mr. frog waited until it was broad daylight before he left his hiding place beneath the bank of the river. he knew that by that time solomon owl must have gone home to his hemlock tree to get his rest. so ferdinand frog felt quite safe again.
having made up his mind that he would finish his journey to farmer green's place by land, he started briskly across the cornfield, travelling in a straight line between two rows of young corn.
he had not gone far before a hoarse voice called to him. but this time he was not alarmed.
it was only old mr. crow, who seemed greatly pleased to see him.
"hullo, young fellow!" said mr. crow. "if you're on your way to the barn to look at that picture, i'll fly over there myself, because i'd like to see it again."
"aren't you afraid of meeting farmer green?" ferdinand frog asked him.
"afraid?" mr. crow snorted. "certainly not! we're the best of friends. he set up this straw man here, just to keep me company. . . . besides," he went on, "at this time o' day farmer green is inside the barn, milking the cows. and we'll be outside it, looking at the circus pictures."
"we can call to him, if you want to say good morning to him," ferdinand frog suggested cheerfully.
"oh, no!" his companion said quickly. "i wouldn't want to do that—he's so busy."
ferdinand frog smiled. and for some reason old mr. crow seemed displeased.
"what's the joke?" he inquired in a surly tone. "something seems to amuse you. why are you grinning?"
"it's just a habit i have," ferdinand frog explained.
"i'd try to break myself of that habit, if i were you," mr. crow advised him. "some day it will get you into trouble, for you're likely to grin when you oughtn't to. there's a wrong time and a right time for everything, you know."
"just as there is for planting corn," mr. frog chimed in.
"exactly!" mr. crow returned.
"and for eating it!" mr. frog added.
but old mr. crow only said hastily that he would be at the barn by the time ferdinand reached it. and without another word he flapped himself away across the field.
"he's a queer one," said ferdinand frog to himself. "it seems as if a person couldn't please him, no matter how much a person tried." then he untied his necktie, and tied it again, because he thought one end of the bow was longer than the other; and that was something he couldn't endure.
then he resumed his jumping. and after exactly one hundred and thirty-two jumps he reached a corner of farmer green's great barn, where he found old mr. crow waiting for him.
"still smiling, i see," the old gentleman observed gruffly. "maybe you'll laugh out of the other corner of your mouth after you've seen the pretty picture that you look like."
"i hope so! where is it?" ferdinand frog asked him eagerly. "show me the pretty one!"
"come with me!" said old mr. crow. and he led the way around the barn, stopping before the side that faced the road.
"there!" he cried. "it's in the upper left-hand corner, just as i told you." and he chuckled as loud as he dared—with farmer green inside the building, milking the cows.
as ferdinand frog gazed upward a shadow of disappointment came over his face. and for once he did not smile.
"do i look like that?" he faltered.
"you certainly do," old mr. crow assured him. "see those eyes—don't they bulge just like yours? and look at that mouth! it's fully as wide as yours—and maybe a trifle wider!"
"the face does look a bit like mine, i'll admit," ferdinand frog muttered. "but no one could ever mistake one of us for the other. . . . what's the name of this creature?"
"it's called the hippopotamus," old mr. crow replied. "i heard johnnie green say so. and he ought to know, if anyone does."
