so stout as he is! I hope he will not swim away. I will try and attract his attention." And so, he commenced a little recitative, in a tender croaking: Now the jolly fat frog considered himself a poet; and his vanity getting the better of his judgment, he balanced himself on one side—one leg and arm in the water, while the others waved theatrically in the air,-and to the same croak (for it would not be true to call it a “tune”) he improvised a doggrel, worse, if possible, than the crow's : "And the water had the best on't; And again and again he waved his arm in the air. "Oh-ho!" quoth the crow, chuckling to himself; "the frog is vain. Caw! caw! Only think of vanity entering into Frogdom! Caw! caw! A vain frog! That creature, without a feather on his back, vain! Caw! caw! caw! I'll work his vanity for my own purpose. My grandfathers used to sing "A vain crow Is first to go Why should it not be so with a vain frog?" And, placing one claw on his heart, and trailing his wing on the ground, he made an accomplished bow to the jolly fat frog, who certainly surveyed him with some mistrust, and yet was gratified by his admiration. "What a pity it is, my dear sir,” commenced the crow, in his most insinuating tones, "that a gentleman of your genius should dwell in such a narrow home. I had no idea that there was any one so highly gifted in this (you must excuse me) muddy river. It is a very good dwelling for old-fashioned frogs-gentlemen of the old school, whose habits and manners belong to a past generation; and it forms an excellent nursery for babies, there is no doubt of it-a most excellent nursery; but a poet, sir, a poet of your distinction, should belong to the world -should be in the world. I suppose you are called Il Signor Improvisatory?" 66 No," said the frog; "that is not the language of Frogdom. You caw, and we croak." "How witty—how brilliant-how wonderful!" exclaimed the artful crow. "A monopoly! which, as you know, means, a combination of genius in your own person-a poet, a wit, and a musician.” The frog, I daresay, would have looked in the dictionary for the meaning of many of the crow's words, if he had one, but he had not; and because the crow said what he did not understand, he imagined the crow must be very clever indeed. He swam a little nearer to the rushes and forget-menots which fringed the brink of the pond. "Excuse me, my dear friend, for coming closer to the brink; but your movements are so graceful, that I wish to give them my best attention. I had no idea that you also excelled in the 'poetry of motion."" The jolly fat frog's throat swelled astonishingly at this compliment. Though he did not exactly know what the "poetry of motion" meant, he knew that the crow had called him graceful. It was really most ridiculous to see the antics which the jolly fat frog played in the watertossing here and there, up and down, languish |