The Tale of Kiddie Katydid Part 2

Nighthawk feared that Solomon Owl would arrive there at any moment.

As for Kiddie Katydid, when he heard Solomon's cry he knew at once that he was rid of Mr. Nighthawk. And Kiddie's _Katy did, Katy did; she did, she did_ rang out again and again in the night. All his friends and cousins crept out of their hiding-places and joined in the chorus. And everybody enjoyed a good laugh over Mr. Nighthawk's visit--and his sudden departure.

Perhaps Kiddie may be forgiven for boasting the least bit, as his companions crowded around him.

"I knew better than to jump for Mr. Nighthawk!" he cried. "I happened to know that he always wants to catch his food _on the wing_. And if I had jumped, or tried to fly away, he would have s.n.a.t.c.hed me right out of the air as quick as lightning."

VI

FREDDIE FIREFLY'S DISCOVERY

That secret about Katy, and what she did, was not the only one that Kiddie hid from the field people. He had another--something about himself--that n.o.body ever suspected, until Freddie Firefly stumbled upon it one night.

Probably Freddie would never have learned this second secret had he not been trying to find out about the first one. Over in the meadow he had heard Kiddie Katydid shrilling his well-worn ditty, _Katy did; she did, she did!_ And he had danced his way into Farmer Green's dooryard because he wanted to have a talk with Kiddie and ask him some questions about that unknown lady.

Like all others who tried to pry into the mystery, Freddie Firefly had no luck at all. For Kiddie Katydid made no reply to his inquiries.

Kiddie merely smiled in a most annoying fas.h.i.+on and kept on repeating the refrain.

"Doesn't your voice ever get tired, singing those silly words over and over again all night long?" Freddie Firefly finally asked.

"Oh! no, indeed!" said Kiddie Katydid. "On the contrary it rests my voice to do this." And he solemnly shrilled the chorus more rapidly than ever.

"There's something queer about that cry of yours!" Freddie Firefly suddenly exclaimed. "I'm watching you closely; but I can't see that your mouth moves the least bit."

Again Kiddie Katydid smiled. He saw that Freddie Firefly was puzzled.

"Why do you keep moving your wings when you say _Katy did_?" Freddie Firefly asked him at last.

But Kiddie refused to answer that question--a fact which at once made Freddie suspicious. He moved nearer Kiddie Katydid and flashed his light upon him every time Kiddie repeated his odd statement about Katy. And soon Freddie Firefly grew much excited. He actually danced up and down, he was so astonished.

"I've found you out!" he cried in a loud voice. "It's no wonder your voice doesn't get tired from that song! For you don't really _sing_ it at all! You make that queer _sound by rubbing your wing covers together_!"

Kiddie Katydid abruptly ceased his shrilling. He looked most uncomfortable. And it was not surprising. He had not supposed that Freddie Firefly--or anybody else--would be shrewd enough to discover that secret. It was a family secret--one that had been closely guarded by the Katydids since the beginning of time, almost. And here he had gone and let Freddie Firefly find it out!

"I'm right about that and you can't deny it!" cried Freddie Firefly boldly. "You may as well admit that what I say is true," he added.

"I certainly won't dispute you," Kiddie Katydid replied. "I have too good manners to do anything so rude as that."

"I don't care about your manners," Freddie answered. "I dare say they're good enough, although some people think it's rather rude of you to make so much noise when a good many others are trying to sleep."

"I should like to know who objects to my music?" Kiddie Katydid exclaimed hotly. "If Farmer Green has been talking to you, I should like to state that he had better be careful. Anyone who drives a clattering mowing-machine around, when a lot of us are trying to get our rest in the daytime, ought not to complain about a little _music_ on a pleasant night like this."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Kiddie's Secret is Discovered by Freddie Firefly

(_Page 28_)]

VII

FREDDIE WANTS TO TELL

As soon as Kiddie Katydid mentioned the word _music_, Freddie Firefly began to dance and shout.

"There!" he cried. "You've just the same as told me that I was right. If you _sang_ your _Katy did, Katy did; she did, she did_, you would call it _singing_. But since you make that ditty by rubbing your wing covers together, it is _music_. And you just referred to it as such!"

Well, Kiddie Katydid couldn't say a single word. Freddie Firefly was right. They both knew it. And the secret was hopelessly "out." In fact, it was a secret no longer--unless Kiddie Katydid could persuade Freddie Firefly to keep the news to himself.

"You won't say anything about this little matter, I hope," Kiddie began.

"Won't I?" said Freddie Firefly. "Why, I just couldn't help telling people what I've learned! It's the biggest bit of news that I've known since I've lived in Pleasant Valley. And I must get word of it to old Mr. Crow somehow."

"Why Mr. Crow?" Kiddie Katydid inquired anxiously. He knew that the old gentleman was a great gossip. "You might as well put this in a newspaper as tell Mr. Crow about it."

"Ah! That's just the point!" cried Freddie. "Mr. Crow _is_ a newspaper.

Perhaps you didn't know it; but every Sat.u.r.day he flies over Blue Mountain to the pond where Brownie Beaver lives and tells Brownie all the news of the past week."

"Then for pity's sake, don't let _him_ hear of this!" Kiddie begged.

But nothing could have stopped Freddie Firefly.

"You're too modest," he said. "It's a shame to be able to make music the way you do and not let the neighbors know it. Why, the first thing you know you'll be one of the most famous people in this whole valley."

"But I don't want to be!" Kiddie Katydid cried. "I'm not like you. You go dancing about every night, flas.h.i.+ng your light so everyone can see you. But I stay among the trees and shrubs. And I even wear a green suit--which matches the color of the leaves--so people won't notice me.

Of course," Kiddie added, "I don't mind if the public hears my music.

But I don't care to be seen, as a rule. And I don't like callers a bit!"

"You don't, eh?" remarked Freddie Firefly. "Then it's time for me to be moving along. For I never stay where I'm not welcome." And he flitted away, feeling somewhat peevish--and all the more determined to get the news of the discovered secret to Mr. Crow at the earliest possible moment.

How he was going to do that he didn't quite know.

There was little chance of his seeing Mr. Crow, for the old gentleman only waked up at the time Freddie Firefly was ready to go to bed--about dawn.

He was pondering over his difficulty, which bothered him not a little, when a terrific croaking from the direction of the swamp reached his ears. It was the final chorus of the Frog family's nightly singing party. And it promptly put an idea into Freddie Firefly's head.

"I'll hurry right over there and speak to Mr. Frog, the well-known tailor," he said to himself. "He knows old Mr. Crow. He sees him almost every day. And he'll be glad to give the old gentleman a message."

VIII

SPREADING THE NEWS