The Frog's Fiasco

: FUN FOR VERY LITTLE FOLK
: Boys And Girls Bookshelf

by D. K. Stevens



There was once a Frog

In a lonesome Bog

With a voice that was well worth praising.

He had one song and it used to go

Way down in the added lines below

Like this: [Symbol: music] which is quite amazing.



So he said one day

In a casual way

"Although it is scarcely vit l

And I may be wrong, it appears to me

That a frog with a voice like mine should be

First class in a Song Recital."



So he posted sheets

In the village streets

With the date and the price: one shilling;

And he billed himself "Signor" because

He thought he would get immense applause

By the aid of a little frilling.



Well, it came about

That his friends turned out

From the Crane to the Curious Cricket,

With the Hare and the Hedgehog, Coon and Fox,

And the Critical Owl in a private box,

(On a Complimentary Ticket.)



When the clock struck eight

Signor Frog in state

Thus opened the exhibition:

"For my first attempt on the concert-stump

I shall render a song that is called 'Ger-rump.'

An original composition."



Then the Critical Owl

With a guttural growl,

Or a noise which was something near it,

Stood up and observed: "All summer long

From dusk till day you have sung that song--

And why should we pay to hear it?"



So they all marched out

In a regular rout,

With remarks most decidedly chilling,

And every one, as he passed the stand

Where the Muskrat kept all the cash in hand,

Demanded and got his shilling!



And the luckless Frog,

In the lonesome Bog,

Relapsed into deep dejection;

As he broods alone on his dismal case

And sings all night in a booming bass,

"Ger-rump" is his one selection.