XI
FERDINAND FROG IS IN NO HURRY
Although everybody in the Beaver village looked worried, Mr. Frog seemed to be all the more cheerful. He knew well enough that there was hardly one Beaver in the pond that didn"t wish and long for clothes which were, like Mr. Frog"s, five years ahead of the times.
As day after day pa.s.sed, not only were the Beavers unable to do a single stroke of work; they were so upset that they could scarcely eat or sleep. And at last the older villagers, such as Grandaddy Beaver, began to see that something would have to be done. There was the dam, which needed mending; and there was the winter"s food, which had to be gathered.
So Grandaddy Beaver went to Ferdinand Frog one day and told him that he simply _must_ come to the rescue of the pond folk, and tell them how they might have clothes as far ahead of the times as were his own.
"Why?" Mr. Frog inquired. "What"s the trouble?"
"They can"t work," Grandaddy Beaver told him. "And there"s the dam to be fixed, and tree-tops to be cut and stored for food, because winter"s a-coming, and there"s no way we can stop it."
"I"ll tell you what you and your people can do," Ferdinand Frog replied.
"Just bury yourselves in the mud during the winter, as I do, and you"d have no use for a dam, nor for food, either."
But Grandaddy Beaver explained that though such a plan might suit a Frog exceedingly well, for a Beaver it would never do at all.
"You have got us into this sc.r.a.pe," he told Mr. Frog, "so it"s only fair that you should help us out of it."
Ferdinand Frog then did a number of things, all of which were intended to let Grandaddy Beaver see that what he asked couldn"t be done. Mr.
Frog held up his hands with the palms out and rolled his eyes; he shut his great mouth together as if he did not intend to say another word. He looked so determined that Grandaddy Beaver"s heart sank.
And then--when Grandaddy Beaver had almost given up all hope--then Mr.
Frog said suddenly:
"I"ll consent to help you, because I see that it"s my duty."
"Good!" Grandaddy Beaver cried. "I told people that I knew you"d come to our rescue, for you have such a kind face! . . .
"And now, tell me!" he bade Ferdinand Frog with great eagerness, while he held a hand behind one of his ears, in order to hear more clearly.
But Mr. Frog was not ready to give away his secret.
He winked at Grandaddy Beaver, and poked his fingers into the old gentleman"s ribs.
"Not so fast, my lad!" said Mr. Frog, who was certainly many years younger than Grandaddy Beaver. "I"m not prepared to explain everything to you just yet.
"You come to the big rock on the other side of the pond as soon as it"s dark to-night; and bring with you everybody who wants to know how to get clothes like mine.
"Now, do exactly as I say," Mr. Frog cautioned Grandaddy, "and _everything will be made easy_."
XII
A BAD BLUNDER
When it was almost dark Grandaddy Beaver swam across the pond to the big rock, where Ferdinand Frog had told him to come.
And trooping after Daddy was almost everybody in the village. Not counting the women and children, there were eleven of them. They climbed upon the rock, looking for Mr. Frog. But he was nowhere in sight.
"He"ll be here in a minute or two, probably," Grandaddy Beaver said hopefully, for all he looked a bit anxious.
Then somebody spied a neat building near-by, which not one of them had noticed before.
"What"s this strange house?" people asked one another. "Is this where Mr. Frog lives?"
But n.o.body seemed to know the answer to that question.
"It can"t be a shop," Grandaddy decided, "for there"s no sign on it. And n.o.body would have a shop without a sign."
Now, the door of the little building was shut and fastened. And the window-shades were pulled carefully down. It certainly looked as if n.o.body was at home.
But suddenly there came a sound that made the Beaver family jump. It came from the house--there was no doubt of that.
In fact it came right through the keyhole; and it was like nothing in the world but a sneeze.
A number of people were all ready to jump into the water and swim away, they were so startled.
And then a snicker followed the sneeze. And by that time Grandaddy Beaver and his friends guessed who was inside the building. It was Ferdinand Frog; and he had been watching his callers all the time, through the keyhole, and listening to everything that they said.
A few felt slightly uneasy, as they tried to remember exactly what remarks they had made about Mr. Frog himself.
"Come out!" they all cried, as soon as they had recovered from their surprise. "We want to see you!" And they formed a half-circle in the dooryard.
Presently the door swung out, as if somebody had pushed it open. And there, on the _inside_ of the open door, which was flung back against the outside of the building, they all saw a sign, which said:
MR. FERDINAND FROG UNFASHIONABLE TAILOR ALL THE STYLES FIVE YEARS AHEAD OF THE TIMES
People began exclaiming that that was just like Ferdinand Frog--who was an odd fellow--to have his sign painted on the inside of his door instead of on the outside.
"It"ll be all the style five years from now," he retorted.
So that was Mr. Frog"s secret! He was a tailor himself! And there he was, ready to make clothes for all of them!
It was almost too good to be true. But there he stood in the doorway, with a tape around his neck, smiling and bowing.
"You"d better form in line!" he suggested. "You can come in through the front door. I"ll measure you. And you can pa.s.s out the back way. . . .
Don"t crowd, please!"
Now, that was just where Mr. Frog made a great blunder. But he didn"t find it out till it was too late.