ngth and the sharpness of his bill. So he liked Mr.
Frog's comment. And he promptly forgot his displeasure over Mr. Frog's
tongue.

"Yes!" he said, in response to Ferdinand Frog's speech, "there isn't
another bill like mine for twenty miles around--except my wife's."

"You don't live in this neighborhood, do you?" Mr. Frog inquired.

"My home is beyond the Second Mountain," the stranger informed him.

And Ferdinand Frog was glad to hear that the huge fellow dwelt no
nearer.

"What's your name, friend?" Mr. Frog then asked.

"My name----" the giant bird replied--"my name is G. B. Heron."

"'G. B.'!" Mr. Frog exclaimed, turning a pale green color. "What do
those letters stand for? Not Grizzly Bear, I hope!" He had heard
of--but had never seen--a Grizzly Bear; and for a moment he thought that
perhaps he had met one at last.

But the stranger soon set his fresh fears at rest.

"My full name," he told Mr. Frog, "is Great Blue Heron. But plain Mr.
Heron will do, when you address me."

"I hope I'll see you sooner the next time we meet," Mr. Frog said. And
he resolved that he would keep a sharp eye out for Mr. Heron, so that he
might have plenty of time to hide the moment he caught sight of him.

"There's no doubt that we'll meet again," Mr. Heron replied. "I expect
to come here to live. And I flew over here to-day to look about a
bit. . . . Are there many in your family?"

"No!" Mr. Frog hastened to answer. "There's only myself living in this
pond."

"But you must have plenty of relations somewhere," Mr. G. B. Heron
insisted. "If I came here to live, and anything happened to you, I'd
want to tell your family."

"Well, I have a few relations, to be sure," Mr. Frog admitted. "But they
don't amount to much. They're a stringy lot, I can tell you."

Mr. Heron looked at him as if he couldn't quite believe that statement.

"That's odd," he observed. "Now, you're nice and plump."

"Oh, I'm _too_ fat," Ferdinand Frog said. "Aunt Polly Woodchuck tells me
that if I get much fatter I'll lose my good looks."

"I don't agree with her," said Mr. Heron. "You look good to me."

And now it was Mr. Frog's turn to be pleased; for he was very vain.

"I'm glad to hear it!" he cried. "And I'll tell you a secret: I've
always been quite satisfied with myself until my eyes fell on you. Oh!
if I only had such a bill as yours!"

"You like my bill, then?" Mr. Heron asked him.

"Yes!" Ferdinand Frog answered. "And it must be very