_
he hadn't been stubborn and set in his ways, _if_ he hadn't been in such
a hurry, _if_ he had looked to see where he was leaping--well, any one
of these _ifs_ would have kept him out of his present trouble.

It really wasn't so bad in the spring. That is, it wouldn't have been
so bad but for the fear that Farmer Brown's boy might come for a drink
and find him there. That was Grandfather Frog's one great fear, and it
gave him bad dreams whenever he tried to take a nap. He grew cold all
over at the very thought of being caught again by Farmer Brown's boy,
and when at last one of the Merry Little Breezes hurried up to tell him
that Farmer Brown's boy actually was coming, poor old Grandfather Frog
was so frightened that the Merry Little Breeze had to tell him twice to
hide under the old shingle as it floated on the water.

At last he got it through his head, and drawing a very long breath, he
dived into the water and swam under the old shingle. He was just in
time. Yes, Sir, he was just in time. If Farmer Brown's boy hadn't been
thinking of something else, he certainly would have noticed the little
rings on the water made by Grandfather Frog when he dived in. But he was
thinking of something else, and it wasn't until he dipped a cup in for
the second time that he even saw the old shingle.

"Hello!" he exclaimed. "That must have blown in since I was here
yesterday. We can't have anything like that in our nice spring."

With that he reached out for the old shingle, and Grandfather Frog,
hiding under it, gave himself up for lost. But the anxious Little Breeze
had been watching sharply and the instant he saw what Farmer Brown's boy
was going to do, he played the old, old trick of snatching his hat from
his head. The truth is, he couldn't think of anything else to do. Farmer
Brown's boy grabbed at his hat, and then, because he was in a hurry and
had other things to do, he started off without once thinking of the old
shingle again.

"Chugarum!" cried Grandfather Frog, as he swam out from under the
shingle and climbed up on it, "That certainly was a close call. If I
have many more like it, I certainly shall die of fright."

Nothing more happened for a long time, and Grandfather Frog was
wondering if it wouldn't be safe to take a nap when he saw peeping over
the edge above him two eyes. They were greenish yellow eyes, and they
stared and stared. Grandfather Frog stared and stared back. He just
couldn't help it. He didn't kn