Wenonah's Stories for Children

by Clara Louise Burnham; Warren Proctor

"Do you suppose we may pick this one?" asked Iona, when a deep, gruff voice suddenly exclaimed, "Chug! Stand ho! Who are you?"

Then the children saw that they were on the edge of the pool and on a near rock sat the biggest bullfrog they had ever seen.

"We were hunting for you, Sir Bullfrog," said Pierre politely.

"Chug! chug!" said the frog, and his white throat swelled as he said it.

Then Pierre told him their experiences and that the flower-guard had promised them that the frog would take them to the palace.

"Let me see where the curl was cut off. Chug! chug! And let me see the key. Chug! chug!" returned the frog, without moving.

So Iona bowed her head and her curls fell thick on either side with a little cropped lock of hair in the middle. Then she took the key from the bosom of her dress, for after finding they had lost their acorn caps she wanted to be very, very careful, so had hid it there.

Then at last the frog was satisfied.

"Fetch your rafts," he said, "and we will be off."