road, and who
should he see but old Mother Nature herself coming to visit his garden
and to find out why Mr. Toad had not been to pay her his respects.

"Suddenly Mr. Toad remembered that he had on his working clothes, which
were very old, very dirty and very ragged. For just a minute he didn't
know what to do. Then he dived under a cabbage leaf and began to pull
off his old suit. But the old suit stuck! He was in such a hurry and
so excited that he couldn't find the buttons. Finally he got his
trousers off. Then he reached over and got hold of the back of his
coat and tugged and hauled until finally he pulled his old coat off
right over his head just as if it were a shirt.

"Mr. Toad gave a great sigh of relief as he stepped out in his new
suit, for you remember that he had been wearing that new suit
underneath the old one all the time.

"Mr. Toad was very well pleased with himself until he thought how
terribly untidy that ragged old suit looked lying on the ground. What
should he do with it? He couldn't hide it in the garden, for old
Mother Nature's eyes are so sharp that she would be sure to see it.
What should he do?

"Then Mr. Toad had a happy thought. Every one made fun of his big
mouth. But what was a big mouth for if not to use? He would swallow
his old suit! In a flash Mr. Toad dived under the cabbage leaf and
crammed his old suit into his mouth.

"When old Mother Nature came into the garden, Mr. Toad was waiting in
the path to receive her. Very fine he looked in his new suit and you
would have thought he had been waiting all day to receive old Mother
Nature, but for one thing--swallow as much and as hard as he would, he
couldn't get down quite all of his old suit, and a leg of his trousers
hung out of a corner of his big mouth.

"Of course old Mother Nature saw it right away. And how she did laugh!
And of course Mr. Toad felt very much mortified. But Mother Nature was
so pleased with Mr. Toad's garden and with Mr. Toad's industry that she
quite overlooked the ragged trousers leg hanging from the corner of Mr.
Toad's mouth.

"'Fine clothes arc not to be compared with fine work,' said old Mother
Nature. 'I herewith appoint you my chief gardener, Mr. Toad. And as a
sign that all may know that this is so, hereafter you shall always
swallow your old suit whenever you change your clothes!'

"And from that day to this the toads have been the very best of
gardeners. And in memory of their