Bully and Bawly No-Tail | Page 9

Little-Tail and Peetie and Jackie
Bow Wow grew so excited and delighted that they ran off to tell all
their friends about Grandpa Croaker digging a well. That left Bully and
Bawly all alone up at the edge of the big hole in the ground, at the
bottom of which was their grandpa.
"Let's have another little dance!" suggested Bully.
"No," replied Bawly, "let's jump down the well and have a drink of the
new water that hasn't any fishes in it."
So, without thinking what they were doing, down they leaped into the
well, almost failing on Grandpa Croaker's bald head, and carrying

down with them the rope, by which they had been pulling up the pails
of dirt. Into the water they popped, and each one took a big drink.
"Well, now you've done it!" cried Grandpa Croaker, as he leaned on his
shovel and looked at his two grandsons.
"Why, what is the matter?" asked Bully, splashing some water on
Bawly's nose.
"Yes. All we did was to jump down here," added Bawly. "What's
wrong?"
"Why that leaves no one above on the ground to help me get up," said
the old gentleman frog. "I was depending on you to haul me up by the
rope, and here you jump down, and pull the rope with you. It's as bad as
when Uncle Wiggily was on the roof, only he was up and couldn't get
down, and we're down and can't get up."
"Oh, I think I can jump to the top of the well and take the rope with me.
If I can't take this rope I'll get another and pull you both up," said Bully.
So he hopped and he hopped, but he couldn't hop to the top of the well.
Every time he tried it, he fell back into the water, ker-slash!
"Let me try," said his brother. But it was just the same with Bawly.
Back he sploshed-splashed into the well-water, getting all wet.
"Now we'll never get out of here," said Grandpa Croaker sadly. "I wish
you boys would think a little more, and not do things so quickly."
"We will--next time," promised Bawly as he gave another big jump, but
he came nowhere near the top of the well.
Then it began to look as if they would have to stay down there forever,
for no one came to pull them out.
"Let's call for help," suggested Bully. So he and Bawly called as loud
as they could, and so did Grandpa Croaker. But the well was so deep,
and their voices sounded so loud and rumbling, coming out of the hole

in the ground, that every one thought it was thunder. And the animal
people feared it would rain, so they all ran home, and no one thought of
grandpa and the two frog boys in the deep well.
But at last along came Alice Wibblewobble, and, being a duck, she
didn't mind a thunder storm. So she didn't run away, and she heard
Grandpa Croaker and Bully and Bawly calling for help at the bottom of
the well. She asked what was the trouble, and Bully told her what had
happened.
"Oh, you silly boys, to jump down a well!" exclaimed Alice. "But
never fear, I'll help you up." So they never feared, and Alice got a rope
and lowered it down to them, and then, with the help of her brother
Jimmie and her sister Lulu, she pulled all three frogs up from the well,
and they lived happy for ever after, and drank the water that had no
fishes in it.
Now if the faucet in the kitchen sink doesn't turn upside down, and
squirt the water on the ceiling and into the cat's eye, I'll tell you next
about Papa No-Tail in trouble.

STORY VI
PAPA N
Papa No-tail, the frog gentleman, was working away in the wallpaper
factory one day, when something quite strange happened to him, and if
you all sit right nice and quiet, as my dear old grandmother used to say,
I'll tell you all about it, from the beginning to the end, and I'll even tell
you the middle part, which some people leave out, when they tell
stories.
Papa No-Tail would dip his four feet, which were something like hands,
in the different colored inks at the factory. There was red ink, and blue
ink, and white ink, and black ink, and sky-purple-green ink, and also
that newest shade, skilligimink color, which Sammie Littletail once
dyed his Easter eggs. After he had his feet nicely covered with the ink,

Papa No-Tail would hop all over pieces of white paper to make funny
patterns on them. Then they would be ready to paper a room, and make
it look pretty.
"I think that