Meanwhile Long Bill had been thinking deeply. He had begun to wonder whether there might not be some good in a mud bath, in spite of his neighbors' doubts. And now he turned to Ferdinand Frog and began speaking in a hushed voice.
"Don't tell my wife I asked you this question," he said; "but I should like to know if mud baths are good for rheumatism."
"Good for it!" Mr. Frog exclaimed. "Why, they're a sure cure—and the only one!"
XXII
LEARNING TO HOLD HIS BREATH
There on the bank of Black Creek Mr. Frog and Long Bill Wren talked in whispers about mud baths. And in a short time Long Bill announced that he had made up his mind to try one.
"Good!" Mr. Frog cried, as he patted his neighbor on the back. "And now let me give you a bit of advice. Before you dive into the creek you should learn to hold your breath. . . .
"You'd better go home and begin practising at once."
So Long Bill Wren flew into his house and stayed there the rest of that day. But he soon found that all was not as simple as he had hoped. Whenever he was trying to hold his breath his wife was sure to ask him a question. And of course that led to trouble. If he didn't answer her she thought him rude—and said so, quite frankly, too. While if he did answer her, speaking spoiled his practice.