Page 15 - Adventures in shadow-land

She gave him a little push with her foot to make

him go away; but instead of that he only hopped
the nearer, and again came—

Croak I croak!
He was entirely too near now for comfort, so
the little girl jumped up, dropping all the flowers

she had gathered; and as she stood still for a mo­
ment she thought that fche heard the green toad

say:
fl Go to the pond I Go to the pond ]”
It seemed so funny to Eva to hear a toad talk

that she stood as still as a mouse looking at him \
and as she looked at him, she heard him say again,

as plain as possible :
u Go to the pond ! Go to the pond !”

And then Eva did just exactly what either you
or I would have done if we had heard a great

green toad talking to us. She went slowly through
the tall grass down to the very edge of the pond.
But instead of the fishes which used to swim

about in the pretty clear water, and which would
come to eat the crumbs of bread she always threw

to them, and the funny, croaking frogs which used
to jump and splash in the water, she saw nothing