of my
little friends are gone."

"Never mind," cried the lily-white duck, looking up at Puss standing
mournfully by the side of the brook, "Frogs are good to eat, and if they
will run away from home, it's their own lookout. They should stay in
their ponds and not go wandering about strange places."

Puss did not answer. It seemed pretty hard to meet such a sad fate, and
he did not like the lily-white duck at all.

"Come, come," cried the duck, "cheer up, I'll ferry you across the brook
if you wish to reach the other side."

"That's kind of you," said Puss, seating himself on her back.

"I'm not such a bad sort of duck," she continued, paddling swiftly
toward the opposite bank, "but I must eat, and frogs are mighty good
eating, let me tell you."

As she finished speaking she waddled up the bank, and Puss sprang nimbly
from her back. "Thank you, Mrs. Duck," he said, "indeed, I'm obliged to
you; but I wish you hadn't eaten my friend, the little frog."

Just then nine little yellow ducklings waddled toward them. "These are
my children," said Mrs. Duck, very proudly.

"How are you, my little ducklets?" cried Puss.

"Quite well, thank you," they answered. It was a pretty sight to see
those yellow balls of down cuddle up to their mother, and Puss began to
feel that, after all, she must be a good sort of duck, for her children
loved her so much. Perhaps he had judged her too harshly for gobbling up
the frog, and when she turned to Puss and said:

"Come home with us, Mr. Puss," he forgave her for what she had done, and
followed her downy, yellow brood.

BEAVER DAM

PUSS, JUNIOR, had gone but a short distance when he heard a sad voice
say:

"Oh dear, I've lost my brother,
Where will I ever find another?
He never should have left the bog,
Alas, Alas! poor Rowley Frog!"

"Dear me," cried Puss to Mrs. Duck and he looked about him for the owner
of the sad croaky voice. Pretty soon he saw a big bullfrog in a brook.

"Come along with me," cried Puss, Junior.

Just then a little muskrat jumped out of the water and from behind a
tree ran a pretty gray squirrel and a striped chipmunk.

"Did you call us?" they asked Puss all at once.

"No, my little friends," he replied, "but come along," and when they
reached Beaver Dam, they looked around to see what had become of the old
bullfrog. There he was in the water about halfway down the stream,
swimming away for all he w