midst of the Fairy revel, in leaped Billy Bull and all his cousins. 

 But the Fairies were as quick as the frogs, and no sooner had they leaped than up went all the fairy wands, and there stood each frog still and stiff. They were not able to move; they could only stare and listen. 

 "What are these creatures that dare to disturb us?" asked the Queen. 

 "Your Majesty, they are frogs," said a fire-fly, "and I expect they intended to eat us." 

 "Eat the lantern bearers of the fairies!" said the Queen.  "They shall suffer for this." 

 "Off with a toe on each front foot, and then perhaps these frogs will stay at home and not hop about at night. Where do they live?" asked the Queen. 

 "In the pond at the end of the dell," said the fireflies. 

 "Send them home," said the Queen, "and every time they wander far from their pond they shall lose a toe." 

 Down on the foot of the froggies went the fairy wands, and where the frogs had five toes there remained only four on each of their front feet, and then with their wands on the heads of the froggies the fairies turned them around and drove them back to their pond. 

 "Better stayed home, better stayed home," croaked their Grandfather Frog as the young froggies leaped sadly into the pond and buried themselves in the mud at the bottom. 

 And that was the way it is said frogs came to have five toes on each of their hind feet and only four toes on each front foot. If they had listened to their grandfather's warning they would still have their other toes. 

 

 

 JACK THE PREACHER 

 

 Jack the Preacher 

 One morning in very early springtime the big Evergreen Trees began to talk about the part they took in telling all the woodland flowers that it was spring. 

 "Why, if we were not here," said one Evergreen Tree, "who would awake these sleepy springtime flowers to their duty? I should like you to tell me!" 

 Prev. P 29/68 next