,
Oh! you're a darling
Soldier boy!"

Well, Bawly felt finer than ever after that, and though he still didn't
meet any of his friends, with whom he might play, he was hoping he might
see a savage fox or wolf, that he might do battle with the unpleasant
creature. But perhaps you had better wait and see what happens.

All this while, as Bawly was marching along through the woods with his
soldier cap on, Susie and Jennie were playing party at the old stump.
They had just eaten the last of the sweet-sour cookies, and drank the
last thimbleful of the orange-lemonade when, all at once, what should
happen but that a great big alligator crawled out of the bushes and made
a jump for them! Dear me! Would you ever expect such a thing?

"Oh, look at that!" cried Susie as she saw the alligator.

"Yes. Let's run home!" shouted Jennie in fright.

But before either of them could stir a step the savage alligator, who
had escaped from the circus again, grabbed them, one in each claw, and
then, holding them so that they couldn't get away, he sat up on the end
of his big tail, and looked first at Susie and then at Jennie.

"Oh, please let us go!" cried Susie, with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, yes, do; and I'll give you this half of a cookie I have left,"
spoke Jennie kindly.

"I don't want your cookie, I want you," sang the alligator, as if he
were reciting a song. "I'm going to eat you both!"

Then he held them still tighter in his claws, and fairly glared at them
from out of his big eyes.

"I'm going to eat you all up!" he growled, "but the trouble is I don't
know which one to eat first. I guess I'll eat you," and he made a motion
toward Susie. She screamed, and then the alligator changed his mind.
"No, I guess I'll eat you," and he opened his mouth for Jennie. Then he
changed his mind again, and he didn't know what to do. But, of course,
this made Jennie and Susie feel very nervous and also a big word called
apprehensive, which is the same thing.

"Oh, help! Help! Will no one help us?" cried Susie at last.

"No, I guess no one will," spoke the alligator, real mean and saucy
like.

But he was mistaken. At that moment, hopping through the woods was Bawly
No-Tail, wearing his paper soldier hat. He heard Susie call, and up he
marched, like the brave soldier frog boy that he was. Through the holes
in the bushes he could see the big alligator, and he saw Susie and
Jennie held fast in his claws.

"Oh, I can never fight