for he began to splutter and choke.

“What’s the matter now?” Mr. Frog asked him.

“I can’t see—that’s what’s the matter!” Solomon Owl cried in a voice that
sounded hollower than ever, because it was muffled by the hood, which
covered his head.

“I declare—I haven’t cut the holes for your eyes!” the tailor exclaimed.
“Just wait a moment and I’ll make everything satisfactory.” He clinked his
shears together sharply as he spoke.

But Solomon Owl told him that he wouldn’t _think_ of letting anybody use
shears so near his eyes.

[_Illustration 1_]

Solomon Found Mr. Frog’s Shop Was Closed


“I’ll take off the coat,” he said. “And I know now that you’re a very poor
tailor, or you wouldn’t have made such a mistake.” He began to tug at the
coat. But he soon found that taking it off was not so easy as putting it
on. Solomon’s sharp claws caught in the cloth; and his hooked beak, too,
fastened itself in the hood the moment he tried to pull the coat over his
head. “Here!” he cried to Mr. Frog. “Just lend me a hand! I can’t see to
help myself.”

But Mr. Frog did not even answer him.