Along the river on a quiet sunny day, a little turtle sat sorrowfully on a big stone. Suddenly a voice cried:
“Good-morning, Toby. You seem very sad this morning.”
And looking up, Toby saw that it was Jimmy the frog, who had just come ashore. Toby shook his head and sighed again.
“Why, what is the matter, my little friend? You are so rarely sad.”
“I know I am,” cried Toby, “but I had such a beautiful song once, and I have lost it!”
“Oh, never mind,” said Jimmy cheerfully; “I will sing you my favorite song, and I guess after hearing it you will not think so much about your own.”
So he began his favorite song, and sang away in merry tones:
"Change, change, change,
Every day you see us change;
Growin' legs now, then no legs;
Little tails soon, we have no tails;
Soon out hops the merry frog!"
“Oh, that is a nice song,” said Toby, “but it is not the one I meant.”
“What! Have you anything prettier than that?”
“I had once,” replied Toby, “but I cannot remember it.”
“Then I cannot help you, for that’s the only one I know,” said Jimmy. But just then there came flying through the trees a crow, who stopped to listen.
“Good-morning, Toby!” said Crow. “You seem very sad this happy morning.”
“I am sad. I have lost my favorite song.”
“Oh, never mind,” cried Crow. “You sing my favorite song and try to remember your own.”
And so he began:
"Where are you going, my pretty maid?
'I'm going a-milking, sir,' she said.
'May I go with you, my pretty maid?'
'You're kindly welcome, sir,' she said."
“And so on for seven verses,” said Crow. “That is a nice song,” said Toby, “but it is not the one I meant.”
Just then Spike the hedgehog woke up and came sleepily out of his door. “Good-morning, friends. You seem very merry this morning.”
“I am very merry,” said Jimmy, “and so is Crow, but Toby greets us sadly as he has lost his favorite song.”
“Well, why do you not sing him yours?” said Spike.
“Oh, that is a very difficult task,” said Crow.
“Well, I will sing my favorite song,” said Spike, which he began at once:
"Haste to the wedding, the wedding, the wedding;
Haste to the wedding, old Sir Hugh is dead."
And then he went to sleep again, as he had only just wakened up, you know.
But Toby shook his head. “Thank you,” said he, “but it is not the one I meant.”
But now came a merry little tune from up in the tree. Who could be playing in that strange place? But Jimmy, Crow, and Spike all looked up, and there was the kingfisher with his harp. Toby was just going to say “Good-morning,” but the kingfisher stopped him by saying hastily:
“Good-morning, friends. It pains me to say that Toby greets us sadly this morning as he has lost his favorite song.”
“Well, why do you not play it on your harp?” said Kingfisher. “That is the best way to remember it.” But Toby gave a loud groan. “I cannot play it,” said he, “for I have lost it.”
The friends were all silent for a moment, and then cried Crow, “Toby, let us sing our songs one after the other, and then try and remember the song that you have lost.”
“I will do so,” said Toby, “but I fear I shall remember it not.”
But on they sang, one after the other, the merry songs, until at last they reached the one sung by Kingfisher, and then, before they had done, they were all suddenly surprised by a great rainbow bridge stretching all over the skies before them. It was such a pretty sight that Toby forgot that he was sad and danced with joy on the stone he sat upon, and all his friends did the same. As they sat down again, Toby looked up and said, “What is that beautiful sight we see before us?”
“I do not know,” said Crow.
“Do you not remember your song?” said Jimmy.
“No,” answered Toby.
“Is this it?” cried the kingfisher, and he played it on his harp.
“Oh, yes, now I remember it,” cried Toby; “that rainbow bridge was my song.”