XIV KIDDIE KEEPS HIS PROMISE

 Old Mr. Crow flew into a terrible rage when he found, the next morning, that his committee had not called on Kiddie Katydid during the night. And when Chirpy Cricket told him that the weather was too cold for anybody to stay out late, Mr. Crow said "Nonsense! What about Mr. Frog?"

 

That was a hard question to answer. And Chirpy Cricket was so afraid of angry Mr. Crow that he promptly¹ hid himself among the roots of a clump² of grass.

 

Now, the fact that Mr. Frog had been away from his shop the night before set Mr. Crow to worrying.

 

"That slippery tailor has been up to some mischief," Mr. Crow declared. "And if he has played a trick on me I'll never hear the last of it."

 

The old gentleman was so disturbed that he quite lost his appetite during the rest of the day. And he moped and groaned³ about, hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. One thing that made him especially uneasy was the fact that when he called on Mr. Frog he found the tailor in a gayer mood than he had ever known him to be in.

 

Mr. Frog bounded about his shop like a rubber ball. And the worst of it was, he would sing, although Mr. Crow begged him, with tears in his eyes, to stop.

 

"What's the matter?" Mr. Frog asked him. "Don't you like my voice? Or is it the songs I sing? I've a new one that I'd like to sing for you. It's about one of the Katydid family; and I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing it."

 

But Mr. Crow wouldn't stay there any longer. With a loud squawk of rage he scurried⁴ away. He was sure, then, that Mr. Frog had tricked him.

 

That night Mr. Crow's committee called on Kiddie Katydid. It was a fine, warm, moonlight night. And as they drew near Farmer Green's place they could hear Kiddie's shrill⁵ music, even while they were still a quarter of a mile away.

 

"He plays better than ever," said Freddie Firefly. "I wish Mr. Crow could hear him." And they hurried on, believing that everything was going to turn out all right, in the end.

 

"Mr. Crow will be sorry, to-morrow, that he scolded us," said Chirpy Cricket.

 

But the committee met with a sad disappointment. When they invited Kiddie Katydid to join the Pleasant Valley orchestra he told them that he couldn't.

 

"Why not?" Freddie Firefly asked.

 

"I've promised somebody that I wouldn't," Kiddie said.

 

And though they pressed him for an explanation, he wouldn't give them any. He wouldn't say another word.

 

It was a downcast company that left Farmer Green's front yard. And they quarreled among themselves, too, before they parted. For there wasn't one of them that was willing to tell Mr. Crow that Kiddie had declined his invitation.

 

But they finally hit upon a plan that suited everybody. They agreed to get Mr. Crow's cousin, Jasper Jay, to break the news gently to the old gentleman.

 

It turned out that Jasper was delighted to undertake the task. He hoped that Mr. Crow would fly into a passion when he[69] heard the sad tale. And Jasper was not disappointed. For old Mr. Crow was furious.

 

"It's the work of that sly rascal⁶, Mr. Frog!" he squalled. "He must have called on Kiddie Katydid and hoodwinked him somehow. . . . I'd like to know what he said."

 

But Mr. Crow never found that out. So Kiddie Katydid had another secret, which was known only to himself and Mr. Frog.

 

And Mr. Frog wouldn't tell anybody, because he preferred to tease Mr. Crow.

 

And Kiddie Katydid wouldn't tell anybody, because he liked secrets. So when people tried to pry⁷ into the affair, he just folded his wings tightly over himself—and said nothing.

 

1 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

2 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

3 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 scurried   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见，然后扭头跑回去干活了。
• It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来，我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

6 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

7 pry   

vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起)

参考例句：

• He's always ready to pry into other people's business.他总爱探听别人的事。
• We use an iron bar to pry open the box.我们用铁棍撬开箱子。