The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad by Thornton W. Burgess
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Thornton W. Burgess >> The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad
THE ADVENTURES OF OLD MR. TOAD
BY THORNTON W. BURGESS
With Illustrations by HARRISON CADY
1920
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. JIMMY SKUNK IS PUZZLED
II. JIMMY SKUNK CONSULTS HIS FRIENDS
III. THE HUNT FOR OLD MR. TOAD
IV. PETER RABBIT FINDS OLD MR. TOAD
V. OLD MR. TOAD'S MUSIC BAG
VI. PETER DISCOVERS SOMETHING MORE
VII. A SHADOW PASSES OVER THE SMILING POOL
VIII. OLD MR. TOAD'S BABIES
IX. THE SMILING POOL KINDERGARTEN
X. THE LITTLE TOADS START OUT TO SEE THE WORLD
XI. OLD MR. TOAD'S QUEER TONGUE
XII. OLD MR. TOAD SHOWS HIS TONGUE
XIII. PETER RABBIT IS IMPOLITE
XIV. OLD MR. TOAD DISAPPEARS
XV. OLD MR. TOAD GIVES PETER A SCARE
XVI. JIMMY SKUNK IS SURPRISED
XVII. OLD MR. TOAD'S MISTAKE
XVIII. JIMMY SKUNK IS JUST IN TIME
XIX. OLD MR. TOAD GETS HIS STOMACH FULL
XX. OLD MR. TOAD IS PUFFED UP
XXI. OLD MR. TOAD RECEIVES ANOTHER INVITATION
XXII. OLD MR. TOAD LEARNS A LESSON
XXIII. OLD MR. TOAD IS VERY HUMBLE
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
"CAN YOU TELL ME WHERE ALL THESE LITTLE TOADS CAME FROM?"
"DO YOU SEE ANYTHING QUEER ABOUT HIM?" HE ASKED
"IF HE DON'T WATCH OUT, HE'LL BLOW UP AND BUST!" EXCLAIMED JIMMY
HIS FUNNY LITTLE TONGUE DARTED OUT, AND THE FLY WAS GONE
"CAN'T TALK WITH COMMON FOLKS ANY MORE," HE MUTTERED
"I AM A LITTLE WARM," REPLIED MR. TOAD IN HIS MOST POLITE MANNER
THE ADVENTURES OF OLD MR. TOAD
I
JIMMY SKUNK IS PUZZLED
Old Mother West Wind had just come down from the Purple Hills and turned
loose her children, the Merry Little Breezes, from the big bag in which she
had been carrying them. They were very lively and very merry as they danced
and raced across the Green Meadows in all directions, for it was good to be
back there once more. Old Mother West Wind almost sighed as she watched
them for a few minutes. She felt that she would like to join them. Always
the springtime made her feel this way,--young, mad, carefree, and happy.
But she had work to do. She had to turn the windmill to pump water for
Farmer Brown's cows, and this was only one of many mills standing idle as
they waited for her. So she puffed her cheeks out and started about her
business.
Jimmy Skunk sat at the top of the hill that overlooks the Green Meadows and
watched her out of sight. Then he started to amble down the Lone Little
Path to look for some beetles. He was ambling along in his lazy way, for
you know he never hurries, when he heard some one puffing and blowing
behind him. Of course he turned to see who it was, and he was greatly
surprised when he discovered Old Mr. Toad. Yes, Sir, it was Old Mr. Toad,
and he seemed in a great hurry. He was quite short of breath, but he was
hopping along in the most determined way as if he were in a great hurry to
get somewhere.
Now it is a very unusual thing for Mr. Toad to hurry, very unusual indeed.
As a rule he hops a few steps and then sits down to think it over. Jimmy
had never before seen him hop more than a few steps unless he was trying to
get away from danger, from Mr. Blacksnake for instance. Of course the first
thing Jimmy thought of was Mr. Blacksnake, and he looked for him. But there
was no sign of Mr. Blacksnake nor of any other danger. Then he looked very
hard at Old Mr. Toad, and he saw right away that Old Mr. Toad didn't seem
to be frightened at all, only very determined, and as if he had something
important on his mind.
"Well, well," exclaimed Jimmy Skunk, "whatever has got into those long hind
legs of yours to make them work so fast?"
Old Mr. Toad didn't say a word, but simply tried to get past Jimmy and keep
on his way. Jimmy put out one hand and turned Old Mr. Toad right over on
his back, where he kicked and struggled in an effort to get on his feet
again, and looked very ridiculous.
"Don't you know that it isn't polite not to speak when you are spoken to?"
demanded Jimmy severely, though his eyes twinkled.
"I--I beg your pardon. I didn't have any breath to spare," panted Old Mr.
Toad. "You see I'm in a great hurry."
"Yes, I see," replied Jimmy. "But don't you know that it isn't good for the
health to hurry so? Now, pray, what are you in such a hurry for? I don't
see anything to run away from."
"I'm not running away," retorted Old Mr. Toad indignantly. "I've business
to attend to at the Smiling Pool, and I'm late as it is."
"Business!" exclaimed Jimmy as if he could hardly believe his ears. "What
business have you at the Smiling Pool?"
"That is my own affair," retorted Old Mr. Toad, "but if you really want to
know, I'll tell you. I have a very important part in the spring chorus, and
I'm going down there to sing. I have a very beautiful voice."
That was too much for Jimmy Skunk. He just lay down and rolled over and
over with laughter. The idea of any one so homely, almost ugly-looking, as
Mr. Toad thinking that he had a beautiful voice! "Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!"
roared Jimmy.
When at last he stopped because he couldn't laugh any more, he discovered
that Old Mr. Toad was on his way again. Hop, hop, hipperty-hop, hop, hop,
hipperty-hop went Mr. Toad. Jimmy watched him, and he confessed that he was
puzzled.
II
JIMMY SKUNK CONSULTS HIS FRIENDS
Jimmy Skunk scratched his head thoughtfully as he watched Old Mr. Toad go
down the Lone Little Path, hop, hop, hipperty-hop, towards the Smiling
Pool. He certainly was puzzled, was Jimmy Skunk. If Old Mr. Toad had told
him that he could fly, Jimmy would not have been more surprised, or found
it harder to believe than that Old Mr. Toad had a beautiful voice. The
truth is, Jimmy didn't believe it. He thought that Old Mr. Toad was trying
to fool him.
Presently Peter Rabbit came along. He found Jimmy Skunk sitting in a brown
study. He had quite forgotten to look for fat beetles, and when he
forgets to do that you may make up your mind that Jimmy is doing some hard
thinking.
"Hello, old Striped-coat, what have you got on your mind this fine
morning?" cried Peter Rabbit.
"Him," said Jimmy simply, pointing down the Lone Little Path.
Peter looked. "Do you mean Old Mr. Toad!" he asked.
Jimmy nodded. "Do you see anything queer about him?" he asked in his turn.
[Illustration: "Do you see anything queer about him?" he asked.]
Peter stared down the Lone Little Path. "No," he replied, "except that he
seems in a great hurry."
"That's just it," Jimmy returned promptly. "Did you ever see him hurry
unless he was frightened?"
Peter confessed that he never had.
"Well, he isn't frightened now, yet just look at him go," retorted Jimmy.
"Says he has got a beautiful voice, and that he has to take part in the
spring chorus at the Smiling Pool and that he is late."
Peter looked very hard at Jimmy to see if he was fooling or telling the
truth. Then he began to laugh. "Old Mr. Toad sing! The very idea!" he
cried. "He can sing about as much as I can, and that is not at all."
Jimmy grinned. "I think he's crazy, if you ask me," said he. "And yet he
was just as earnest about it as if it were really so. I think he must have
eaten something that has gone to his head. There's Unc' Billy Possum over
there. Let's ask him what he thinks."
So Jimmy and Peter joined Unc' Billy, and Jimmy told the story about Old
Mr. Toad all over again. Unc' Billy chuckled and laughed just as they had
at the idea of Old Mr. Toad's saying he had a beautiful voice. But Unc'
Billy has a shrewd little head on his shoulders. After a few minutes he
stopped laughing.
"Ah done learn a right smart long time ago that Ah don' know all there is
to know about mah neighbors," said he. "We-uns done think of Brer Toad as
ugly-lookin' fo' so long that we-uns may have overlooked something. Ah don'
reckon Brer Toad can sing, but Ah 'lows that perhaps he thinks he can. What
do you-alls say to we-uns going down to the Smiling Pool and finding out
what he really is up to?"
"The very thing!" cried Peter, kicking up his heels. You know Peter is
always ready to go anywhere or do anything that will satisfy his curiosity.
Jimmy Skunk thought it over for a few minutes, and then he decided that as
he hadn't anything in particular to do, and as he might find some fat
beetles on the way, he would go too. So off they started after Old Mr.
Toad, Peter Rabbit in the lead as usual, Unc' Billy Possum next, grinning
as only he can grin, and in the rear Jimmy Skunk, taking his time and
keeping a sharp eye out for fat beetles.
III
THE HUNT FOR OLD MR. TOAD
Now, though Old Mr. Toad was hurrying as fast as ever he could and was
quite out of breath, he wasn't getting along very fast compared with the
way Peter Rabbit or Jimmy Skunk or Unc' Billy Possum could cover the
ground. You see he cannot make long jumps like his cousin, Grandfather
Frog, but only little short hops.
So Peter and Jimmy and Unc' Billy took their time about following him. They
stopped to hunt for fat beetles for Jimmy Skunk, and at every little patch
of sweet clover for Peter Rabbit to help himself. Once they wasted a lot of
time while Unc' Billy Possum hunted for a nest of Carol the Meadow Lark, on
the chance that he would find some fresh eggs there. He didn't find the
nest for the very good reason that Carol hadn't built one yet. Peter was
secretly glad. You know he doesn't eat eggs, and he is always sorry for his
feathered friends when their eggs are stolen.
Half way across the Green Meadows they stopped to play with the Merry
Little Breezes, and because it was very pleasant there, they played longer
than they realized. When at last they started on again, Old Mr. Toad was
out of sight. You see all the time he had kept right on going, hop, hop,
hipperty-hop.
"Never mind," said Peter, "we can catch up with him easy enough, he's such
a slow-poke."
But even a slow-poke who keeps right on doing a thing without wasting any
time always gets somewhere sooner or later, very often sooner than those
who are naturally quicker, but who waste their time. So it was with Old Mr.
Toad. He kept right on, hop, hop, hipperty-hop, while the others were
playing, and so it happened that when at last Peter and Jimmy and Unc'
Billy reached the Smiling Pool, they hadn't caught another glimpse of Old
Mr. Toad.
"Do you suppose he hid somewhere, and we passed him?" asked Peter.
Unc' Billy shook his head. "Ah don' reckon so," said he. "We-uns done been
foolin' away our time, an' Brer Toad done stole a march on us. Ah reckons
we-uns will find him sittin' on the bank here somewhere."
So right away the three separated to look for Old Mr. Toad. All along the
bank of the Smiling Pool they looked. They peeped under old leaves and
sticks. They looked in every place where Old Mr. Toad might have hidden,
but not a trace of him did they find.
"Tra-la-la-lee! Oka-chee! Oka-chee!
Happy am I as I can be!"
sang Mr. Redwing, as he swayed to and fro among the bulrushes.
"Say, Mr. Redwing, have you seen Old Mr. Toad?" called Peter Rabbit.
"No," replied Mr. Redwing. "Is that whom you fellows are looking for? I
wondered if you had lost something. What do you want with Old Mr. Toad?"
Peter explained how they had followed Old Mr. Toad just to see what he
really was up to. "Of course we know that he hasn't any more voice than I
have," declared Peter, "but we are curious to know if he really thinks he
has, and why he should be in such a hurry to reach the Smiling Pool. It
looks to us as if the spring has made Old Mr. Toad crazy."
"Oh, that's it, is it?" replied Mr. Redwing, his bright eyes twinkling.
"Some people don't know as much as they might. I've been wondering where
Old Mr. Toad was, and I'm ever so glad to learn that he hasn't forgotten
that he has a very important part in our beautiful spring chorus." Then
once more Mr. Redwing began to sing.
IV
PETER RABBIT FINDS OLD MR. TOAD
It isn't often that Peter Rabbit is truly envious, but sometimes in the
joyousness of spring he is. He envies the birds because they can pour out
in beautiful song the joy that is in them. The only way he can express his
feelings is by kicking his long heels, jumping about, and such foolish
things. While that gives Peter a great deal of satisfaction, it doesn't add
to the joy of other people as do the songs of the birds, and you know to
give joy to others is to add to your own joy. So there are times when Peter
wishes he could sing.
He was wishing this very thing now, as he sat on the bank of the Smiling
Pool, listening to the great spring chorus.
"Tra-la-la-lee! Oka-chee! Oka-chee!
There's joy in the spring for you and for me."
sang Redwing the Blackbird from the bulrushes.
From over in the Green Meadows rose the clear lilt of Carol the Meadow
Lark, and among the alders just where the Laughing Brook ran into the
Smiling Pool a flood of happiness was pouring from the throat of Little
Friend the Song Sparrow. Winsome Bluebird's sweet, almost plaintive,
whistle seemed to fairly float in the air, so that it was hard to say just
where it did come from, and in the top of the Big Hickory-tree, Welcome
Robin was singing as if his heart were bursting with joy. Even Sammy Jay
was adding a beautiful, bell-like note instead of his usual harsh scream.
As for the Smiling Pool, it seemed as if the very water itself sang, for a
mighty chorus of clear piping voices from unseen singers rose from all
around its banks. Peter knew who those singers were, although look as he
would he could see none of them. They were hylas, the tiny cousins of
Stickytoes the Tree Toad.
Listening to all these joyous voices, Peter forgot for a time what had
brought him to the Smiling Pool. But Jimmy Skunk and Unc' Billy Possum
didn't forget. They were still hunting for Old Mr. Toad.
"Well, old Mr. Dreamer, have you found him yet?" asked Jimmy Skunk,
stealing up behind Peter and poking him in the back.
Peter came to himself with a start. "No," said he. "I was just listening
and wishing that I could sing, too. Don't you ever wish you could sing,
Jimmy?"
"No," replied Jimmy. "I never waste time wishing I could do things it was
never meant I should do. It's funny where Old Mr. Toad is. He said that he
was coming down here to sing, and Redwing the Blackbird seemed to be
expecting him. I've looked everywhere I can think of without finding him,
but I don't believe in giving up without another try. Stop your dreaming
and come help us hunt."
So Peter stopped his dreaming and joined in the search. Now there was one
place where neither Peter nor Jimmy nor Unc' Billy had thought of looking.
That was in the Smiling Pool itself. They just took it for granted that Old
Mr. Toad was somewhere on the bank. Presently Peter came to a place where
the bank was very low and the water was shallow for quite a little distance
out in the Smiling Pool. From out of that shallow water came the piping
voice of a hyla, and Peter stopped to stare, trying to see the tiny singer.
Suddenly he jumped right up in the air with surprise. There was a
familiar-looking head sticking out of the water. Peter had found Old Mr.
Toad!
V
OLD MR. TOAD'S MUSIC BAG
Never think that you have learned
All there is to know.
That's the surest way of all
Ignorance to show.
"I've found Old Mr. Toad!" cried Peter Rabbit, hurrying after Jimmy Skunk.
"Where?" demanded Jimmy.
"In the water," declared Peter. "He's sitting right over there where the
water is shallow, and he didn't notice me at all. Let's get Unc' Billy, and
then creep over to the edge of the Smiling Pool and watch to see if Old Mr.
Toad really does try to sing."
So they hunted up Unc' Billy Possum, and the three stole very softly over
to the edge of the Smiling Pool, where the bank was low and the water
shallow. Sure enough, there sat Old Mr. Toad with just his head out of
water. And while they were watching him, something very strange happened.
"What--what's the matter with him?" whispered Peter, his big eyes looking
as if they might pop out of his head.
"If he don't watch out, he'll blow up and bust!" exclaimed Jimmy.
[Illustration: "If he don't watch out, he'll blow up and bust!" exclaimed
Jimmy.]
"Listen!" whispered Unc' Billy Possum. "Do mah ol' ears hear right? 'Pears
to me that that song is coming right from where Brer Toad is sitting."
It certainly did appear so, and of all the songs that glad spring day there
was none sweeter. Indeed there were few as sweet. The only trouble was the
song was so very short. It lasted only for two or three seconds. And when
it ended, Old Mr. Toad looked quite his natural self again; just as
commonplace, almost ugly, as ever. Peter looked at Jimmy Skunk, Jimmy
looked at Unc' Billy Possum, and Unc' Billy looked at Peter. And no one had
a word to say. Then all three looked back at Old Mr. Toad.
And even as they looked, his throat began to swell and swell and swell,
until it was no wonder that Jimmy Skunk had thought that he was in danger
of blowing up. And then, when it stopped swelling, there came again those
beautiful little notes, so sweet and tremulous that Peter actually held his
breath to listen. There was no doubt that Old Mr. Toad was singing just as
he had said he was going to, and it was just as true that his song was one
of the sweetest if not _the_ sweetest of all the chorus from and around the
Smiling Pool. It was very hard to believe, but Peter and Jimmy and Unc'
Billy both saw and heard, and that was enough. Their respect for Old Mr.
Toad grew tremendously as they listened.
"How does he do it?" whispered Peter.
"With that bag under his chin, of course," replied Jimmy Skunk. "Don't you
see it's only when that is swelled out that he sings? It's a regular music
bag. And I didn't know he had any such bag there at all."
"I wish," said Peter Rabbit, feeling of his throat, "that I had a music bag
like that in my throat."
And then he joined in the laugh of Jimmy and Unc' Billy, but still with
something of a look of wistfulness in his eyes.
VI
PETER DISCOVERS SOMETHING MORE
There are stranger things in the world to-day
Than ever you dreamed could be.
There's beauty in some of the commonest things
If only you've eyes to see.
Ever since Peter Rabbit was a little chap and had first ran away from home,
he had known Old Mr. Toad, and never once had Peter suspected that he could
sing. Also he had thought Old Mr. Toad almost ugly-looking, and he knew
that most of his neighbors thought the same way. They were fond of Old Mr.
Toad, for he was always good-natured and attended strictly to his own
affairs; but they liked to poke fun at him, and as for there being anything
beautiful about him, such a thing never entered their heads.
Now that they had discovered that he really has a very beautiful voice,
they began to look on him with a great deal more respect. This was
especially so with Peter. He got in the habit of going over to the Smiling
Pool every day, when the way was clear, just to sit on the bank and listen
to Old Mr. Toad.
"Why didn't you ever tell us before that you could sing?" he asked one day,
as Old Mr. Toad looked up at him from the Smiling Pool.
"What was the use of wasting my breath?" demanded Old Mr. Toad. "You
wouldn't have believed me if I had. You didn't believe me when I did tell
you."
Peter knew that this was true, and he couldn't find any answer ready. At
last he ventured another question. "Why haven't I ever heard you sing
before?"
"You have," replied Old Mr. Toad tartly. "I sang right in this very place
last spring, and the spring before, and the spring before that. You've sat
on that very bank lots of times while I was singing. The trouble with you,
Peter, is that you don't use your eyes or your ears."
Peter looked more foolish than ever. But he ventured another question. It
wouldn't be Peter to let a chance for questions go by. "Have I ever heard
you singing up on the meadows or in the Old Orchard?"
"No," replied Old Mr. Toad, "I only sing in the springtime. That's the time
for singing. I just _have_ to sing then. In the summer it is too hot, and
in the winter I sleep. I always return to my old home to sing. You know I
was born here. All my family gathers here in the spring to sing, so of
course I come too."
Old Mr. Toad filled out his queer music bag under his chin and began to
sing again. Peter watched him. Now it just happened that Old Mr. Toad was
facing him, and so Peter looked down straight into his eyes. He never had
looked into Mr. Toad's eyes before, and now he just stared and stared, for
it came over him that those eyes were very beautiful, very beautiful
indeed.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, "what beautiful eyes you have, Mr. Toad!"
"So I've been told before," replied Old Mr. Toad. "My family always has had
beautiful eyes. There is an old saying that every Toad has jewels in his
head, but of course he hasn't, not real jewels. It is just the beautiful
eyes. Excuse me, Peter, but I'm needed in that chorus." Old Mr. Toad once
more swelled out his throat and began to sing.
Peter watched him a while longer, then hopped away to the dear Old
Briarpatch, and he was very thoughtful.
"Never again will I call anybody homely and ugly until I know all about
him," said Peter, which was a very wise decision. Don't you think so?
VII
A SHADOW PASSES OVER THE SMILING POOL
Here's what Mr. Toad says;
Heed it well, my dear:
"Time to watch for clouds is
When the sky is clear."
He says that that is the reason that he lives to a good old age, does Old
Mr. Toad. I suppose he means that when the sky is cloudy, everybody is
looking for rain and is prepared for it, but when the sun is shining, most
people forget that there is such a thing as a storm, so when it comes
suddenly very few are prepared for it. It is the same way with danger and
trouble. So Old Mr. Toad very wisely watches out when there seems to be the
least need of it, and he finds it always pays.
It was a beautiful spring evening. Over back of the Purple Hills to which
Old Mother West Wind had taken her children, the Merry Little Breezes, and
behind which jolly, round, red Mr. Sun had gone to bed, there was still a
faint, clear light. But over the Green Meadows and the Smiling Pool the
shadows had drawn a curtain of soft dusk which in the Green Forest became
black. The little stars looked down from the sky and twinkled just to see
their reflections twinkle back at them from the Smiling Pool. And there and
all around it was perfect peace. Jerry Muskrat swam back and forth, making
little silver lines on the surface of the Smiling Pool and squeaking
contentedly, for it was the hour which he loves best. Little Friend the
Song Sparrow had tucked his head under his wing and gone to sleep among the
alders along the Laughing Brook and Redwing the Blackbird had done the same
thing among the bulrushes. All the feathered songsters who had made joyous
the bright day had gone to bed.
But this did not mean that the glad spring chorus was silent. Oh, my, no!
No indeed! The Green Meadows were silent, and the Green Forest was silent,
but as if to make up for this, the sweet singers of the Smiling Pool, the
hylas and the frogs and Old Mr. Toad, were pouring out their gladness as if
they had not been singing most of the departed day. You see it was the hour
they love best of all, the hour which seems to them just made for singing,
and they were doing their best to tell Old Mother Nature how they love her,
and how glad they were that she had brought back sweet Mistress Spring to
waken them from their long sleep.
It was so peaceful and beautiful there that it didn't seem possible that
danger of any kind could be lurking near. But Old Mr. Toad, swelling out
that queer music bag in his throat and singing with all his might, never
once forgot that wise saying of his, and so he was the first to see what
looked like nothing so much as a little detached bit of the blackness of
the Green Forest floating out towards the Smiling Pool. Instantly he
stopped singing. Now that was a signal. When he stopped singing, his
nearest neighbor stopped singing, then the next one and the next, and in a
minute there wasn't a sound from the Smiling Pool save the squeak of Jerry
Muskrat hidden among the bulrushes. That great chorus stopped as abruptly
as the electric lights go out when you press a button.
Back and forth over the Smiling Pool, this way and that way, floated the
shadow, but there was no sign of any living thing in the Smiling Pool.
After awhile the shadow floated away over the Green Meadows without a
sound.
"Hooty the Owl didn't get one of us that time," said Old Mr. Toad to his
nearest neighbor with a chuckle of satisfaction. Then he swelled out his
music bag and began to sing again. And at once, as abruptly as it had
stopped, the great chorus began again as joyous as before, for nothing had
happened to bring sadness as might have but for the watchfulness of Old Mr.
Toad.
VIII
OLD MR. TOAD'S BABIES
The Smiling Pool's a nursery
Where all the sunny day
A thousand funny babies
Are taught while at their play.
Really the Smiling Pool is a sort of kindergarten, one of the most
interesting kindergartens in the world. Little Joe Otter's children learn
to swim there. So do Jerry Muskrat's babies and those of Billy Mink, the
Trout and Minnow babies, and a lot more. And there you will find the
children and grandchildren of Grandfather Frog and Old Mr. Toad.