had not been here, the poor beast would have wasted
his breath to no purpose. You had better follow my advice, if you wish
to save your lives and property.'

The herdsmen were more and more astonished, but they decided to do as
Bobino advised. They sent their wives and daughters upstairs, then,
having armed themselves, they took up their position behind a hedge,
waiting for midnight.

Just as the clock struck twelve they heard the sound of approaching
footsteps, and a band of robbers cautiously advanced towards the house.
But the herdsmen were on the lookout; they sprang on the robbers from
behind the hedge, and with blows from their cudgels soon put them to
flight.

You may believe how grateful they were to Bobino, to whose timely
warning they owed their safety. They begged him to stay and make his
home with them; but as he wanted to see more of the world, he thanked
them warmly for their hospitality, and set out once more on his
wanderings. All day he walked, and in the evening he came to a peasant's
house. While he was wondering whether he should knock and demand shelter
for the night, he heard a great croaking of frogs in a ditch behind the
house. Stepping to the back he saw a very strange sight. Four frogs were
throwing a small bottle about from one to the other, making a great
croaking as they did so. Bobino listened for a few minutes, and then
knocked at the door of the house. It was opened by the peasant, who
asked him to come in and have some supper.

When the meal was over, his host told him that they were in great
trouble, as his eldest daughter was so ill, that they feared she could
not recover. A great doctor, who had been passing that way some time
before, had promised to send her some medicine that would have cured
her, but the servant to whom he had entrusted the medicine had let it
drop on the way back, and now there seemed no hope for the girl.

Then Bobino told the father of the small bottle he had seen the frogs
play with, and that he knew that was the medicine which the doctor had
sent to the girl. The peasant asked him how he could be sure of this,
and Bobino explained to him that he understood the language of animals,
and had heard what the frogs said as they tossed the bottle about. So
the peasant fetched the bottle from the ditch, and gave the medicine to
his daughter. In the morning she was much better, and the grateful
father did not know how to thank Bobino enough. But Bobino would accep