with his hand on his
heart. "And now if it is the pleasure of the meeting I will go back to
the stone wall at once and tell Daddy Longlegs what we have decided to
do."

To Mr. Chippy's surprise a murmur of dissent greeted his proposal.

"What's the matter?" asked Mr. Chippy! "I thought you liked my idea."

"So we do!" Rusty Wren replied. "But we think it would be better if we
_all_ called on Daddy and explained to him about the change."

"Very well!" little Mr. Chippy answered. "The more the merrier! I'll be
the spokesman. And I will suggest that we start for the stone wall right
now, for there's no time like the present, you know."

Even Buster Bumblebee approved of Mr. Chippy's retort. And with that
everybody started pell-mell for the stone wall.

XXIV

A BRIDEGROOM

DADDY LONGLEGS was taken entirely by surprise. It was rather early in
the morning. And he had not expected callers--at least not so many as
suddenly appeared at the stone wall where he was usually to be found.

Luckily he was arrayed in his very best clothes. Indeed, he was quite
smartly dressed--for him. A bright yellow scarf, tied in a big bow
beneath his chin, made him look almost dandified. And he was wearing a
bottle-green coat, lined with pink.

"Goodness!" said Buster Bumblebee. "He looks like a bridegroom!" But
his companions all told him to hush, and not to be disrespectful to his
elders.

"Good morning!" said Mr. Chippy to Daddy Longlegs. "We've come to tell
you some good news. We're going to call you by a different name. And we
hope you'll like it."

"I hope so!" Daddy Longlegs echoed. "What is it, please?"

"It's 'Grandfather Graybeard'!" little Mr. Chippy informed him with an
air of pride.

"Why, that's a beautiful name!" Daddy Longlegs cried, as a look of
pleasure crossed his face.

"I'm glad you think so," said Mr. Chippy. "It's only fair to tell you
that I thought of it myself."

And then he called for "three cheers for Grandfather Graybeard!"

They gave them with a right good will.

And after the sound had died away Mr. Chippy said something in a whisper
to Daddy.

"What is it?" Rusty Wren demanded. "What's he talking about?"

"He thinks we ought to give three cheers for him," Daddy Longlegs
explained.

But before they had time to do that a large lady bustled out from the
stone wall and walked straight up to Daddy Longlegs. She was one of his
own kind, too. The whole company agreed to that, afterwards;