The Tale of Freddie Firefly by Bailey, Arthur Scott, 1877-1949

Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

TUCK-ME-IN TALES (Trademark Registered)

THE TALE OF FREDDIE FIREFLY

BY

ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY Author of "SLEEPY-TIME TALES" (Trademark Registered).

ILLUSTRATED BY HARRY L. SMITH

NEW YORK

1918

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. A MERRY DANCER II. A FINE PLAN III. FREDDIE AGREES TO HELP IV. GETTING READY V. AT THE STONE WALL VI. THE BANNERS VII. THE TORCHLIGHT PARADE VIII. BUSTER'S SCHEME IX. FREDDIE'S PROMISE X. DRAWING LOTS XI. PEPPERY POLLY XII. A TERRIBLE SONG XIII. CAUGHT BY A THISTLE XIV. JENNIE JUNEBUG XV. THE FAT LADY'S SECRET XVI. FREDDIE'S ESCAPE XVII. BAD BENJAMIN BAT XVIII. PLEASING FARMER GREEN XIX. BENJAMIN FEELS GUILTY XX. MRS. LADYBUG'S ADVICE XXI. ALL ABOUT TRAINS XXII. WORK ON THE RAILROAD XXIII. WHY FREDDIE WAS GLAD

ILLUSTRATIONS

YOU'RE TERRIBLY CARELESS WITH THAT LIGHT OF YOURS . . . Frontispiece

FREDDIE SAT ON TOP OF THE BANNER

FREDDIE PLAYS A JOKE ON PEPPERY POLLY BUMBLEBEE

FREDDIE WAS BUMPED INTO BY JENNIE JUNEBUG

THE TALE OF FREDDIE FIREFLY

I

A MERRY DANCER

Nobody in Pleasant Valley ever paid any attention to Freddie Firefly in the daytime. But on warm, and especially on dark summer nights he always appeared at his best. Then he went gaily flitting through the meadows. And sometimes he even danced right in Farmer Green's dooryard, together with a hundred or two of his nearest relations.

No one could help noticing those sprightly revelers, flashing their greenish-white lights through the gloom. And many of the field people, as well as the folk that lived in the farmhouse, thought that the dancers made a pretty sight.

But there were others who said that the Firefly family might better be spending their time in some more serious way.

Benjamin Bat, who lived in Cedar Swamp, was one of those who found fault with the merry dancers. He grumbled a good deal about them--and especially about Freddie Firefly.

"He's so proud of that light he carries!" Benjamin often exclaimed, "Now, if he could hang by his feet from the limb of a tree--and SLEEP at the same time--he'd have something to boast of!"

No doubt Benjamin Bat was jealous. Anyhow, Solomon Owl declared that there was still another reason why Benjamin did not like Freddie Firefly. Solomon claimed that Benjamin would have liked to EAT Freddie. But he didn't quite dare to grab him for fear of getting burned by Freddie's light.

If that was so, then it was no wonder that Freddie kept flashing his light in the dark. And it was lucky that he had a light, because--like Benjamin Bat himself--he was a night-prowler.

Unlike Farmer Green, Freddie believed that the night air was very healthful. And together with all his family, he thought that a damp place was much to be preferred to a dry one.

He often remarked that the pollen upon which he frequently dined tasted best when the dew was upon it. And he never could understand why Buster Bumblebee's sisters, the ill-tempered workers, always gathered nectar for their honey-making in the daytime.