The Tale Of Timothy Turtle Part 11

XXI

A QUEER WISH

Fis.h.i.+ng was one of Timothy Turtle's favorite sports. He was a skillful fisherman, too. And though it only happened once that he caught more than one fish at a time, on that occasion he captured seven. This was the way it happened:

Johnnie Green had come to Black Creek to fish for pickerel. And Timothy Turtle was much annoyed when he found Johnnie fis.h.i.+ng in the pool that he liked best of all. Timothy thought it was mean of Johnnie Green to catch _his_ fish, in _his_ creek.

And Timothy's beady eyes glared as he watched Johnnie from a safe hiding-place under the bank.

He saw that Johnnie Green was a good fisherman. Before he moved on he caught three big fish from that pool; and one of them--the biggest of the three--was the very fish on which Timothy Turtle had been expecting to dine that day.

It was really no wonder that he was annoyed. And when Johnnie went further up the creek to try his luck elsewhere Timothy Turtle slipped into the water and followed him.

The more fish he saw Johnnie Green catch, the angrier Timothy grew. And he went out of his way to tell a number of his neighbors what was happening.

"Something ought to be done about it!" he complained.

"Why don't you go down and speak to Farmer Green?" Peter Mink suggested. Peter liked fish, too. And he had often said that Johnnie had no right to take food away from him, when everybody knew that there was a plenty at the farmhouse.

Timothy Turtle did not care for Peter's suggestion.

"I've no time to waste talking to Farmer Green," he said. "It seems to me a letter would be better. Now, if somebody would write a letter, and get everybody to sign his name to it, and send it down to Farmer Green by a messenger, I would do my share to help. I would tell the messenger where to leave the letter so that Farmer Green would be sure to find it." Timothy then said that he must hurry back to the creek, for he wanted to see how many fish Johnnie Green took, so the number could be mentioned in the letter. But before he left Timothy told Peter Mink to go and find somebody to write the letter. "There's old Mr. Crow,"

Timothy said. "You might ask him. He could use one of his quills for a pen, you know."

When Timothy Turtle reached the creek once more he found that while he was talking to Peter Mink, Johnnie Green had moved oh again.

So Timothy started to follow him. But what should he see, lying on the bank right before him, but a string of seven pickerel! Johnnie Green had left them there, while he went still further up the creek to catch more.

Timothy Turtle suddenly changed his mind about sending a letter to Farmer Green. He wished that Johnnie would come there to fish every day.

"He's a kind boy, after all!" said Timothy Turtle to himself. "I never dreamed that he was catching these fish for me. But here they are, waiting for me! For Johnnie must have known that I would find them."

Timothy Turtle didn't say anything more. Of course he was only talking to himself, anyhow. And he seized the string of pickerel and waddled into the bushes, where he ate every one of those seven fish.

When Peter Mink met Timothy the next day he said he had not yet found anybody who would write the letter to Farmer Green.

"Mr. Crow told me that if it was anybody but you he might be willing to pull out one of his quills for a pen," Peter explained. "But he said that he hoped Johnnie Green would come here every day to fish, until there are no fish left for you."

Timothy Turtle sniffed.

"You go back," he directed Peter Mink, "and tell Mr. Crow that _I_ hope Johnnie Green will come here _twice a day_ until he has caught every fish in Black Creek."

Peter Mink thought that that was a queer thing for Timothy to wish.

Neither he nor old Mr. Crow could understand it.

XXII

THE UNWELCOME GUEST

Ferdinand Frog did not like Timothy Turtle. But he always said he thought Mr. Turtle could be _trusted_.

"You can _depend_ on him," Mr. Frog often remarked. "Yes, you can depend on him to grab you if he ever gets a chance."

And all the rest of the musical Frog family agreed with him.

It is not surprising, therefore, that they never invited Timothy Turtle to attend their singing parties in Cedar Swamp. It made no difference how much Timothy Turtle hinted. Though he frequently took pains to tell Ferdinand Frog how fond he was of music, Mr. Frog never once asked him to come to a concert.

In private Mr. Frog and his friends often spoke of Mr. Turtle--and giggled. And one of the Frog family even made up a song about Timothy Turtle, which the whole company loved to chant in Cedar Swamp, safe--as they thought--from Timothy's snapping jaws.

But one fine summer's evening they had a great surprise. They had scarcely begun their nightly concert when Timothy Turtle appeared, out of the water and crawled upon an old stump, right in their midst.

"Good evening!" he cried. "I was just pa.s.sing on my way home; and hearing the singing, I thought I'd stop and enjoy it."

For a few moments none of the Frog family said a word. And then Ferdinand Frog spoke up and asked Mr. Turtle a question:

"Have you had your dinner?"

"No, I haven't," Timothy answered. "But you needn't trouble yourselves on my account. Go on with your singing. And if I feel faint no doubt I can find a bite to eat hereabouts."

Now, Mr. Turtle hoped that his speech would put the singers quite at their ease. But they looked at one another and rolled their eyes as if to say, "This Timothy Turtle is a dangerous person. Look out for him!"

At the same time they did not wish to appear frightened. And Ferdinand Frog's mother's uncle even made a short speech, saying that he hoped Mr.

Turtle would enjoy the singing half as much as everybody else enjoyed his company.

He was about to make some further remark. But no one knew what. For Timothy Turtle wheeled about to look at the old gentleman. And the moment Timothy moved, Ferdinand Frog's mother's uncle jumped hastily into the water from the hummock where he had been sitting, and swam away.

The rest of the company then sang a song. And their listener said that he had never heard anything like it.

"I wish you'd sing it again," he said, "with your mouths open and your eyes shut."

But the musical Frog family objected that they were not used to singing in that fas.h.i.+on.

"Why don't you keep your own eyes shut?" Ferdinand Frog asked Mr.

Turtle. "Then you wouldn't know whether ours were open or closed."

"Let us _all_ shut our eyes!" Timothy Turtle then suggested. And when the Frog family began another song, a few of the younger and more foolish singers followed Mr. Turtle's advice.

So, too, did Mr. Turtle himself--_for a few moments_.

But he soon opened his eyes slyly. And he became very angry when he saw that most of the singers were watching him.

"You aren't doing as I asked you!" he shouted.