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Tale of Bobby Bobolink

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<h2>XVII</h2><h3>TURNING THE TABLES</h3> Mr. Frog had given Bobby Bobolink a great surprise. He had said that Bobby was wearing his clothes upside down. After making that unpleasant remark Mr. Frog burst into a gale of laughter. And it was some time before he could say anything more. While he held his sides and laughed, Bobby Bobolink tried to look at his own reflection in a pool of water. But so far as he could see there was nothing unusual about his suit. He was puzzled; but there was no use asking Mr. Frog any questions just then Bobby knew that he would have to wait until the silly tailor's fit of laughing had passed. At last Mr. Frog grew calmer. He drew forth a big handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his eyes. "You're certainly the funniest sight I've ever seen!" he exclaimed. "I wish you'd explain about my suit being upside down," Bobby said. "I've worn it this way for almost two months. And only yesterday my wife told me there was nothing wrong with it." "Ah!" Mr. Frog cried. "She doesn't know about the styles. If she did, she'd know what was the matter. Your waistcoat is black; and you wear bright colors on your back. Anybody that follows the fashions as I do could tell you that your coat should be black, and that the yellow and white ought to be on your waistcoat. That's one of the rules: Coat dark, waistcoat bright and gay! Look at me!" And Mr. Frog drew himself up proudly and leaned against a stump, with his feet crossed, exactly as if he was having his picture taken. Bobby Bobolink looked at him. And all at once he burst out laughing. Now it was Mr. Frog's turn to feel uncomfortable. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Isn't my tie straight?" "Oh, I dare say your tie's correct," Bobby Bobolink told him. "But there's something queer about you. Maybe it's because your feet are so big!" And he laughed harder than ever; for Mr. Frog certainly looked funny. Now, Mr. Frog's feet were a great trial to him. He had always wanted small ones. But somehow he had never been able to change them. "They aren't really as big as they look," he remarked, gazing down at his feet mournfully. "You see, trousers are being worn very tight this summer. And that always makes the feet seem bigger.... My feet can't look peculiar." "Then," said Bobby Bobolink, "it must be something else that amuses me. It must be your mouth!" "My mouth!" Mr. Frog repeated, as his jaw dropped. "What's the matter with that?" "It's so big!" Bobby cried. Now, Mr. Frog had always been terribly sensitive about the size of his mouth. "I'll tell you something about my mouth," he said. "Once it was smaller than yours. But I've smiled so much it has stretched a bit, though I hoped nobody had noticed that." "Well," Bobby Bobolink told him, "I'm better off than you are, Mr. Frog. For I expect to have a new suit this fall. But how are you going to change your mouth—or your feet, either?" That was a question that Mr. Frog couldn't answer. He made no attempt to reply, but plunged into the water and swam away. And he never again laughed at anybody's clothes all that summer. <hr class="chapter" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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