"Horrid old thing!" he said, giving it a jerk. "Won't I be glad to get rid of you?" Then he thought of something--foolish, vain little First Tadpole that he was. He thought and he thought and he thought and he thought, and when his playmates swam around him he wouldn't chase them, and when they asked him what was the matter, he just answered, "Oh nothing!" as carelessly as could be.