VI
A PLAN GOES WRONG
Chirpy Cricket never fiddled faster than he did that night. Somehow he had a notion that the faster he fiddled the more quickly the night would pass. For Freddie Firefly had promised to loan Chirpy his light, because Chirpy needed it when he saw Miss Christabel Cricket to her home beyond the barnyard fence. Chirpy was going to see her safely to her door when the night’s concert was ended. And he could hardly wait until the time came when he would flash that wonderful light in the eyes of all his friends.
“I hope you won’t go dancing across the meadow tonight,” he remarked anxiously to Freddie Firefly. “You might wander into the swamp and get lost.”
“Oh, there’s no danger of that!” Freddie assured him.
“If you stumbled into the wet swamp you might put your light out,” Chirpy Cricket warned him.
But Freddie Firefly laughed and told him not to worry.
“I always enjoy at least one dance in the meadow each night,” he explained. “They’re expecting me over there now. And I don’t want to disappoint them.”
“No!” Chirpy answered. “And neither do you want to disappoint me. So please don’t fail to be on hand when the music’s finished.”