BULLY'S NARROW ESCAPE

One morning when Bully awoke he felt very hungry. He did not sleep on his lily pad now. How could he sleep on his lily pad when he didn't know what moment a big duck would find him and eat him alive? Each night he climbed on Grandfather's island and cuddled down close beside Grandmother Bull Frog. Grandmother and Bully both hid under some leaves that grew near the water's edge. But Bully was always afraid now. He never went with a hop and a leap anymore. He always moved slowly and quietly. Only those whose life has been in constant danger know what it means to be afraid all the time. There is no joy in life when one must keep watch all the time and can never rest because an enemy is always near.

All the frogs in the Frog Pond began to grow thin and to look worried. The tree frogs were by far the safest these days. If they stayed up in the trees they were not in danger, for ducks out hunting food do not climb trees.

Well, as I started to tell you, Bully awoke one morning very hungry indeed. He told Grandmother how dreadfully hungry he was. He told her, too, that he was afraid to look for anything to eat. "But you must eat to live, you know," she told him. "Now listen to me," she continued. "Over by Mrs. Toad's house there is a nest of fine big ants. I think you can get some of them, but you must be very, very careful. Keep watch every moment. Get down under the water and swim until you come to the rock. Then if you keep watch I think you will be safe and have a good breakfast. Now," she said, "I shall worry all the time you are gone. Don't forget even for a moment to be careful," she said again.

Bully promised to remember all she had told him. He was very timid about the venture, but he must have something to eat right away.

Soon he was safe beside the big rock. Both the ducks were on the other side of the pond, so he felt much less afraid than he had been sure he was going to feel. He found the ants' nest under a bunch of tall grass. There was plenty for breakfast; there were enough ants for many frogs much bigger than he. He began to eat, all the time trying to keep hidden in the tall grass. He didn't mean to lose sight of those ducks. He had promised Grandmother Bull Frog he wouldn't. If one of them started to come his way, he would jump into the water and hide. The ants certainly tasted good. You know a good meal tastes much better when you are very hungry than when you are not much in need of food. He was so hungry and the ants tasted so good he got careless and forgot all about the ducks and his promise. One of the worst things people can do is to get careless. Many lives are lost because of carelessness. It nearly cost Bully his life.

He was busily eating ants when all at once out from behind the grass shot a big green head. It was a dreadful looking head. When Bully saw the wicked eyes he jumped as quickly as he could. He didn't have time to think which way to go. He just jumped and with all his might. When he landed he found himself near Mrs. Toad's rock. He heard a big, strong beak come together with a loud snap. My, but he shivered! It almost nipped his skin! He saw a hole under the rock, and went into it like a flash. Right behind him, just as he got inside the hole, snapped that big yellow beak again. For many days Bully could see those wicked eyes and hear the loud snap of that beak.

"Well, why are you rushing into my house so rudely?" came a voice from a dark corner.

"Oh, it's that dreadful duck!" Bully managed to say. He was shaking so he could hardly speak.

"Oh, don't talk to me," said Mrs. Toad crossly. "I'm just worried to death with those ducks!"

"Why are you worried?" asked Bully. "You are too big for them to eat. I don't see why you should be afraid."

"Who said I was afraid of them?" she asked. "It's my babies, not myself, I'm thinking about. What do you think those ducks are hanging around this rock for, if not for my children?"

"Why," said Bully in great surprise, "I didn't know you had any babies! I never saw them."

"Never saw them!" she repeated. "Well you must be blind if you can't see them! I can see them plainly enough from here, hopping about the rock or swimming in the water."

"Why, I thought those were little frogs," said Bully. "They look like frogs."

"They don't look like little frogs to their mother," replied Mrs. Toad. "I can tell every one of them. But to other people young toads always do look like little frogs," she said.

"Do you have any polly-wogs?" Bully asked.

"Of course I do," she replied, "hundreds and hundreds of them. Why do you suppose I came here to live?" she continued. "I hope you don't think it was on my own account! A fat old toad like me is safe any place. I came to the Frog Pond so I could raise a family. That's why I came here."

"How many children have you, Mrs. Toad?" asked Bully.

"I don't know," she answered. "Before those horrid ducks came I had about six thousand. Before the season is ended I hope to bring up ten thousand little toads. Of course I don't know how many are left. I've seen those ducks eat my babies until I'm discouraged. I haven't eaten a thing for a week. I am too worried to eat."

Bully was greatly surprised at what Mrs. Toad told him. "If you lay that many eggs, why are there so few toads in the world?" he asked.

"Well," she answered, "it's because snakes, turtles, birds, and many other creatures live on young toads. And in the water there are bugs that destroy many of the eggs. After a big rainfall I sometimes put my eggs in what looks like a good pond. But in a few days the sun draws all the water away, the pond is dry, and the eggs never hatch. It's certainly a very discouraging world we're living in. It's surely a hard place for a toad to try to raise a family. When I think of all the babies I have lost I am dreadfully downhearted. I don't see how I can bear to live any longer."

She bowed her head, covered her wet eyes with her hands, and croaked sadly. Bully felt very sorry for her. She seemed to have so much trouble. He wished he could say something to comfort her. It certainly was too bad. She was such a kind old toad. She never harmed anybody. Bully wondered why she had to have so many troubles.

"We hope John Bull Frog will be able to do something," he finally said.

"Well! I don't want to hear any more about what John Bull is going to do. If he can do anything, why doesn't he do it now? It's about time," Mrs. Toad answered.

"He says he will attend to the ducks when the right time comes," Bully told her.

"Will the right time be when all our babies are eaten?" she asked. "I'm down-right tired of hearing his name! Oh, what shall I do, what shall I do?" she sobbed.

"I must be going," said Bully sadly. "I can hear those ducks talking on the other side of the pond. I think it's safe now."

Then he went and told Grandmother Bull Frog what Mrs. Toad had said. "O, Grandmother," he cried, "why doesn't John Bull Frog do what he said he would?"

"I don't know," she replied. "We're all tired out waiting. It's very bad indeed!"

And Grandmother Frog, too, began to cry.