"I wonder what's the matter with me," he murmured. "Can it be that I've caught a cold and didn't know it?"
He cleared his throat and made ready to attempt Bobby Bobolink's song once more. But he waited a moment, for he could hear Bobby talking to his wife.
"Don't be alarmed!" he was saying. "It sounded to me as if somebody had a frog in his throat."
"I hope you're not mistaken," was Mrs. Bobolink's somewhat doubting answer.
"I thought I heard him choke a moment ago," Bobby told her. "We'll keep still until we know where the noise comes from."
Mr. Catbird winced. He was not used to hearing anybody speak of his singing as "noise." And he made up his mind[p. 66] that he would sing a song in Bobby Bobolink's best manner. So again he opened his mouth.
He hadn't sung half a dozen notes before Bobby Bobolink's wife gave a shrill scream.
"Oh, dear!" she cried. "That's a terrible noise. It hurts my ears to hear it."
Mr. Catbird had stopped when Mrs. Bobolink screamed. A puzzled look came over his face.
"I don't see what's the matter with me to-day," he said under his breath. "This is the first time I ever tried to mock anybody and made such a bungle of it.... Perhaps I'm trying to sing too fast," he added. "So I'll sing slower next time."