The Cheerful Cricket and Others | Page 5

his humpy shoulders toward the moth. Quietly he stole on and in a minute more the moth would be choked to death. On, on went Stingy, the tiny yellow moth fluttering more and more feebly. But just at the moment Stingy was almost on the moth, a beak ripped open the web and Stingy went tumbling to the ground while the yellow moth fluttered away toward the waxy white flowers of the nearest syringa bush. The moth had time to see Hummy go whirring off, and that night she told the fireflies and glow-worms and other moths all about it. And each one had some other good deed of Hummy's to relate.
But perhaps you would like to know what became of Stingy? When the web was broken and he tumbled to the ground, he fell into the open mouth of the Frisky Frog, who gave a comfortable croak as he swallowed him. Nobody was sorry that Stingy was swallowed. Mrs. Cricky said it served him right, but then, poor Mrs. Cricky's good wishes were often lost in anxiety, lest harm should come to one of her own little Cricketses, for Stingy, fifteen days before, had been known to smother and eat a little cricket not more than a minute old. Mrs. Cricky herself would probably have been the last person to hurt Stingy, only she could not help feeling relieved; she said it wasn't in cricket-nature to feel otherwise.
Father Cricky was usually too busy singing songs for the Marsh Grass Vesper Quartette to make remarks. But this time he agreed with Mrs. Cricky and said they would all better have their evening song and go to sleep. And this was the song they sang:
Lullabye
Not too fast Come, see where the night winds sleep And the dews fall on the ground, While the trees a-rustling keep, And the stars turn round and round. There little frogs leap and croak, And little eels slip and slide, And the crabs lie still and soak, While the marsh is singing wide. The sand hills sleep 'neath the moon And blink away at the sea, While they sing a little sand tune Which is plain as plain can be.
Lullabye, Sleep away, Say, my little one, Bye-bye to the day.

THE MARSH GRASS VESPER QUARTETTE
It was toward evening, and the Marsh Grass Vesper Quartette was seated at the edge of Shiner Pond. The Quartette always gathered here about dusk upon a broad flat toad-stool which grew at the foot of a spreading oak. Mr. Tree Toad Todson had leased this toad-stool for the summer season from his first cousin, the unfortunate Toadie Todson. From pieces of straw he had built up to the edge of it a short flight of steps so that Miss K. T. Did, their first soprano, found it easy to mount to the platform.
To-night was a special evening and the attendance was large. Out on the pond the Snapping Turtles were moving swiftly from one log to another, bearing upon their backs groups of Fireflies. The Fireflies were there in numbers this night, because one of the selections on the program was a "Firefly Dance," composed by Mr. Frisky Frog, and to be danced by Miss K. T. Did. The other members of the Quartette were to sing the song while Miss Katy danced. It spoiled the effect somewhat to lose her clear high soprano, but Mr. Tree Toad Todson filled in with his penetrating tenor, and it was rumored that the Composition would be a great success.
As nearly as I can remember it, this was the program for that evening.
_Sixth Annual In-Season Out of Door Concert
of
The Marsh Grass Vesper Quartette_
June the twenty-sixth,
Nineteen-hundred-and-six
Shiner Pond Pavilion
Members Miss K. T. Did.... Soprano Mr. Tree Toad Todson.... Tenor Mr. Cricky... Baritone Mr. Frisky Frog, 3d... Bass Assisted by Miss Glo Worm Mr. Fiah Fli, Jr.
------------------------- PROGRAM
I. A Warm Night Herr June Bug Rendered by Mr. Cricky II. The Firefly Dance Mr. Frisky Frog Danced by Miss K. T. Did III. The Moonbeam Song Miss Glo Worm (Intermission) IV. A Lullabye Mr. T. Toad Todson Mr. T. Toad Todson Assisted by Mrs. Frisky Frog V. A Lament Mr. T. Toad Todson (In memory of Toadie Todson) Sung by T. Toad Todson VI. Mosquito Aria Mr. Cricky Sung by Miss K. T. Did
VII. _There's Dreamland Coming_
The Quartette
Assisted by Miss Glo Worm and Mr. Fiah Fli, Jr.
It would be impossible to give the whole program without taking you right into the concert. The Lullabye Mrs. Frisky Frog sang together with Mr. T. Toad Todson, and sang very beautifully. She had sung it a great many times to her own little children while they were still polly-wogs. Only when she sang it to them she altered the chorus Mrs. Frisky Frog changed the chorus for her little ones because she