XX
DISTURBING THE NEIGHBORS
It was no wonder that Long Bill Wren's wife did not care for Ferdinand Frog, after his blundering remark about her children.
Though her husband often told her that Mr. Frog must have been merely joking, she insisted that he was not a safe person to have in the neighborhood.
"That Mr. Frog certainly is a queer one," she said to her husband one day. "I was watching him this morning. And what do you suppose I saw him do?" Mrs. Wren did not wait for Long Bill to answer her question. "Mr. Frog actually pulled off his own skin!" she cackled nervously.
"Cat-tails and pussy-willows!" Long Bill Wren exclaimed—which was his way of showing he was surprised. "Mr. Frog must be ill. Maybe I ought to go and tell Aunt Polly Woodchuck, the herb-doctor, and ask her to come over here at once."
His wife, however, shook her head.
"He can't be ill," she said.
"Why not?"