Bully and Bawly No-Tail | Page 7

said to himself, as he jumped out at Bully and Bawly.
But those two frog boys were smart little fellows, and they were always looking around for danger. So, as soon as the alligator made a jump at them, they also leaped to one side, and the unpleasant creature didn't get them.
"Oh, you just wait! I'll have you in a minute!" the alligator cried, and he opened his mouth so wide that it went all the way back to his ears, and the top of his head nearly flew off.
"We haven't time to wait," said Bully with a laugh, as he hopped on with his basket of groceries.
"No, we must get back home in time for supper," spoke Bawly. "So we'll have to leave you," and on he hipped and skipped and hopped with his basket.
Those frog boys didn't really think that that alligator could reach them, for he was so big and clumsy-looking that it didn't seem as if he could run very fast. But he could, and the first thing Bully and Bawly knew, that most unprepossessing creature, with a smile that went away around to his ears, was close behind them and gnashing his teeth at them.
"Oh, hop, Bully, hop!" cried Bawly in great fright.
"Sure, I'll hop!" answered his brother. "You hop, too!"
Well, they both hopped as fast as they could, but on account of the baskets of groceries which they had they couldn't hop as fast as usual. The alligator saw this, and after them he crawled, and several times he nearly had them by their tails. Oh, no, excuse me, if you please, frogs don't have tails. I was thinking of tadpoles.
"Oh, just wait until I catch you!" cried the alligator, snapping his teeth together.
But Bully and Bawly didn't wait. On they hopped, as fast as they could, hoping to get away. And would you ever believe that an alligator could be so mean as this one was? For he chased Bully and Bawly right up a steep hill. You know it's hard to walk up hill, and harder still to hop, so Bully and Bawly were soon tired. But do you s'pose that alligator cared? Not a bit of it!
Right after them he kept crawling, faster and faster.
Bully and Bawly hopped as swiftly as they could, but the alligator kept getting nearer and nearer to them, for he was big and strong, and didn't mind the hill. They could hear his savage jaws gnashing together, and they trembled so that Bully almost spilled the molasses out of his basket and Bawly nearly dropped the granulated sugar.
Well, finally the two frog boys were at the top of the hill, and they were very thankful, thinking that they could now get away from the alligator, when they suddenly saw that the hill came to an end, and fell over the edge of a great precipice just like the Niagara waterfall, only there wasn't any water there, of course.
"Oh, we can't go any farther," cried Bully, coming to a stop.
"No," said his brother, "we can't jump down that awful gully. But look, Bully, there is another hill over there," and he pointed across the big, open space. "If we could jump across from this hill to that hill, the alligator couldn't get us."
"Oh, but it's a terrible big jump," said Bully, and indeed it was; about as wide as a big river. "But we've got to do it!" cried Bully, "for here comes the terrible beast!"
The alligator was almost upon them. He opened his mouth to grab them with his teeth, when Bully, spreading out his legs, and taking a firm hold of his grocery basket, gave a great, big jump. Through the air he sailed, over the deep valley, and he landed safely on the other hill. Then Bawly did the same, and with one most tremendous, extemporaneous and extraordinary jump, he landed close beside his brother, and the alligator couldn't get either of them because he couldn't jump across the chasm.
Oh, but he was an angry alligator though! He gnashed his teeth and wiggled his tail and even cried big round tears. Nearly all alligators cry little square tears, but even round ones didn't do a bit of good. Then Bully threw a marble at the savage creature, and hit him on the nose, and Bawly blew his whistle so loud, that the alligator thought a policeman, or postman, was coming, and he turned around and ran away, and the frog boys went on safely home with their baskets of groceries and had a good supper.
Now in case that alligator doesn't chase after me, and chew up my typewriter to make mincemeat of it for the wax doll, I'll tell you in the next story about Grandpa Croaker digging a well.

STORY V
GRANDPA CROAKER DIGS A WELL
It