Twice he tumbled off
with a splash into the Smiling Pool. Each time he scrambled back again
and rolled his great goggly eyes in silent appeal to Little Joe Otter to
come to his aid.
[Illustration: As soon as they saw Grandfather Frog, they began to
laugh, too. _Page 37._]
But Little Joe was laughing so that he had to hold his sides, and he
didn't understand that Grandfather Frog really was in trouble. Billy
Mink and Jerry Muskrat came along, and as soon as they saw Grandfather
Frog, they began to laugh, too. They just laughed and laughed and
laughed until the tears came. They rolled over and over on the bank and
kicked their heels from sheer enjoyment. It was the funniest thing they
had seen for a long, long time.
"Did you ever see such greed?" gasped Billy Mink.
"Why don't you pull it out and start over again?" shouted Little Joe
Otter.
Now this is just what Grandfather Frog was trying to do. At least, he
was trying to pull the fish out. He hadn't the least desire in the world
to try swallowing it again. In fact, he felt just then as if he never,
never wanted to see another fish so long as he lived. But Grandfather
Frog's hands are not made for grasping slippery things, and the tail of
a fish is very slippery indeed. He tried first with one hand, then with
the other, and at last with both. It was of no use at all.
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