id.

But he got no help--then--from Mr. Frog. All Ferdinand Frog would say
was that he'd be glad to oblige a friend, but he couldn't--and
wouldn't--be hurried.

And though the unhappy, eager Tim teased and begged him to tell his
secret, Mr. Frog only smiled the more cheerfully and said nothing.

It was maddening--for Tired Tim--though Mr. Frog seemed to be enjoying
himself hugely. And the result was that Tired Tim Beaver returned to the
village in the pond in a terrible state of mind. Since he told everyone
else what he had learned about Ferdinand Frog and his clothes, it was
only a short time before the whole Beaver family was so stirred up that
they couldn't do a stroke of work. Ferdinand Frog was in everybody's
mouth, so to speak. And at last old Grandaddy Beaver hit upon a plan.

"Why don't you get somebody to make you a suit exactly like Mr. Frog's?"
he asked Tired Tim.

So Tired Tim took Grandaddy's advice. That very night he disappeared, to
swagger back in a few days in a costume that made him appear almost
like Mr. Frog's twin brother--if one didn't look at his face. And there
were some among the villagers who even declared that Tired Tim's mouth
seemed wider than it had been, and more like Mr. Frog's.

When they asked Tired Tim if his tailor hadn't stretched his mouth for
him he replied no, that he had been smiling a good deal for a day or
two, and perhaps that was what made his mouth look different.

Well, the whole Beaver village was delighted with Tired Tim's new suit.

"Wait till Mr. Frog sees you!" people cried. "He'll be _so_ surprised!"

[Illustration: Mr. Frog Liked to Hear Himself Sing]

And somebody swam away in great haste to find Mr. Frog and ask him to
come to the lower end of the pond, where all the houses were. But when
Ferdinand Frog arrived, everybody was disappointed, and especially
Tired Tim, who had felt very proud in his gorgeous new clothes. For he
saw at once that Mr. Frog was arrayed from head to foot in an entirely
new outfit. He looked almost like a rainbow, so brilliant were the
colors of his costume.

At the same time Tired Tim put on as brave a front as he could. And
drawing near to Mr. Frog, he said:

"What do you think of my new suit?"

Ferdinand Frog looked at him as if he hadn't noticed him before.

"Your suit's all right," he replied, "for one who isn't particular. But
it's not far enough ahead of the times for me. . . . I'd hate to be caught
wearing it."

It