The Foolish Frog
In a tank at the foot of the hill
Lived Mr. and Mrs. Frog,
At the head of the sparkling rill,
By the side of a queachy bog;
And they had children ten—
All froggies as yellow as gold,
Who loved to play on the fen,
But they often were over-bold.
Now it fell out one bright day,
As it never had done before,
When Father Frog was away
A stickleback sailed to the door.
"Oh! Mrs. Frog," said he,
"Your sister is very ill;
And much she wants to see
You down at the water mill."
Then Mother frog showed her grief
In such tears as you never saw;
And, having no handkerchief,
She wiped her eyes with a paw.
Said she, "Now, froggies dear,
You must not go to the fen:
There is no danger here,
And I'll soon come back again!"
But the naughty little froggies,
Disobeyed their mother and went.
Then a duck, which had lazily swum
For hours in a reedy pool,
Seeing the shadows come,
And feeling the air grow cool.
With a "Quack, quack, quack," came out
She meant, "It is time to sup!"
So finding the froggies about,
She gobbled them quickly up.
So Mr. and Mrs. Frog,
By the peeping stars made bold,
Came back by the queachy bog,
To their froggies all yellow as gold.
They never saw them again—
Alas! that it should be so.
They were told not to go to the fen;
But the did not obey, you know.
"Early Days"
Marriage of Mr. Froggie
There was a Frog
Lived in a bog—
A Frog of high degree—
A stylish youth,
And yet, forsooth,
A bachelor was he.
He had not wed
Because, he said,
He'd ne'er in all his life
Seen in the bog
A pollywog
He cared to make his wife.
But one fine day,
When drest up gay,
He passed a pretty house,
And there beside
The window spied
A most attractive mouse.
He raised his hat,
And gazing at
Miss Mouse, in suit of gray,
He made a bow,
Likewise a vow
To marry her straightway.
When he was drest
In scarlet vest,
And coat of velvet sheen
With frills of lace,
And sword in place,
His like was nowhere seen.
His smile was bland,
His style so grand,
He said with pride, "I know
Miss Mouse so fair,
Can find nowhere
So suitable a beau!
"If she'll agree
To live with me,
And be my faithful wife,
Oh, she shall dine
On dishes fine,
And lead an easy life."
When he went by,
Miss Mouse so shy,
Would hide her blushing face;
But truth to tell
Could see quite well
Through curtains of thin lace.
And from her nook,
Ah! many a look
She gave, with heart a-stir;
And oft did she
Confess that he
Was just the beau for her.
At last so blue
Poor froggie grew,
He went up to the house
And rang the bell,
In haste to tell
His love for Mistress Mouse.
He passed the door,
And on the floor
He knelt and kissed her hand,
"Wilt marry me?"
He asked, while she
Her burning blushes fanned.
She answered "Yes,"
As you may guess,
To Mister Frog's delight;
His arm he placed
Around her waist,
And joy was at its height.
The wedding-day
Was set straightway,
The town was all agog;
And gifts, not few,
Were sent unto
Miss Mouse and Mister Frog.
And never yet
Was banquet set,
In country or in town,
With fare more rich
Than that to which
The wedding guests sat down.
And, after all,
There was the ball,
For which the band was hired,
And frogs and mice
Were up in a trice,
And danced till their toes were tired.
Frogs at School
Twenty froggies went to school,
Down beside a rushy pool;
Twenty little coats of green,
Twenty vests all white and clean,
"We must be in time," said they;
"First we study, then we play;
That is how we keep the rule
When we froggies go to school."
Master Bullfrog, grave and stern,
Called the classes in their turn;
Taught them how to nobly strive,
Likewise how to leap and dive;
From his seat upon the log
Showed them how to say, "Ker-chog!"
Also, how to dodge a blow
From the sticks which bad boys throw.
Twenty froggies grew up fast;
Bullfrogs they became at last;
Not one dunce among the lot,
Not one lesson they forgot.
Polished in a high degree,
As each froggie ought to be,
Now they sit on other logs,
Teaching other little frogs.

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Page 185—Froggy Land

Mouse that Lost her Tail
Once upon a time a Cat and Mouse were playing together, when, quite by accident, the cat bit off the Mouse's tail. It was very strange that the Cat did not bite off the Mouse's head. But this Mouse was a good Mouse, and never stole any cheese; and so the Cat only bit off her tail. Mousey was very much vexed to see that her tail was gone, so she said to Pussy— "Oh, dear Pussy! do give me my tail again."
"No, that I will not," said Pussy, "till you get me some milk for my breakfast."
"Oh, the Cow will give me some," said the Mouse.
So she frisked and jumped, and then she ran
Till she came to the Cow, and thus began:—
"Please, Cow, give me some milk. I want to give Pussy milk, and Pussy will give me my own tail again."
"So I will, Mousey, if you will get me some hay for my breakfast." said the Cow.
"Oh, the Farmer will give me some," said the Mouse.
So she frisked and jumped, and then she ran
Till she came to the Farmer, and thus began:—
"Please, Mr. Farmer, give me some hay; I want to give the Cow hay The Cow will give me some milk; I will give Pussy milk; and Pussy will give me my own tail again."
"So I will, Mousey, if you get me some bread for my breakfast," said the Farmer.
"Oh, the Baker will give me some," said the Mouse.
So she frisked and jumped, and then she ran
Till she came to the Baker, and thus began:—
"Please, Mr. Baker, give me some bread; I want to give the Farmer bread. The Farmer will give me some hay; I will give the Cow hay, the Cow will give me some milk; I will give Pussy milk; and Pussy will give me my own tail again."
"So I will, Mousey, if you get me some meat for my breakfast," said the baker.
"Oh, the Butcher will give me some," said the Mouse.
So she frisked and jumped, and then she ran
Till she came to the Butcher, and thus began:—
"Please, Mr. Butcher, give me some meat. I want to give the Baker meat. The Baker will give me some bread; I will give the Farmer bread. The Farmer will give me some hay; I will give the Cow hay, the Cow will give me some milk; I will give Pussy milk; and Pussy will give me my own tail again."
"So I will, Mousey, if you will eat up the crumbs that have fallen at my breakfast," said the Butcher.
"Oh, that I will," said the Mouse, and she soon cleared the floor of every crumb.
Then the Butcher gave the Mouse some meat, and the Mouse gave the Baker the meat, and the Baker gave the Mouse some bread, and the Mouse gave the Farmer the bread, and the Farmer gave the Mouse some hay, and the Mouse gave the Cow the hay, and the Cow gave the Mouse some milk, and the Mouse gave Pussy the milk, and then Pussy gave poor little Mousey her own tail again.
So she frisked and jumped, and away she ran
And cried out to Pussy, "Catch me if you can!"
Mouse Gruel
There was an Old Person of Ewell,
Who chiefly subsisted on gruel,
But to make it taste nice, he inserted some mice,
Which refreshed that Old Person of Ewell.