The Tale of Solomon Owl | Page 3

he
could see.

It was a true statement, too; because Mr. Frog had not yet discovered
Solomon Owl's exact whereabouts.
But he learned them soon; for Solomon immediately dropped down
from the big willow and alighted on the bank near Mr. Frog--altogether
too near him, in fact, for the tailor's comfort.
Solomon looked at Mr. Frog very solemnly. And he thought that he
shivered.
"What's the matter? Are you ill?" Solomon Owl inquired. "You seem to
be shaking."
"Just a touch of chills and fever, probably!" replied Mr. Frog with an
uneasy smile. "You know it's very damp here."
"You don't look in the best of health--that's a fact!" Solomon Owl
remarked. "You appear to me to be somewhat green in the face." And
he laughed once more--that same hollow, mirthless laugh.
Mr. Frog couldn't help jumping, because the sound alarmed him.
"Don't be disturbed!" said Solomon Owl. "I like all the Frog family."
At that remark, Mr. Frog started violently That was exactly the trouble!
Solomon Owl was altogether too fond of frogs, whether they were old
or young, big or little.
It was no wonder that Mr. Frog swallowed rapidly sixteen times before
he could say another word.

IV AN ODD BARGAIN
While Mr. Frog was swallowing nothing rapidly, he was thinking
rapidly, too. There was something about Solomon Owl's big, staring
eyes that made Mr. Frog feel uncomfortable. And if he had thought he
had any chance of escaping he would have dived into the brook and

swum under the bank.
But Solomon Owl was too near him for that. And Mr. Frog was afraid
his caller would pounce upon him any moment. So he quickly thought
of a plan to save himself. "No doubt----" he began. But Solomon Owl
interrupted him.
"There!" cried Solomon. "You can speak, after all. I supposed you'd
swallowed your tongue. And I was just waiting to see what you'd do
next. I thought maybe you would swallow your head."
Mr. Frog managed to laugh at the joke, though, to tell the truth, he felt
more nervous than ever. He saw what was in Solomon Owl's mind, for
Solomon was thinking of swallowing Mr. Frog's head himself.
"No doubt--" Mr. Frog resumed--"no doubt you've come to ask me to
make you a new suit of clothes."
Now, Solomon Owl had had no such idea at all. But when it was
mentioned to him, he rather liked it.
"Will you?" he inquired, with a highly interested air.
"Why, certainly!" the tailor replied. And for the first time since he had
turned his backward somersault into the bulrushes, he smiled widely.
"I'll tell you what I'll do!" he said. "First, I'll make you a coat free. And
second, if you like it I will then make you a waistcoat and trousers, at
double rates."
Solomon Owl liked the thought of getting a coat for nothing. But for all
that, he looked at the tailor somewhat doubtfully.
"Will it take you long?" he asked.
"No, indeed!" Mr. Frog told him. "I'll make your coat while you wait."
"Oh, I wasn't going away," Solomon assured him with an odd look
which made Mr. Frog shiver again. "Be quick, please! Because I have
some important business to attend to."

Mr. Frog couldn't help wondering if it wasn't he himself that Solomon
Owl was going to attend to. In spite of his fears, to work to cut up some
cloth that hung just outside his door.
"Stop!" Solomon Owl cried in a voice that seemed to shake the very
ground. "You haven't measured me yet!"
"It's not necessary," Mr. Frog explained glibly. "I've become so skilful
that one look at an elegant figure like yours is all that I need."
Naturally, Mr. Frog's remark pleased Solomon Owl. And he uttered ten
rapid hoots, which served to make Mr. Frog's fingers fly all the faster.
Soon he was sewing Solomon's coat with long stitches; and though his
needle slipped now and then, he did not pause to take out a single stitch.
For some reason, Mr. Frog was in a great hurry.
Solomon Owl did not appear to notice that the tailor was not taking
much pains with his sewing. Perhaps Mr. Frog worked so fast that
Solomon could not see what he was doing.
Anyhow, he was delighted when Mr. Frog suddenly cried:
"It's finished!" And then he tossed the coat to Solomon. "Try it on!" he
said. "I want to see how well it fits you."
Solomon Owl held up the garment and looked at it very carefully. And
as he examined it a puzzled look came over his great pale face.
There was something about his new coat that he did not understand.

V THE COLD WEATHER COAT
Yes! As he held up his new coat and