t of town.

And Billy Bumblebee buzzed right around his head as Old Man Hoppy-toad
went down the path "Lickity split-Hoppity hop!" and never once looked
behind him.

Thumbkins and Mrs. Thumbkins went back home, and when Billy Bumblebee
returned and told them he had made Old Man Hoppy-toad go 'way down to
the river they knew they would never be troubled with him again.

Mrs. Thumbkins said she had fried pancakes all day but she was not too
tired to fry more. So she made a lot of pancakes, while Billy Bumblebee
flew home and returned with a bucket of honey, and they had so many
pancakes Mrs. Thumbkins asked Billy Bumblebee if he would fly around and
invite all the neighbors in to help eat them.

Tommy Grasshopper, Granpa Tobackyworm, and all the other friends of the
Thumbkins came and ate the lovely pancakes, covered with the delicious
honey.

And, after eating as much as they could, everybody caught hold of hands
and danced until late in the night, for the Katydid orchestra was there
to furnish the music.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

THE OLD, ROUGH STONE AND THE GNARLED TREE

A great rough stone lay beneath a gnarled old tree. Years ago a tiny
squirrel had climbed upon the stone to nibble some nuts, but before he
had finished he was startled away.

"There!" thought the stone to himself as he saw a nut roll to the
ground, "now that nut will take root and grow into a tree and I will
have to lie here for ages beneath its branches. I wish the silly
squirrel had gone some other place to eat the nuts!"

When the little nut took root and sent its tiny shoots up in the air,
the old, rough Stone said, "There! I knew it!" and he disliked the tree
from that time on.

The old, rough Stone watched the tiny green shoot grow and grow until it
grew into an enormous tree.

"Just see how he pushes me up in the air with his roots!" the old, rough
Stone said to himself.

When the gnarled tree was covered with leaves in the summer time, the
old, rough Stone said, "Just see how he hides the blue sky from my
view!"

And in the winter time when the limbs of the tree were bare, the old,
rough Stone said, "Just see how he lets the snow and the cold rain fall
right on me!"

One night during a heavy storm the old, rough Stone heard a crash, and
in the morning he saw the gnarled tree lying upon the ground. "Now I
shall be all by myself again!" he said. Then he counted the rings in the
trunk of the gnarled tree un