IE KATYDID IS SHY 60

XIV. KIDDIE KEEPS HIS PROMISE 65

XV. BENJAMIN BAT'S PLAN 70

XVI. A NOISY CROWD 75

XVII. KITTY DID! 79

XVIII. THE TWO GRASSHOPPERS 85

XIX. A QUARREL 89

XX. THE STRANGER'S MESSAGE 94

XXI. LEAPER THE LOCUST IS WORRIED 99

XXII. THE SHORT-HORNS ARRIVE 104

XXIII. THE BEST OF FRIENDS 110

ILLUSTRATIONS

KIDDIE SEES BENJAMIN BAT IN FRONT OF THE MOON _Frontispiece_

PAGE
KIDDIE'S SECRET IS DISCOVERED BY FREDDIE FIREFLY 28

KIDDIE TOOK HIS NEW COAT FROM THE TWIG 59

KIDDIE FACED LEAPER THE LOCUST 90

THE TALE OF
KIDDIE KATYDID

I

A GREAT SECRET

Whoever Katy was, and whatever she might have done, nobody in Pleasant
Valley knew anything about her except Kiddie Katydid and his numerous
and noisy family.

To be sure, many of the wild folk--and the people in the farmhouse,
too--remembered hearing her name mentioned the year before.

But they had quite forgotten about her, until August came and Kiddie
Katydid and his relations brought her to their minds once more.

Each night the Katydids' rasping chant was repeated again and again:
_Katy did, Katy did; she did, she did!_ But since in any crowd there are
always a few that want to be different from the rest, now and then some
member of Kiddie's clan insisted that Katy didn't--somewhat in this
fashion: _Katy did, Katy did; she did, she didn't!_

However, there were always so many others to drown any such puzzling
statement with their shrill clamor that Katy really _did_ do it
(whatever it was!) that nobody paid much attention to those few who
didn't quite agree.

On warm, dry, midsummer nights the Katydids all made a terrific racket.
But there wasn't one of them that outdid Kiddie. He always had the best
time when he was making the most noise. And since he liked to station
himself in a tree near Farmer Green's house, his uproar often rose
plainly above that of the other Katydids.

Lying in bed in his little room under the eaves, Johnnie Green sometimes
wished that Kiddie would keep quiet long enough to let him go to sleep
in peace.

To be sure, the balmy breezes wafted many other night sounds through
Johnnie's open window. From ne