By the Roadside (Dunn and Troxell)/Hoppy Hop’s Supper

One evening Billy and Uncle Harry were sitting on the garden bench. They were watching Hoppy Hop. It was after supper, but it was not yet dark. Hoppy Hop was sitting very still. Some flies were buzzing about near him, but he did not seem to see them.
"I don't see why Hoppy doesn't catch some of those flies for his supper," said Billy to his uncle.
Uncle Harry looked at Billy, smiled, and said, "I'm afraid you have not been seeing what he is doing."
"No," said Billy, "I've been watching him for a long time. He hasn't even moved his head."
"He doesn't have to," said Uncle Harry. "The flies are buzzing so near ​him he can catch them without moving."
"But, Uncle Harry, how can he catch flies without moving his head a little?" asked Billy.
"He catches them with his tongue," said Uncle Harry. "His tongue isn't fastened at the back of his mouth like yours. It is fastened to the front."
Then Uncle Harry pulled his knife out of his pocket.
"Hoppy Hop's tongue folds back into his mouth just the way my knife blade shuts back into the handle," he said. "But he can move it much faster than I can open and shut my knife. He can flip it out of his mouth and back again almost as quickly as you can

Đọc bản gốc tại Wikisource tiếng Anh