lroad and work as a signal-man for the trains. You
will hold your breath as you read about the exciting adventure that
follows this suggestion, and you will no doubt agree with those to whom
he later tells it that he is a very lucky Freddie to escape.
THE TALE OF RUSTY WREN
Rusty Wren is another little neighbor in Pleasant Valley. His particular
home there is Farmer Green's yard where he lives in a bright shiny home
which is really a tin can with a hole in it! And dear me! I forgot all
about Rusty Wren's family--his wife and six baby children who had to be
given Wren food by Rusty and little Chippy, Jr. You will laugh heartily
when you read about Chippy growing so big and fat that he gets stuck in
Rusty's tiny doorway and can't get pulled out. My, what an exciting time
it was! And you will laugh again when you watch Rusty Wren go 'way over
to the bank of Black Creek all ready for a party when there really is no
party. Yes, you will agree with Farmer Green's boy and the rest of our
friends in Pleasant Valley that Rusty certainly is a very interesting
little neighbor.
THE TALE OF DADDY LONG-LEGS
Daddy is a person of such unusual appearance with his eight scrawny legs
in contrast to ordinary people's two, and everything about his private
life is such a mystery to his neighbors that his acquaintances give him
credit for having a marvelous ability to look into the future. In fact,
there are many two-legged humans, even to-day, who think he is a sort of
soothsayer and mystery man. Perhaps, if you are one of these, you will
be inclined to change your mind after reading about his contest with Old
Mr. Crow to see which is really the wiser of the two. And would you not
naturally suppose that anybody with so many legs to carry him would be
the champion walker of the world? Maybe Daddy finds that it takes time
to decide which of his feet he should put forward in taking the next
step, or may be each separate foot has a notion of its own as to the
direction Daddy should choose; at any rate, he proves to be the slowest
traveler imaginable. But he is so popular among his neighbors and you
will like him too--he has so many quaint ideas.
THE TALE OF KIDDIE KATYDID
Kiddy Katydid and his relatives were in possession of a secret that none
of the Pleasant Valley folk can solve, though they waste much time and
energy trying to guess it. Even to this day it is doubtful if anyone
other than Kiddie himself really knows what Kat
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