The Tale of Daddy Longlegs | Page 8

matter if it was the right shoe, Daddy Longlegs thought it was
all wrong.

X
RIDE BY MOONLIGHT
IT was not exactly a pleasant ride that Daddy Longlegs had in the toe
of Peter Mink's shoe. Not only was it dark pocket inside the shoe, but it
was so cramped that Daddy was most uncomfortable. And what was
still worse, he hadn't even the faintest idea where he was going.

Sometimes Daddy was almost sure that Peter Mink was carrying him
around Blue Mountain. And at other times he thought that Peter must
be following Swift River--to see where it went, perhaps. Anyhow,
Daddy suffered such a pitching and tossing and tumbling and jouncing
as he had never known in all his life.
Then at last, to Daddy's great relief, Peter Mink kept quite still for a
long time.
That was when Peter burrowed into a haystack to take a nap. And since
it was then many hours past Daddy Longlegs' regular bedtime, he went
to sleep too. But he awoke with a great start when Peter Mink crawled
out of his shelter about dawn. And at first Daddy couldn't imagine what
was happening. But after he had been bounced about a bit he
remembered the terrible accident that had happened to him in Jimmy
Rabbit's shoe shop in the meadow.
Suddenly Peter Mink stopped. And to Daddy Longlegs' great delight
Peter began to take off his shoes.
Yes! Peter Mink removed his shoes. And then he removed himself.
That is to say, he dropped his shoes carelessly upon the ground (for that
was his way!) and took himself off.
Daddy Longlegs waited until Peter Mink had stolen away. And then he
dashed out of the shoe much faster than he had entered it the evening
before.
Yes; the evening before! For now it was the following morning--and
broad daylight.
Daddy Longlegs stretched his eight legs, first one after another, and
then all together. He was so glad to escape from his cramped quarters
that he had little thought for anything except the joy of being free once
more.
Then he remembered all at once that he was lost. And that was enough
to start his eight legs to shaking beneath him in a very unpleasant

fashion. Daddy Longlegs was frightened. Anybody could have seen
that.
After a few moments he looked about him, wondering which way he
had better go. And as he gazed at his surroundings he saw--not far
off--a familiar looking object.
At first Daddy could scarcely believe his eyes. And he looked steadily
at what he saw, as if he half expected it would fly away and vanish.
But the object did nothing of the kind. And how could it, anyhow?
Because it was Farmer Green's house that had caught Daddy Longlegs'
eye.... And there stood the great barn too, a little way off! And there
was the bridge across Swift River!
Without knowing what he was doing, Peter Mink had brought Daddy
Longlegs almost home. And then he had taken off his shoes because he
wanted to go for a swim in the duck pond, in the hope of catching an
eel for his breakfast.
Well, Daddy Longlegs lost no time in making his way back to the stone
wall by the roadside. And the first person he met there was no other
than little Mrs. Ladybug, who seemed delighted to see him and asked
him how he liked working for Farmer Green.
"Yes! It's a fine day," said Daddy Longlegs. "The rain is holding off.
And it looks as if Farmer Green was going to get his oats harvested
without their being wet, after all."
"I see you're deaf to-day," Mrs. Ladybug observed in a pitying tone.
"It's a shame. And Farmer Green ought to be very grateful to you for
your help."
"He hasn't said a word to me," Daddy Longlegs told her. And Mrs.
Ladybug declared she couldn't understand it.
But there were many other things, too, that she didn't understand. She
had heard that Daddy was a harvestman. But she didn't know that some

people called him by that name merely because he was seen in Pleasant
Valley about the time Farmer Green harvested his crops. As for
working in the fields, Daddy Longlegs knew no more about that than
did that fat drone, Buster Bumblebee. And Farmer Green would have
laughed heartily at the idea of either of them helping him.

XI
THE BIG WIND
FOR several days after his unlucky journey across the meadow, when
he tried to reach the field where Farmer Green was harvesting his oats,
Daddy Longlegs did not wander far from the stone wall.
But one day Rusty Wren told him that his cousin, Long Bill Wren, was
going to give a party at his house