The Tale of Kiddie Katydid

by Arthur Scott Bailey

"Nor I!" echoed the strange gentleman.

And Kiddie Katydid couldn't help thinking what a pleasant person the long-horned stranger was and how gentle were his manners.

"I'd like to know your name!" he cried. "It's a long time since I have met anybody so agreeable as you are."

The stranger drew nearer and lowered his voice.

"Don't you know me?" he asked.

Kiddie Katydid stared at him for a moment.

"No!" he said at length. "To be sure, you do have a familiar look, in a way. But I must say I don't recognize you."

Then the stranger spoke in a whisper:

"They used to call me 'Leaper the Locust'!"

"Go 'way!" cried Kiddie Katydid. "He was nothing but a Short-horned Grasshopper. And anyone can see with half an eye that your horns are fully as long as my own."