"What's that?" everyone asked.
"I had to get a new pair of seven-legged trousers," Daddy Longlegs explained. "And if any of you has ever tried to find such a garment at short notice he will understand that I've been in great trouble."
Then Daddy Longlegs wished his callers a pleasant afternoon and begged to be excused, on account of important business.
And as they watched him walk briskly away his neighbors all agreed that for a person who had just lost a leg he seemed wonderfully spry.
XXIII
A NEW NAME FOR DADDY
Daddy Longlegs' neighbor, little Mr. Chippy, had an idea. And since he thought it a good one he at once arranged a meeting of a number of his friends who lived near him.
Among those present were Buster Bumblebee, Betsy Butterfly, Rusty Wren, and several others. They met in Farmer Green's apple orchard. And they all arrived there early because everybody was eager to know what Mr. Chippy had to say.