ferdinand frog had begun to feel uneasy again. he was afraid that the singers had forgotten their promise to him. but at last they suddenly started a rousing song which made him take heart again.
they roared out the chorus in a joyful way which left no doubt in his mind that his chance was at hand:
"now that the concert is ended
we'll sit at the banquet and feast.
now that the singing's suspended
we'll dine till it's gray in the east."
mr. frog only hoped that the company did not expect him to sing to them all the time while they were banqueting.
"they needn't think—" he murmured under his breath—"they needn't think i don't like good things to eat as well as they do." but he let no one see that he was worried. that was ferdinand frog's way: almost always he managed to smile, no matter how things went.
when the last echoes of the song had died away a great hubbub arose. everybody crowded around mr. frog. and there were cries of "now! now!"
he thought, of course, that they wanted to hear him sing. so he started once more to sing his favorite song. but they stopped him quickly.
"we've finished the songs for to-night," they told him. "we're ready for the supper now. . . . where is it?"
"supper?" mr. frog faltered, as his jaw dropped. "what supper?"
"the supper you're going to give us!" the whole company shouted. "you know—don't you?—that we have just made a rule for new members: they're to furnish a banquet."
ferdinand frog's eyes seemed to bulge further out of his head than ever.
"i—i never heard of this before!" he stammered.
"didn't tired tim tell you about our new rule?" somebody inquired. "it was his own idea."
"he never said a word to me about it!" ferdinand frog declared with a loud laugh. "and i can't give you a supper, for i haven't one ready."
"then we'll postpone it until to-morrow night," the company told him hopefully.
"what does your rule say?" ferdinand frog rolled his eyes as he put the question to them.
"it says that the banquet must take place the first night the new member is present," a fat gentleman replied.
"then i can't give you any food to-morrow night," mr. frog informed them, "because it would be against the rule."
"then you can't be a member!" a hundred voices croaked.
"i am one now," ferdinand frog replied happily. "and what's more, i don't see how you can keep me out of your singing-parties."
there was silence for a time.
"we've been sold," some one said at last. "we've no rule to prevent this fellow from coming here. and the worst of it is, as everybody knows, his voice is so loud it will spoil all our songs."
oddly enough, the speaker was the very one who had always objected to inviting ferdinand frog to join the singing parties. his own voice had always been the loudest in the whole company. and naturally he did not want anybody with a louder one to come and drown his best notes.
but now he couldn't help himself. and thereafter when the singers met in cedar swamp he always turned greener in the face than ever and looked as if he were about to burst, when ferdinand frog opened his mouth its widest and let his voice rumble forth into the night.
