r. He was so glad to escape from his cramped quarters
that he had little thought for anything except the joy of being free
once more.

Then he remembered all at once that he was lost. And that was enough to
start his eight legs to shaking beneath him in a very unpleasant
fashion. Daddy Longlegs was frightened. Anybody could have seen that.

After a few moments he looked about him, wondering which way he had
better go. And as he gazed at his surroundings he saw--not far off--a
familiar looking object.

At first Daddy could scarcely believe his eyes. And he looked steadily
at what he saw, as if he half expected it would fly away and vanish.

But the object did nothing of the kind. And how could it, anyhow?
Because it was Farmer Green's house that had caught Daddy Longlegs'
eye.... And there stood the great barn too, a little way off! And there
was the bridge across Swift River!

Without knowing what he was doing, Peter Mink had brought Daddy
Longlegs almost home. And then he had taken off his shoes because he
wanted to go for a swim in the duck pond, in the hope of catching an eel
for his breakfast.

Well, Daddy Longlegs lost no time in making his way back to the stone
wall by the roadside. And the first person he met there was no other
than little Mrs. Ladybug, who seemed delighted to see him and asked him
how he liked working for Farmer Green.

"Yes! It's a fine day," said Daddy Longlegs. "The rain is holding off.
And it looks as if Farmer Green was going to get his oats harvested
without their being wet, after all."

"I see you're deaf to-day," Mrs. Ladybug observed in a pitying tone.
"It's a shame. And Farmer Green ought to be very grateful to you for
your help."

"He hasn't said a word to me," Daddy Longlegs told her. And Mrs.
Ladybug declared she couldn't understand it.

But there were many other things, too, that she didn't understand. She
had heard that Daddy was a harvestman. But she didn't know that some
people called him by that name merely because he was seen in Pleasant
Valley about the time Farmer Green harvested his crops. As for working
in the fields, Daddy Longlegs knew no more about that than did that fat
drone, Buster Bumblebee. And Farmer Green would have laughed heartily at
the idea of either of them helping him.

XI

THE BIG WIND

FOR several days after his unlucky journey across the meadow, when he
tried to reach the field where Farmer Green was harvesting his oats,
Daddy L