Now Grandfather Frog is another who is very, very patient. He can sit
still the longest time waiting for something to come to him. Indeed, he
can sit perfectly still so long, and Longlegs can stand perfectly still
so long, that Jerry Muskrat and Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter have had
many long disputes as to which of the two can keep still the longest.
"He will make a splendid breakfast," thought Longlegs, as very, very
carefully he walked along the edge of the Smiling Pool so as to get
right opposite Grandfather Frog. There he stopped and looked very hard
at Grandfather Frog. Yes, he certainly must be asleep, for his eyes were
closed. Longlegs chuckled to himself right down inside without making a
sound, and got ready to wade out so as to get within reach.
Now all the time Grandfather Frog was doing some quiet chuckling
himself. You see, he wasn't asleep at all. He was just pretending to be
asleep, and all the time he was watching Longlegs out of a corner of one
of his big goggly eyes. Very, very slowly and carefully, so as not to
make the teeniest, weeniest sound, Longlegs lifted one foot to wade out
into the Smiling Pool. Grandfather Frog pretended to yawn and opened his
big goggly eyes. Longlegs stood on one foot without moving so much as a
feather. Grandfather Frog yawned again, nodded as if he were too sleepy
to keep awake, and half closed his eyes. Longlegs waited and waited.
Then, little by little, so slowly that if you had been there you would
hardly have seen him move, he drew his long neck down until his head
rested on his shoulders.
"I guess I must wait until he falls sound asleep again," said Longlegs
to himself.
But Grandfather Frog didn't go to sleep. He would nod and nod and then,
just when Longlegs would make up his mind that this time he really was
asleep, open would pop Grandfather Frog's eyes. So all the long morning
Longlegs stood on one foot without moving, watching and waiting and
growing hungrier and hungrier, and all the long morning Grandfather Frog
sat on his big green lily-pad, pretending that he was oh, so sleepy, and
all the time having such a comfortable sun-bath and rest, for very early
he had had a good breakfast of foolish green flies.
Over in the bulrushes on the other side of the Smiling Pool two little
scamps in brown bathing suits waited and watched for the great fright
they had planned for Grandfather Frog, when they had sent Longlegs to
try to catch him. They were Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter. At first
they laughed to themselves and nudged each other at the thought of the
trick they had played. Then, as nothing happened, they began to grow
tired and uneasy. You see they do not possess patience. Finally they
gave up in disgust and stole away to find some more exciting sport.
Grandfather Frog saw them go and chuckled harder than ever to himself.
V
GRANDFATHER FROG JUMPS JUST IN TIME
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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