come back?" he
asked.

Now, Kiddie Katydid had intended to hide himself as soon as Mr.
Nighthawk should leave him. But there was nothing he could do now except
to agree to Mr. Nighthawk's proposal.

"I'll promise," said Kiddie, "if you'll promise me that you'll surely
return. Otherwise I might have to stay here for a month, perhaps,
waiting for you."

"Oh! I'll come back in a minute or two," Mr. Nighthawk laughed, as he
looked hungrily at Kiddie. "Don't you worry about my not coming back to
talk with you!"

Then he began climbing upwards into the sky. And he had gone about as
high as he wished to, when all at once a rolling _Whoo-whoo-whoo_,
_whoo-whoo_, _to-whoo-ah_ startled him. It was Solomon Owl's weird call.
And it drove every thought except one out of Mr. Nighthawk's head. That
one idea--to escape--filled his mind completely. And he turned and
hurried away from Farmer Green's place as fast as he could go; for Mr.
Nighthawk feared that Solomon Owl would arrive there at any moment.

As for Kiddie Katydid, when he heard Solomon's cry he knew at once that
he was rid of Mr. Nighthawk. And Kiddie's _Katy did, Katy did; she did,
she did_ rang out again and again in the night. All his friends and
cousins crept out of their hiding-places and joined in the chorus. And
everybody enjoyed a good laugh over Mr. Nighthawk's visit--and his
sudden departure.

Perhaps Kiddie may be forgiven for boasting the least bit, as his
companions crowded around him.

"I knew better than to jump for Mr. Nighthawk!" he cried. "I happened
to know that he always wants to catch his food _on the wing_. And if I
had jumped, or tried to fly away, he would have snatched me right out of
the air as quick as lightning."

VI

FREDDIE FIREFLY'S DISCOVERY

That secret about Katy, and what she did, was not the only one that
Kiddie hid from the field people. He had another--something about
himself--that nobody ever suspected, until Freddie Firefly stumbled upon
it one night.

Probably Freddie would never have learned this second secret had he not
been trying to find out about the first one. Over in the meadow he had
heard Kiddie Katydid shrilling his well-worn ditty, _Katy did; she did,
she did!_ And he had danced his way into Farmer Green's dooryard because
he wanted to have a talk with Kiddie and ask him some questions about
that unknown lady.

Like all others who tried to pry into the mystery, Freddie Firefly had
no luck at all.