XIII KIDDIE KATYDID IS SHY

 "Now—" said Mr. Frog, when he had returned from the watering-trough—"now tell me, how do you like the overcoat I made for you?"

 

And Kiddie Katydid, safe in his tree once more, and snugly¹ buttoned in Mr. Frog's gift, replied that it was the finest garment he had ever owned in all his life.

 

"Good!" said Mr. Frog. "And I dare say you've had many overcoats in your time, too."

 

Kiddie Katydid did not correct Mr. Frog's mistake. To tell the truth, he had never before had an overcoat on his back.

 

"I've come here to-night to deliver an important message to you," Mr. Frog went on. "And thinking the weather might be cooler than you liked, I made you that fine coat so you could stay out here in your tree and listen to what I have to tell you. . . . I hear—" he said—"I hear that you're a musician."

 

"Yes!" said Kiddie Katydid—for he knew well enough that Freddie Firefly could not have kept the secret.

 

"I hear that you're a fiddler," Mr. Frog added.

 

"Why, no! I've never played the fiddle²!" Kiddie Katydid exclaimed. "I don't know how to do that."

 

"Well, how do you know that you can't, if you've never tried?" Mr. Frog retorted. "If you can play Katy did, Katy did; she did, she did, by rubbing your wing covers together, there's no knowing what you could do with a real fiddle and bow."[62]

 

"That's true," Kiddie admitted. "I never thought of that."

 

"Well," said Mr. Frog, who appeared greatly pleased with himself, "anyhow, I want you to join our singing society. Perhaps you've heard me and my friends over in the swamp. Almost every night we have a singing party there. And if you'll only agree to fiddle for us, while we sing, I venture to say that we'll have Farmer Green getting up out of his bed to listen to us."

 

Naturally, the invitation pleased Kiddie Katydid. But for all that, he shook his head slowly.

 

"I'm afraid I'm too shy," he told Mr. Frog. "I like to stay hidden among the leaves, where people can't see me."

 

"That'll be all right!" Mr. Frog assured him. "You can hide in some bush near-by, where we can't look at you."

 

But still Kiddie Katydid wouldn't accept the invitation. Although Mr. Frog teased and teased, all he would say was that he would think the matter over.

 

"Promise me this, at least—" Mr. Frog finally said—"promise me that you won't agree to make music for anybody else! Now that people know you're musical, they'll be asking you to play in an orchestra, or a band, or a fife-and-drum corps³, or something. But I've invited you first, and if you oblige anybody it ought to be me—especially after I've given you that beautiful warm overcoat." The tailor looked upwards⁴ into the tree so beseechingly⁵ that Kiddie Katydid hadn't the heart to refuse his request.

 

"I'll promise that," he said.

 

"Hurrah⁶!" cried Mr. Frog, opening his mouth so widely that Kiddie Katydid couldn't help shuddering⁷ at the sight.

And then Mr. Frog leaped into the air three times. And each time that he leaped, he struck his heels together three times, just to show how happy he was.

 

Then, with a hearty⁸ "Good night!" he turned away and went skipping off.

 

And Kiddie Katydid, making his curious music in the top of the maple⁹ tree, kept thinking that the tailor was one of the oddest chaps he had ever seen.

 

He did wish, too, that Mr. Frog had a smaller mouth.

 

1 snugly   

adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地

参考例句：

• Jamie was snugly wrapped in a white woolen scarf. 杰米围着一条白色羊毛围巾舒适而暖和。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The farmyard was snugly sheltered with buildings on three sides. 这个农家院三面都有楼房，遮得很严实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

3 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

5 beseechingly   

adv. 恳求地

参考例句：

• She stood up, and almost beseechingly, asked her husband,'shall we go now?" 她站起身来，几乎是恳求似地问丈夫：“我们现在就走吧？”
• Narcissa began to cry in earnest, gazing beseechingly all the while at Snape. 纳西莎伤心地哭了起来，乞求地盯着斯内普。

6 hurrah   

int.好哇，万岁，乌拉

参考例句：

• We hurrah when we see the soldiers go by.我们看到士兵经过时向他们欢呼。
• The assistants raised a formidable hurrah.助手们发出了一片震天的欢呼声。

7 shuddering   

v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• 'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕，”她发着抖，说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤，深深吸了口气。 来自飘（部分）

8 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

9 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。