Grandfather Frog was old, very old, indeed, and very, very wise. He wore a green coat and his voice was very deep. When Grandfather Frog spoke² everybody listened very respectfully. Even Billy Mink³ treated Grandfather Frog with respect, for Billy Mink's father and his father's father could not remember when Grandfather Frog had not sat on the lily pad watching for green flies.

 

Down in the Smiling Pool were some of Grandfather Frog's great-great-great-great-great grandchildren. You wouldn't have known that they were his grandchildren unless some one told you. They didn't look the least bit like Grandfather Frog. They were round and fat and had long tails and perhaps this is why they were called Pollywogs.

 

“Oh Grandfather Frog, tell us why you don't have a tail as you did when you were young,” begged one of the Merry Little Breezes.

 

Grandfather Frog snapped⁴ up a foolish green fly and settled himself on his big lily pad, while all the Merry Little Breezes gathered round to listen.

 

“Once on a time,” began Grandfather Frog, “the Frogs ruled the world, which was mostly water. There was very little dry land—oh, very little indeed! There were no boys to throw stones and no hungry Mink to gobble up foolish Frog-babies who were taking a sun bath!”

 

Billy Mink, who had joined the Merry Little Breezes and was listening, squirmed uneasily⁵ and looked away guiltily.

 

“In those days all the Frogs had tails, long handsome tails of which they were very, very proud indeed,” continued Grandfather Frog. “The King of all the Frogs was twice as big as any other Frog, and his tail was three times as long. He was very proud, oh, very proud indeed of his long tail. He used to sit and admire it until he thought that there never had been and never could be another such tail. He used to wave it back and

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