is
home on the Laughing Brook. Billy Mink wasn't laughing now. Oh, no!
He was limping and he was holding on to his head. Little Joe Otter and
Billy Mink had been sitting right underneath the big stick.

"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog and held on to his sides and opened
his mouth very wide in a noiseless laugh, for Grandfather Frog never
makes a sound when he laughs.

"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog once more. Then he folded his
hands across his white and yellow waistcoat and began again to dream of
the days when the frogs had long tails and ruled the world.

XI

THE DISAPPOINTED BUSH

Way down beside the Laughing Brook grew a little bush. It looked a
whole lot like other little bushes all around it. But really it was
quite different, as you shall see. When in the spring warm, jolly,
round Mr. Sun brought back the birds and set them singing, when the
little flowers popped their heads out of the ground to have a look
around, then all the little bushes put out their green leaves.

This little bush of which I am telling you put out its green leaves
with the rest. The little leaves grew bigger and bigger on all the
little bushes. By and by on some of the other little bushes, little
brown buds began to appear and grow and grow. Then on more and more of
the little bushes the little brown buds came and grew and grew. But on
this little bush of which I am telling you no little brown buds
appeared. The little bush felt very sad indeed.

Pretty soon all the little brown buds on the other little brown bushes
burst their brown coats, and then all the little bushes were covered
with little flowers. Some were white and some were yellow and some
were pink; and the air was filled with the sweet odor of all the little
flowers. It brought the bees from far, far away to gather the honey,
and all the little bushes were very happy indeed.

But the little bush of which I am telling you had no little flowers,
for you see it had had no little buds, and it felt lonely and shut away
from the other little bushes, and very sad indeed. But it bravely kept
on growing and growing and growing. Its little leaves grew bigger and
bigger and bigger, and it tried its best not to mind because it had no
little flowers.

Then one by one, and two by two, and three by three, and finally in
whole showers, the little flowers of all the other little bushes fell
off, and they looked very much like the little bush of which I