that savage creature all alone," thought Bawly.
"I must make him believe that a whole army of soldiers is coming at
him."

So Bawly hid behind a tree, where the alligator couldn't find him, and
the frog boy beat on a hollow log with a stick as if it were a drum.
Then he blew out his cheeks, whistling, and made a noise like a fife.
Then he aimed his wooden gun and cried: "Bang! Bang! Bung! Bung!" just
as if the wooden gun had powder in it. Next Bawly waved his cap with the
feather in it, and the alligator heard all this, and he saw the waving
soldier cap, and he, surely enough, thought a whole big army was coming
after him.

"I forgot something," the alligator suddenly cried, as he let go of
Susie and Jennie. "I have to go to the dentist's to get a tooth filled,"
and away that alligator scrambled through the woods as fast as he could
go, taking his tail with him. So that's how Bawly saved Susie and
Jennie, and very thankful they were to him, and if they had had any
cookies left they would have given him two or sixteen, I guess.

Now if our gas stove doesn't go out and dance in the middle of the back
yard and scare the cook, so she can't bake a rice-pudding pie-cake, I'll
tell you next about Grandpa Croaker and the umbrella.

STORY IX

GRANDPA CROAKER AND THE UMBRELLA

One day, as Bully No-Tail, the frog boy, was coming home from school he
thought of a very hard word he had had to spell in class that afternoon.
It began with a "C," and the next letter was "A" and the next one was
"T"--CAT--and what do you think? Why Bully said it spelled "Kitten," and
just for that he had to write the word on his slate forty-'leven times,
so he'd remember it next day.

"I guess I won't forget it again in a hurry," thought Bully as he hopped
along with his books in a strap over his shoulder. "C-a-t spells--" And
just then he heard a funny noise in the bushes, and he stopped short, as
Grandfather Goosey Gander's clock did, when Jimmy Wibblewobble poured
molasses in it. Bully looked all around to see what the noise was. "For
it might be that alligator, or the Pelican bird," he whispered to
himself.

Just then he heard a jolly laugh, and his brother Bawly hopped out from
under a cabbage leaf.

"Did I scare you, Bully?" asked Bawly, as he scratched his right ear
with his left foot.

"A little," said Bully, turning a somersault to get over being
frightened.

"Well, I didn't mean to, and I won't do it again. But now that y