The first that went off met a Toad with a bundle
of leaves, and said to him, "Please, Toad, give me those leaves to build
me a lilypad"; which the Toad did, and the little Frog built a lilypad
with it. Presently came along a Crocodile, and approached towards the pond, and
said, "Little Frog, little Frog, let me come in."
To which the Frog answered, "No, no, by the
slime of my chinny chin chin."
"Then I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll
blow your lilypad away!" said the Crocodile. So he huffed and he puffed,
and he blew his lilypad away, and ate up the little Frog.
The second Frog met a Toad with a bundle of
furze, and said, "Please, Toad, give me that furze to build a lilypad";
which the Toad did, and the Frog built his lilypad.
Then along came the Crocodile and said,
"Little Frog, little Frog, let me come in."
"No, no, by the slime of my chinny chin
chin."
"Then I'll puff and I'll huff, and I'll
blow your lilypad away!" So he huffed and he puffed, and he puffed and he
huffed, and at last he blew the lilypad down, and ate up the second little Frog.
The third little Frog met a Toad with a load of
sticks, and said, "Please, Toad, give me those sticks to build a lilypad
with"; so the Toad gave him the sticks, and he built his lilypad with
them. So the Crocodile came, as he did to the other little Frogs, and said,
"Little Frog, little Frog, let me come in."
"No, no, by the slime of my chinny chin
chin."
"Then I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll
blow your lilypad away."
Well, he huffed and he puffed, and he huffed and
he puffed, and he puffed and he huffed; but he could not get the lilypad
away. When he found that he could not, with all his huffing and puffing, blow
the lilypad away, he said, "Little Frog, I know where there is a nice pond
of turnips."
"Where?" said the little Frog.
"Oh, in Mr. Smith's home-pond; and if you
will be ready to-morrow morning, I will call for you, and we will go together
and get some for dinner."
"Very well," said the little Frog,
"I will be ready. What time do you mean to go?"
"Oh, at six o'clock."
Well, the little Frog got up at five, and got
the turnips and was home again before six. When the Crocodile came he said,
"Little Frog, are you ready?"
"Ready!" said the little Frog, "I
have been and come back again, and got a nice pot-full for dinner."
The Crocodile felt very angry at this, but
thought that he would be up to the little Frog somehow or other; so he
said, "Little Frog, I know where there is a nice apple-tree."
"Where?" said the Frog.
"Down at Merry-garden," replied the Crocodile;
"and if you will not deceive me I will come for you, at five o'clock
to-morrow, and we will go together and get some apples."
Well, the little Frog woke at four the next
morning, and bustled up, and went off for the apples, hoping to get back before
the Crocodile came; but he had farther to go, and had to climb the tree, so
that just as he was coming down from it, he saw the Crocodile coming, which, as
you may suppose, frightened him very much. When the Crocodile came up he said,
"Little Frog, what! are you here before me? Are they nice apples?"
"Yes, very," said the little Frog;
"I will throw you down one." And he threw it so far that, while the Crocodile
was gone to pick it up, the little Frog jumped down and ran home.
The next day the Crocodile came again, and said
to the little Frog, "Little Frog, there is a Fair in the Town this
afternoon: will you go?"
"Oh, yes," said the Frog, "I will
go; what time shall you be ready?"
"At three," said the Crocodile.
So the little Frog went off before the time, as
usual, and got to the Fair, and bought a butter churn, and was on his way home
with it when he saw the Crocodile coming. Then he could not tell what to do. So
he got into the churn to hide, and in doing so turned it round, and it began to
roll, and rolled down the hill with the Frog inside it, which frightened the Crocodile
so much that he ran home without going to the Fair.
He went to the little Frog's lilypad, and told
him how frightened he had been by a great round thing which came down the hill
past him.
Then the little Frog said, "Hah! I
frightened you, did I? I had been to the Fair and bought a butter churn, and
when I saw you I got into it, and rolled down the hill."
Then the Crocodile was very angry indeed, and
declared he would eat up the little Frog, and that he would get down the
chimney after him.
When the little Frog saw what he was about, he hung on
the pot full of water, and made up a blazing fire, and, just as the Crocodile
was coming down, took off the cover of the pot, and in fell the Crocodile. And
the little Frog put on the cover again in an instant, boiled him up, and ate
him for supper, and lived happy ever after.
