Page:The shoemaker's apron (1920).djvu/162

 when your babies come I’ll be their godmother! Do you hear?”

As if it accepted this as a promise, the frog croaked: “All right! All right! All right!” and swam off.

Some time after this, when Lidushka was again doing her washing at the river, the same old frog appeared not looking now so fat and bloated.

“Come! Come, my dear!” it croaked. “You remember your promise! You said you’d be godmother to my babies. You must come with me now for we’re having the christening today.”

Lidushka, of course, had spoken jokingly, but even so a promise is a promise and must not be broken.

“But, you foolish frog,” she said, “how can I be godmother to your babies? I can’t go down in the water.”

“Yes, you can!” the old frog croaked. “Come on! Come on! Come with me!”

It began swimming upstream and Lidushka followed, walking along the shore and feeling every moment more frightened.

The old frog swam on until it reached the mill-dam. Then it said to Lidushka:

“Now, my dear, don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid! Just lift that stone in front of you. Under it you’ll