The Tree Frog always knew the right thing to do, and he said
"Pukr-r-rup!" so loudly that all stopped talking at once. When they
were quiet he said: "We will now listen to a duet, 'Katy,' by the two
singers who are up the tree. All please join in the chorus." So it was
begun again, and both the leaders were good-natured, and all the
Katydids below joined in with "did or didn't, did or didn't, did or
didn't." And that was the end of the quarrel.
[Illustration]
THE LAST PARTY OF THE SEASON
Summer had been a joyful time in the meadow. It had been a busy time,
too, and from morning till night the chirping and humming of the happy
people there had mingled with the rustle of the leaves, and the soft
"swish, swish," of the tall grass, as the wind passed over it.
True, there had been a few quarrels, and some unpleasant things to
remember, but these little people were wise enough to throw away all
the sad memories and keep only the glad ones. And now the summer was
over. The leaves of the forest trees were turning from green to scarlet,
orange, and brown. The beech and hickory nuts were only waiting for a
friendly frost to open their outer shells, and loosen their stems, so
that they could fall to the earth.
The wind was cold now, and the meadow people knew that the time had come
to get ready for winter. One chilly Caterpillar said to another,
"Boo-oo! How cold it is! I must find a place for my cocoon. Suppose we
sleep side by side this winter, swinging on the same bush?"
And his friend replied: "We must hurry then, or we shall be too old and
stiff to spin good ones."
The Garter Snake felt sleepy all the time, and declared that in a few
days he would doze off until spring.
The Tree Frog had chosen his winter home already, and the Bees were
making the most of their time in visiting the last fall flowers, and
gathering every bit of honey they could find for their cold-weather
stock.
The last eggs had been laid, and the food had been placed beside many of
them for the babies that would hatch out in the spring. Nothing was left
but to say "Good-by," and fall asleep. So a message was sent around the
meadow for all to come to a farewell party under the elm tree.
Everybody came, and all who could sing did so, and the Crickets and
Mosquitoes made music for the rest to dance by.
The Tree Frog led off with a black and yellow Spider, the Garter Snake
followed with a Potato Bug, and all the other crawling people joined in
the dance on the grass, while over their heads the Butterflies and other
light-winged ones fluttered to and fro with airy grace.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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