Now, Mr. Turtle hoped that his speech would put the singers quite at their ease. But they looked at one another and rolled their eyes as if to say, "This Timothy Turtle is a dangerous person. Look out for him!"
At the same time they did not wish to appear frightened. And Ferdinand Frog's mother's uncle even made a short speech, saying that he hoped Mr. Turtle would enjoy the singing half as much as everybody else enjoyed his company.[p. 113]
He was about to make some further remark. But no one knew what. For Timothy Turtle wheeled about to look at the old gentleman. And the moment Timothy moved, Ferdinand Frog's mother's uncle jumped hastily into the water from the hummock where he had been sitting, and swam away.
The rest of the company then sang a song. And their listener said that he had never heard anything like it.
"I wish you'd sing it again," he said, "with your mouths open and your eyes shut."
But the musical Frog family objected that they were not used to singing in that fashion.
"Why don't you keep your own eyes shut?" Ferdinand Frog asked Mr. Turtle. "Then you wouldn't know whether ours were open or closed."[p. 114]
"Let us all shut our eyes!" Timothy Turtle then suggested. And when the Frog family began another song, a few of the younger and more foolish singers followed Mr. Turtle's advice.
So, too, did Mr. Turtle himself—for a few moments.
But he soon opened his eyes slyly. And he became very angry when he saw that most of the singers were watching him.