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Tale of Kiddie Katydid

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<h3>SOLOMON OWL'S CRY</h3> For a few moments Mr. Nighthawk fidgeted about on his branch of the maple tree. What Kiddie Katydid said to him about Solomon Owl frightened him. And he almost wished he hadn't come to Farmer Green's dooryard that night. But the more he thought about the matter, the less he was inclined to believe that there was really any danger. And soon he peered at Kiddie Katydid through the darkness and said: "You almost fooled me. But I know now what you were trying to do. You were trying to scare me away from here!"[21] "Katy did, Katy did; she did, she did!" "You needn't say that!" Mr. Nighthawk exclaimed. "Katy has nothing to do with my case. She hasn't even mentioned Solomon Owl's name." "You don't understand," Kiddie told him. "I'm speaking of an entirely different matter." And then Mr. Nighthawk had another idea. He chased the frown away from his face and smiled very pleasantly. "I'm sorry that you don't feel like jumping for me," he observed. "But I'd be just as glad to see you fly! I remember being told that you fly almost as well as you jump." "Oh, I can't begin to fly as well as you can," Kiddie Katydid told Mr. Nighthawk. "I only wish I knew how to coast down out of the sky the way you do, without being dashed upon the ground. . . .[22] How do you manage to stop so suddenly?" "Pooh! That's nothing!" Mr. Nighthawk said. "It's easy, once you know how." In spite of his way of belittling his flying feats, Mr. Nighthawk was secretly very proud of his skill at sky-coasting. And when Kiddie Katydid asked him if he wouldn't kindly give an exhibition of the art of fancy flying, Mr. Nighthawk couldn't help feeling pleased. He wanted to display his skill. But there was just one thing that troubled him. He was afraid that if he climbed up into the sky, before he dropped down again Kiddie Katydid would have vanished. And that didn't suit Mr. Nighthawk's plans. "Will you promise to stay right where you are until I come back?" he asked.[23] Now, Kiddie Katydid had intended to hide himself as soon as Mr. Nighthawk should leave him. But there was nothing he could do now except to agree to Mr. Nighthawk's proposal. "I'll promise," said Kiddie, "if you'll promise me that you'll surely return. Otherwise I might have to stay here for a month, perhaps, waiting for you." "Oh! I'll come back in a minute or two," Mr. Nighthawk laughed, as he looked hungrily at Kiddie. "Don't you worry about my not coming back to talk with you!" Then he began climbing upwards into the sky. And he had gone about as high as he wished to, when all at once a rolling Whoo-whoo-whoo, whoo-whoo, to-whoo-ah startled him. It was Solomon Owl's weird call. And it drove every thought except one out of Mr. Nighthawk's head. That[24] one idea—to escape—filled his mind completely. And he turned and hurried away from Farmer Green's place as fast as he could go; for Mr. 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[25] 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 snatched me right out of the air as quick as lightning."[26] <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h2>VI</h2> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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