fast as he had come up. Mr. Blacksnake grinned and started after him, not
very fast because he knew that he wouldn't have to run very fast to catch
Old Mr. Toad, and he thought the exercise would do him good.

And this is how it happened that summer morning that jolly, bright Mr. Sun,
looking down from the blue, blue sky and smiling to see how happy everybody
seemed, suddenly discovered that there was one of the little meadow people
who wasn't happy, but instead was terribly, terribly unhappy. It was Old
Mr. Toad hopping down the Crooked Little Path for his life, while after
him, and getting nearer and nearer, glided Mr. Blacksnake.




XVIII


JIMMY SKUNK IS JUST IN TIME

Jimmy Skunk ambled slowly along, chuckling as he thought of what a hurry
Mr. Toad had been in, when he had heard that Mr. Blacksnake had asked after
him. It had been funny, very funny indeed, to see Mr. Toad try to hurry.

Suddenly Jimmy stopped chuckling. Then he stopped ambling along the Crooked
Little Path. He turned around and looked back, and as he did so he
scratched his head thoughtfully. He had just happened to think that Old Mr.
Toad had gone up the Crooked Little Path, and it was _up_ the Crooked
Little Path that Mr. Blacksnake had shown himself that morning.

"If he's still up there," thought Jimmy, "Old Mr. Toad is hopping right