The Cheerful Cricket and Others | Page 2

a big oak leaf floated by, and Chee scrambled on. If, however, the leaf
had not come at just that moment Chee would have drowned. When the
leaf floated in shore they all went home and told Mother Cricky. She
stopped chirruping for quite a long time and didn't say anything at all.

When Mrs. Cricky began to chirrup again she said it served them just
right, and she hoped it had taught them all a lesson. Then they all
chirruped together, because Chee was safe, and Mrs. Cricky said: "Now
let us all sing a little song to show that we are happy." And this is the
song they sang:
_Jump, Jump_
Rather Fast Jump, jump everywhere, How we like the summer air,
Chirp, chirp, chirp in tune, On the grass beneath the moon.

THE SLOTHFUL TOAD
The slothful Toad (his real name was Toadie Todson) crawled out of
his hole and looked about. He saw a Bee near by buzzing busily over a
rich large clover blossom, and a sturdy Ant dragging a white parcel
marked "Food" toward a round sandy house, and a cheery little Cricket
marching rapidly up a green stalk in search of a dinner for three hungry
little Cricketses. It was a busy time for all except Toadie Todson.
The spring had just come, that much Toadie Todson knew, and all these
neighbors were busy putting their houses in order. Well, the Bee was
stocking his honeycomb house, the Ant was putting her summer pantry
into order and filling it with cookies, cream cheese, cake, and honey
that her Majesty, the Queen Bee, sent over every day. And the Cricket,
although his house was out of doors under a big green oak leaf that had
dropped to the ground, was busy piling up all the food he could find for
Mrs. Cricky to guard while she nursed the three little Cricketses.
Toadie Todson was tired to see so much going on. He wished they
would all be quiet and stop hurrying around. He drew a long sigh,
which made him swell up and look rounder and fatter than ever. Why
couldn't his neighbors feed as he did? He just sat there and opened his
big red slit of a mouth, gave a lazy snap, and a noisy fly, still buzzing,
was swallowed up. He moved a little further away from his hole,
dragging one fat, squashy leg after the other, then down he squatted
again.
A little ball of green inch-worm dropped off the bush on to Toadie
Todson's back and began to measure its length over Toadie's big warts
and veins. It made him feel very important to have an inch-worm all to
himself to tickle his back, as important as an Egyptian Queen with a

slave to tickle the sole of her foot all the hot afternoon long. Toadie
Todson swelled with pride as the green inch-worm went measuring up
and down, up and down his back.
The Busy Bee just then flew buzzing by and buzzed to Toadie as he
went: "There's a sand-slide rolling down this way. I'm getting out's fast
as I can." When the Bee said sand-slide it sounded just like
"Sz-sz-sz--z-z-z-z--ide." Toadie Todson opened his fat eyes and
dropped his mouth in an ugly laugh. It made him sick to see any one in
such a hurry. Then the Honest Ant went scurrying past and very kindly
gave him the same message. But Toadie only sneered the more. He had
been living in this very spot for years, almost as many as you have
lived, and nothing had ever happened to him. No, he would stay right
there, it was too much trouble to move for anybody. The green
inch-worm was very green, and went on measuring Toadie Todson's
back, for it didn't understand a word the Bee and Ant had said,
Suddenly, gravel, gravel, gravel, slip, slip, slip--and Toadie Todson
was under mountains of sand with a great big rock square on his back.
The green inch-worm began to bore its way out of the sand; it could
hear Toadie Todson groaning and saying:
"O! O! I wish I'd never been so lazy. I might have lived an' been as
happy and rich as the Bee or the Ant. O, O!"
And the green inch-worm knew that Toadie Todson was dead.
Not more than six hours after this Mrs. Cricky overheard the green
inch-worm practising a tune. It pleased her so much that she tried to
sing it again to Father Cricky for the Marsh Grass Vesper Quartette. Of
course it was all about Toadie Todson, and this was it:
A Lament
Very slowly Mournful, mournful notes, In our little throats we sing
Flowers, flowers dead, For our Toadie's head we bring

THE SULLEN CATERPILLAR
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