Page:The art of story-telling, with nearly half a hundred stories, y Julia Darrow Cowles .. (IA artofstorytellin00cowl).pdf/168

 One morning, as a frog hopped down the path, he stopped and called "Good morning. I've a bit of news for you."

"Good morning," replied the adder. "I hope it is good news, I am sure."

"What's good news to one person may be bad news to another," croaked the frog. "But listen! As I came along through the forest I heard a great chattering among the monkeys, and I stopped to hear what it was all about.

"One little monkey sat crying in the midst of them, and the others were all saying, 'You know you tried to steal—'"

But the adder had rolled over so that one ear lay close to the ground, and he had stuck the end of his tail in the other ear. Of course he couldn't hear another word of what the frog was saying.

"Dear me!" said the frog, looking very much offended. "That is a great way to treat a friend, I am sure." And he hopped off into the rushes.

Presently a wasp flew down by the adder's home and settled upon a leaf near by.

"Good morning," said the adder politely. "What a beautiful day this is."