled toward them. "These are my children," said Mrs. Duck, very proudly.

"How are you, my little ducklets?" cried Puss.

"Quite well, thank you," they answered. It was a pretty sight to see those yellow b.a.l.l.s of down cuddle up to their mother, and Puss began to feel that, after all, she must be a good sort of duck, for her children loved her so much. Perhaps he had judged her too harshly for gobbling up the frog, and when she turned to Puss and said:

"Come home with us, Mr. Puss," he forgave her for what she had done, and followed her downy, yellow brood.

BEAVER DAM

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.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"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."

Turning to the chipmunk, he said, "What have you got?"

"A little acorn," answered the chipmunk.

"I don't want any more nuts," said the beaver, disgustedly. "I'm not particularly fond of nuts, anyway. I only took this one from the squirrel because I knew he didn't have anything else."

"Here are two pennies, Mr. Beaver--one for Chipmunk and one for me,"

said Puss, Junior.

"All right, Sir Cat," said the beaver, "walk across, but see that you do not slip, for the water is very deep on the upper side."

Puss carefully wended his way over, followed by the little squirrel and the chipmunk. The old frog swam over, as did the muskrat. When they all reached the other side, Puss went forward, followed by his small comrades, who stretched out behind him like a funny little army.

They hadn't gone very far, when a rabbit jumped out from behind a bush.

Puss, Junior, called out, "Don't be frightened. We won't hurt you."

"Baby!" cried the squirrel, "you're bigger than I am, but you're twice as much afraid."

"I'm going to a wedding," said the rabbit. "I've no time to wait!" and away he went.

"Gracious me!" exclaimed the squirrel. "I had forgotten all about c.o.c.k Robin's wedding! I must be going."

"And so must I," cried the chipmunk and the beaver, but what the old bullfrog said I will tell you in the next story.

DUCKLINGS

WELL, you will certainly agree with me that the old bullfrog, in the last story, is a wonderful fellow when you hear what he says about Mrs.

Duck, and, it is all in poetry, too.

"Old Mother Duck has hatched a brood Of ducklings, small and callow; Their little wings are short, their down Is mottled gray and yellow."