Presently a ripple was seen in the clear water, and the sharp black nose of a muskrat appeared above the surface. “Lovely creature!” exclaimed the muskrat. “Adored Miss Bullfrog, is it possible that you have changed your mind, and decided to listen to my suit?”
“‘Oh, rapture!’ cried the muskrat.”
“I have,” said the squirrel softly.
“Oh, rapture!” cried the muskrat. “Come, then, at once with me! Let us fly, or rather swim, before your tyrannical parent discovers us! Leap down, my lovely one, with your accustomed grace and agility, into the arms of your faithful, your adoring muskrat! Come!”
“You must come a little nearer,” whispered the squirrel coyly. “I want to be sure that it is really you; such a sudden step, you know! Please put your whole head out, my love, that I may be quite sure of you!”
The eager muskrat thrust his head out of the water; and plump! the squirrel dropped the tar on the end of his nose.
The muskrat gave a wild shriek, and plunging his nose among the rushes on the bank, tried to rub off the tar. But, alas! the tar stuck to the rushes, and his nose stuck to the tar, and there he was!
At that instant the raccoon leaped from his hiding-place.