STORY XIX

BUDDY AND THE BURGLAR FOX

"We must lock all the windows and doors very tightly to-night," said Mrs. Pigg to her husband, one evening, when they were getting ready for bed.

"Yes," agreed Dr. Pigg, "we must. I'll see to it, my dear, and you put the children to bed."

"Why do you have to lock up so carefully, mamma?" inquired Buddy.

"Because," said Mrs. Pigg, "I heard that there have been a number of tramps and burglars around lately."

"Indeed, that's true," added Dr. Pigg. "Mr. Cock A. Doodle, the rooster next door, was telling me that he thinks some one tried to get in his coop last night. The door rattled and some one shook the window."

"Perhaps it was the wind," suggested Brighteyes.

"It may have been," agreed her father. "I hope it was, for I don't like burglars at all. Now go to bed and don't be afraid, for I'll lock up carefully, and I have a pail of water right beside my bed and I'll throw it on a burglar if he dares to come in."

So Buddy and Brighteyes went up stairs to bed with their mother, while Dr. Pigg put out the cat, locked the doors and windows and set the alarm clock to wake him up at five o'clock, for he had to go downtown to attend to some business in the morning.

"I wish the June bug would come again," said Brighteyes, as she was falling asleep.

"Why?" asked her mother from the next room.

"Oh, so he could tell us some stories, and then I wouldn't think about burglars."

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mrs. Pigg. "How silly! Burglars will never hurt you. Go to sleep now."

"If any burglars come in I'll fix 'em'!" cried Buddy, bravely, from his room. Then Brighteyes went to sleep, and so did Dr. Pigg and his wife.

But, somehow, Buddy couldn't sleep. Why it was he didn't know, only he couldn't. He thought of everything he could think of; ice cream cones and turnips and baseball games, and being in the boat that time, and going to the North Pole and then he thought of the stories the June bug had told him, but still he couldn't go to sleep.

"I guess I'll get up and sit by the window a while," he said to himself. "Then maybe I'll feel sleepy."

So he got up and sat down in a comfortable chair and looked out. It was a beautiful moonlight night, and he could see things almost as well as if it was day.

Well, Buddy hadn't sat there very long, before he saw something long and black and shadowy creeping along, as softly and as gently as a mouse.

First he thought it was a cat, but when he looked again he saw that it was a fox. And the fox had a bag over his shoulder, and he was sneaking along, looking around to be sure no policeman dogs saw him.

Well, sir, as true as I'm telling you, if that fox didn't come softly up to Dr. Pigg's house, right to the front door, as Buddy could see by leaning out of his window, which was open, and looking down, as his window was right over the front door.

Then that fox took a screw-driver out of his bag, and he began to work at the door to force it open, in spite of the lock on it. Oh, how softly and quietly he worked! But Buddy looked down and saw him, and he knew right away that it was a burglar fox, who was coming in the house.

At first Buddy was frightened, and then he knew that he ought to do something. He thought of awakening his papa and mamma, and then he feared that this would scare Brighteyes, and so he decided to drive that burglar fox away all by himself.

Then he tried to think of the best way to do it. He moved softly about his room, looking for something with which to scare the fuzzy old fox, and what do you think he found? Why, his baseball, to be sure!

"That will be as good as a bullet!" thought Buddy.

Then he moved softly to the window, leaned out, where he could see the fox, who was still trying to force open the front door, and raising the ball in his hand, Buddy threw it down with all his might, just as if he was throwing to first base.

Well, sir, the ball hit that bad fox right on the head, and it bounced up almost into Buddy's hands again, but not quite.

My, how surprised that fox was! In fact he was so surprised that he fell down, and when he got up and saw Buddy looking at him from the window, he was more amazed than ever.

"Get right away from here, you bad burglar fox you!" cried Buddy, "or I'll throw forty-seven more big bullets at you!"

Of course he really couldn't, because he didn't have any other baseballs to throw, but the fox didn't know that, and really thought the one baseball was a big bullet.

Then, without even stopping to pick up his bag, the fox ran away, and so he didn't get in at all in Dr. Pigg's house, and Buddy went to sleep.

Well, when Buddy told his papa and mamma and Brighteyes the next morning what he had done, maybe they weren't proud of him. Yes, indeed!

I wish I could say that the fox was arrested, but he wasn't, and made lots more trouble later. But he never broke into Dr. Pigg's house and I'm glad of it.

Now, do you think you'd like to hear, in the next story, about a queer adventure which Brighteyes had? Well, I'll tell it to you if the water sprinkler man gives us a nice big piece of ice to bake in the oven for a pudding.

BRIGHTEYES HAS AN ADVENTURE

It was a very hot day. It was as hot, in fact, as some of the days we have had around here lately, and when Brighteyes, the little guinea pig girl, saw the yellow sun beaming down as she looked out of the pen in the morning, she said to her papa:

"Now, be very careful not to get overheated to-day, daddy, dear."

"I will," replied Dr. Pigg. "It is so very warm that I shall walk on the shady side of the street, and keep a handkerchief, wet in ice water, on my head."

"I was cool enough the other night," remarked Buddy Pigg. "In fact, I shivered when I saw the burglar fox trying to get in," and he actually shivered again when he thought of it, and of how he had scared the bad fox away, as I told you in the story just before this one.

But, after a bit, it got so warm that even the thought of the fox could not make Buddy shiver. Neither could his mother nor Brighteyes shiver, and when you can't shiver, you know, it's a sure sign that it's going to be very hot.

At last Brighteyes said:

"Oh, I think I'll go for a walk in the woods. Don't you want to come along, Buddy?" and she looked at her brother, who was whittling a stick with his new knife.

But Buddy decided it was too hot even to go off in the woods, so Brighteyes said she would go alone. She put on her coolest dress. I think it was a white swiss or a blue organdie, or a challis, or a bombazine, I can't just exactly remember. Anyway, it was nice and cool, and freshly washed and ironed and starched, and Brighteyes looked just as pretty in it as a picture in a gold frame.

Well, she walked along for some time, and, pretty soon, oh, I guess in about three squeaks, or, maybe, four, she came to the woods. It was nice and cool and shady in there, with a little breeze blowing through the trees, and, frisking about in the branches, were several chipmunks, who were cousins of Jennie Chipmunk, and a number of squirrels, besides, most of them relations of Johnnie and Billie Bushytail.

So Brighteyes sat down on a mossy log, and thought how nice and cool it was, and pretty soon, she heard water running and splashing over the stones. That made her cooler than ever and she was feeling very happy, and wishing Buddy was with her, when she began to feel thirsty.

And the more she heard the water running the more thirsty she became, until she said, right out loud: "I'm going to get a drink!"

You've no idea how funny it sounded to hear Brighteyes speak out loud that way, for it was so still and quiet in the woods, that it was just as if she had spoken out loud in church, after the minister has stopped praying. Then Brighteyes got up from the mossy log, and went toward the running water. And what do you s'pose is going to happen? Why, she's going to have an adventure in about a minute, or, maybe, less time.

Well, the little guinea pig girl found where a little brook ran through the woods, over the stones and under green banks where the long ferns grew, and she was more thirsty than ever, and when she got down to the edge of the brook, there was a little plank stretched across the water for a bridge.

Brighteyes walked out on the middle of the plank, looked down into the brook, which was just like a looking-glass, and she saw how well her dress fitted. Then she kneeled, dipped her paws in the water and scooped up some to drink, taking care not to splash any on her clothes.

"Oh!" exclaimed the little guinea pig girl, "that is very fine water!" Then she took another drink and stood up. She was just going to walk back to shore when she happened to hear a funny noise, and, lo! and behold, at either end of the plank bridge there was a funny brown, furry creature, about as big as a small dog. They stood up on their hind legs, one at one end of the plank and one at the other, and when they saw Brighteyes looking at them the larger creature cried out:

"Ha! Ha! Now we have you! You can't get ashore unless you give us all your money!"

"I haven't very much," said poor Brighteyes, beginning to tremble, and wondering if the brown creatures were burglars.

"Well, we want whatever money you have," declared the creature at the right-hand end of the plank.

"Yes, indeed!" cried the creature on the left end.

"Who—who are you?" stammered Brighteyes, thinking to make friends with the creatures.

"We're groundhogs!" they both cried together, "and we want your money."

"What for?" asked Brighteyes, wondering what question she could ask next.

"We're going to buy firecrackers," answered the one on the right end.

"Fourth of July is past," said Brighteyes.

"No matter. Give us all your money, or we'll push you into the brook!" declared the two groundhogs together, and when Brighteyes said she hadn't any change, for there was no pocket in her dress, you see, to carry any money in, what did those bad groundhogs do, but begin to teeter-tauter up and down, with the little guinea pig girl on the middle of the plank.

Up and down she went, faster and faster, and pretty soon the water began to splash upon her new dress. And oh, how terrible she felt.

First she thought she would run across the plank, but she was afraid of the groundhog at either end. Then she thought she would jump over their heads, but she couldn't jump very well, not being a grasshopper, you see, and she didn't know what to do, and she was crying the least bit, when, all of a sudden, who should come along but the three Wibblewobble children—Lulu and Alice and Jimmie—and when they saw how the two groundhogs had made Brighteyes a prisoner in the middle of the plank bridge, those three ducks just stretched out their long necks, and cried, "Quack! Quack! Quack!" as loudly as they could.

That so frightened the groundhogs that they jumped into the brook and swam away, leaving Brighteyes free. Then she went home with the Wibblewobbles, and told Buddy her adventure, and he said it was a good one.

Now, the next story will be about Buddy in a deep hole—that is if the trolley car doesn't run off the track, and break all the eggs in the grocery store window.

BUDDY IN A DEEP HOLE

Once upon a time it happened that Buddy Pigg was out taking a walk over the fields and through the woods. He often used to do this, sometimes taking a stroll for pleasure, and again to see if he could find anything to eat. This time he was looking for something to eat, and so he walked very slowly, looking from side to side, and sniffing the air from time to time.

"For," he said, "who knows but what I may find a nice cabbage or a turnip, or a radish, or a bit of molasses cake, or a ginger snap, or even an ice cream cone. Any of those things would be very good," thought Buddy to himself, "especially an ice cream cone on a hot day."

But, though he looked and he looked and he looked, oh, I guess maybe about a dozen times, he couldn't find a single thing that was good to eat, and he was beginning to get discouraged.

"I'll go a little bit farther," he thought, "and then if I don't find anything I'll turn around, go back home, and get some bread and butter, for that is better than nothing; and I am getting hungry."

So he walked on a little farther, and, as he walked along, he sang this little song which no one is allowed to sing unless they are very, very hungry.

So in case it happens that you have just had an ice cream cone, or something good like that, and are not hungry, you must not sing this song until just before dinner or breakfast or supper. Anyhow here's the song and you can put it aside until you are nearly starving. This is how it goes:

"I wish I had some candyOr a peanut lolly-pop.I'd eat an ice-cream cone so quickYou could not see me stop.If I had two big apples,An orange or a peach.I'd give my little sisterA great big bite from each."But there is nothing here to eat—Not even cherry pie.Though we had one at our house once,And some got in my eye.Oh! how I'd like a cocoanut!And watermelon, too.I'd eat two slices off the ice—Now, really, wouldn't you?"

"I wish I had some candy

Or a peanut lolly-pop.

I'd eat an ice-cream cone so quick

You could not see me stop.

If I had two big apples,

An orange or a peach.

I'd give my little sister

A great big bite from each.

"But there is nothing here to eat—Not even cherry pie.Though we had one at our house once,And some got in my eye.Oh! how I'd like a cocoanut!And watermelon, too.I'd eat two slices off the ice—Now, really, wouldn't you?"

"But there is nothing here to eat—

Not even cherry pie.

Though we had one at our house once,

And some got in my eye.

Oh! how I'd like a cocoanut!

And watermelon, too.

I'd eat two slices off the ice—

Now, really, wouldn't you?"

No sooner had Buddy finished singing this song, than he came to a place in the woods, where there was a big hole going down into the ground. Oh, it was quite a large hole, not quite so big as the one going down to China, but pretty large and it looked just as if some animal were in the habit of going in and out of it.

"Ha, ho!" exclaimed Buddy Pigg. "This looks like something; it surely does," and, my dear children, the funny part of it was that the hole did look like something.

"I guess I'll go down there and see if there's anything to eat at the bottom," went on the little guinea pig boy, "for I certainly am hungry."

Then he stood and peeped down into the hole, and, though it looked quite far to the bottom of it, and though it seemed pretty dark, Buddy decided to go in. Now, that was rather foolish of him, for it's never safe to go in a hole until you know where you're coming out, especially a hole in the woods; but Buddy didn't stop to think. So he looked all around, to see that there were no bad foxes in sight, and then he entered the hole.

First he crept along very slowly and carefully. Oh my, yes, and a banana peeling in addition! and then, all of a sudden, land sakes flopsy dub! if Buddy didn't slip and fall and stumble, and roll over and over, sideways, and head over heels, and he kept on going down, until finally he came to a stop in a place that was as dark as a pocket in a fur overcoat on a winter day.

"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" cried poor Buddy Pigg. "Whatever has happened; and where am I?"

He tried to see where he was, but, my goodness sakes alive! he might as well have tried to look through the blackboard at school, for all he could see was just nothing.

"I—I guess I must have fallen all the way through to China!" whispered Buddy, as he lay there in the darkness, and then he happened to remember that if he was in China he would see some little Chinese boys and girls, and he could not see any, so he knew he wasn't in China.

"Oh, dear!" cried Buddy again. "Where am I, anyhow?"

Then, all of a sudden, out of the darkness, there sounded a voice, and when Buddy heard it he trembled.

"Who are you?" cried the voice, "and what are you doing in here?"

"If you please," answered the little guinea pig boy, "I am Buddy, and I fell down this hole. Whose is it?"

"It belongs to us," said two voices at once. "We are groundhogs, and you must get right out of here!"

"Groundhogs!" exclaimed Buddy, and then he remembered the two who had teeter-tautered Brighteyes up and down on the plank bridge, and wet her dress, and he was frightened for fear they would harm him.

"Oh, please, Mr. Groundhogs!" went on Buddy, "I didn't mean to come here! I fell in when I was looking for something to eat. Please help me out, and I'll never come again. I was looking for something to take home to Brighteyes, my sister."

"What! Is Brighteyes Pigg your sister?" cried the two groundhogs, rustling around in the dark hole, and when Buddy said she was, they said they were very sorry for having frightened her on the plank. They were only playing a joke, they said, and they promised never to bother her again.

"And besides," went on the larger groundhog, "we'll give you something to eat, and help you out of this hole."

So they went and got their lantern, which was a bottle filled with fireflies, and they showed Buddy where there was another hole leading up out of their underground house, and he crawled out, after they had given him some clover preserved in molasses candy, and they promised to come and play with him and Brighteyes some day.

Then Buddy was happy again, and almost glad he had fallen down the big hole, because he had something good to take home to eat.

Now, in case I have cherry pie for supper and the juice doesn't get on my red necktie and turn it green, I'll tell you soon about a trick the groundhogs played.

A TRICK THE GROUNDHOGS PLAYED

One day, oh, I guess it must have been about a week after Buddy Pigg fell down the groundhogs' hole, he and Brighteyes were out walking in the woods. They had been over to pay a visit to Jackie and Peetie Bow Wow, the two puppy dogs, you know, and were on their way back.

As they walked along, they both heard a queer little rustling sound in the bushes, but at first they didn't pay any attention to it, but they kept on, talking about what a nice time they had had, when, all of a sudden, the noise sounded more plainly. It was just as if some big animal had taken hold of the bushes in his teeth, and had shaken them—shaken the bushes, I mean, of course, for he couldn't shake his teeth unless they were false, and animals don't have false teeth, thank goodness.

"My land sakes! What's that?" exclaimed Brighteyes.

"Maybe it's a bad fox," said Buddy, and he looked around for a stick or a stone with which to defend his sister, for Buddy was brave, let me tell you.

Then the noise seemed to sort of go away, just like when the teacher rubs the figures and sentences off the blackboard in school, and Buddy and Brighteyes weren't so frightened. So they kept on, and just as they were coming to the path that led to their pen, what did they hear but the rustling noise in the bushes again. This time they were very much frightened, and Buddy picked up a stick, almost as large as himself. Then Brighteyes said:

"Oh, Buddy, I'm afraid to go home that way. Let's take the other path."

"But that is so much longer," objected her brother.

"No matter," answered the little guinea pig girl, "it is better to take a longer path, than to go on a short one and be eaten up by a fox or a wolf," and I suppose Brighteyes was right. Anyhow they took the other path, and as they went along it, they heard a noise in the bushes as if some one was laughing, only they didn't see how a fox could laugh. So they hurried on.

Well, it wasn't very long before they came to something. I was going to let you guess what it was, but as it might take you some time to think, and then, maybe, you wouldn't get it right, I have decided to tell you.

What Buddy and Brighteyes saw on the path in front of them was a small box—the kind that soap comes out of, you know—and it was standing up on one edge. And sort of underneath the box were two, big toadstools, made into tables, and beside each table was a smaller toadstool for a seat. And, would you believe me? on each toadstool-table there were a lot of nice things to eat! Believe me, there was, really! There were bits of cabbage, some red clover tops with marshmallow-chocolate on them, and candied cherries, and red raspberries with strawberry sauce, and oh, I don't know what all!

"Why!" exclaimed Brighteyes, "that is a regular little play-party, Buddy."

"To be sure it is," he answered. "And look, there is a sign fastened to the box. Let's go closer, and read what it says on it." So they went a little closer, watching on all sides to make sure there was no danger, and they read the sign. This is what it said:

"Come in and eat whate'er you wish.Taste each dainty in the dish.Make a bow, and wipe your feet,Fold your napkins nice and neat."

"Come in and eat whate'er you wish.

Taste each dainty in the dish.

Make a bow, and wipe your feet,

Fold your napkins nice and neat."

"Come on," cried Buddy to his sister. "Let's go in and eat."

"Do you s'pose it's meant for us?" asked Brighteyes.

"Of course," was his answer. "Come on! See, there's a mat to wipe your feet on, and there are napkins at each plate. There is a table for you, and one for me."

So Buddy and Brighteyes, thinking no harm, went in and, after making their very best double-jointed bows, and wiping their feet until there was no more mud on them than on a postage stamp, they sat down to the tables and tucked in their napkins around their necks.

Then they began to eat, and oh, how good everything tasted! Just like when you go visiting to the country, you know, and eat, and eat, and keep on eating. Well, that's just the way it was, believe me, if you please.

Now, something is going to happen. I can't help it, and it's not my fault. You see that box, with the nice things to eat on the toadstool tables, was only a trap. No sooner had the two guinea pigs begun eating than some one hiding in the bushes pulled on a long string, and the string snapped out a piece of wood that was holding up the box, and the box fell down, and Brighteyes and Buddy were caught under it—prisoners—just like a mouse in the trap.

They stopped eating pretty quickly then, let me tell you. Buddy was just going to have a second helping of marshmallow-chocolate clover when the box fell over, and it was so dark inside that he couldn't find his mouth.

"Oh, dear!" cried Brighteyes. "What has happened?"

"We're in a trap!" shouted Buddy. "The bad fox has us in a trap! Come, we must get out!"

They jumped down from the toadstool seats and upset the toadstool tables, and the dishes fell on the floor, but they didn't care. Then the two guinea pig children tried to lift up the box, but they couldn't, and they tried to dig under it, but they couldn't, and they didn't know how in the world they were going to get out.

Then, all of a sudden they heard some one whispering outside the box. Buddy thought it was the fox, so he cried: "You had better let us out of here, Mr. Fox, or we'll have you arrested!"

"Why, that's Buddy Pigg!" cried the voice, and all of a sudden the box was lifted and there stood the two groundhog boys; Woody and Waddy Chuck were their names. "We didn't mean to catch you," said Woody. "We were only going to play a joke on our big brother, but you got in the box by mistake. We're very sorry."

But they couldn't help laughing, and I really think the groundhog boys meant to play a joke on Buddy and Brighteyes and had followed them through the woods and hid in the bushes and put the things under the box and all that just on purpose; I really do.

But, anyhow, Buddy and Brighteyes weren't hurt a bit, and Woody and Waddy gave them all the good things they could eat before the guinea pigs ran home.

Now, in case it should happen that all the ice in our refrigerator isn't melted, so we can fry some for pancakes, I'll tell you next about Buddy in the berry bush.

BUDDY IN THE BERRY BUSH

Buddy Pigg didn't know what to do. You see he was home all alone, for his mother and Brighteyes had gone calling on Grandpa and Grandma Lightfoot, the squirrels and Dr. Pigg was downtown, playing checkers or dominoes with Uncle Wiggily Longears, so Buddy didn't have any one to keep him company.

"I wish some of the boys would come along," he said, as he sat on the front steps and threw stones out in the dusty road. "I'd like to have a ball game, or some sort of fun."

But, though he sat there quite a while, none of the boys came along, and, at last, Buddy remarked:

"Oh, I'm going off and see if I can't find Billie or Johnnie Bushytail, or Sammie Littletail, or some one, to play with." So he locked the front door, and put the key under the mat, where his mother would find it when she came home, and off he started, almost as fast as when Sister Sallie went hippity-hop to the barber shop.

Pretty soon Buddy came to the woods, and he opened his mouth real wide and began to yell, not because he was hurt, you understand, but because he wanted to call some of the boys. He yelled, and he hollered, and he hooted, and then, all of a sudden, he heard some one yelling back at him, and he saw Johnnie and Billie Bushytail, the two squirrel boys, bounding along on the low branches of the trees.

"Hello, fellows!" cried Buddy. "Glad to see you! Let's have some fun."

"What'll we do?" asked Billie.

"I know," suggested Johnnie. "Let's make a see-saw. Here is a nice plank, and we can put it across that old stump and have a dandy time."

So they got the plank and put it across the stump. Then Buddy got on one end and Billie and Johnnie on the other, as they were a little smaller than Buddy, and did not weigh so much. Then they began to go up and down, first slowly, and then faster and faster, until they were jiggling up and down as fast as the teakettle boils when there's company coming to supper.

"Hi, yi!" yelled Billie and Johnnie. "Isn't this fun?"

"Wow, yow! It certainly is," agreed Buddy. "Only don't jump off too suddenly when I'm in the air, or I'll fall and be hurt."

Well, of course, Billie and Johnnie promised that they would be careful, and they really meant to keep their word; only, just as they were close down to the ground on the plank, and Buddy was high up, what should happen but that a new, green, little acorn fell off an oak tree.

It was one of the first acorns of the season, and Billie and Johnnie each wanted to get it, so, without thinking what they were doing, they jumped off the teeter-tauter plank, when Buddy was high up, and, of course, down he came, with a slam-bang!

My! how it did jar him up, and shake him, like pepper in the caster, but that wasn't the worst. No, indeed, and some chocolate cake besides! When Buddy came down he landed right on an old rubber boot that some one had thrown away in the woods, and it was so bouncy and springy that he was tossed high up in the air again, and he curved sideways, just like a baseball, when he came down this time, and where on earth do you s'pose he landed? Why, right in the middle of a big, scratchy, blackberry bush!

Yes, sir, that's where it was! Down poor Buddy went, right into the midst of the bush, and of course he got scratched some, only not as much as he might, for he happened to go down through a thin place, where there were not so many briars.

Well, at first he was too surprised to speak, and, besides, the breath was sort of knocked out of him, but, when he did gather himself together, he saw that he was in a bad place to get out of. By this time Johnnie and Billie had found the green acorn and had divided and eaten it, so they came back to find Buddy.

"Why, where has he gone to?" asked Billie, looking around.

"Maybe he got mad, because we jumped off the plank so quickly and he has run home," suggested Johnnie. "We shouldn't have done it."

"No," cried Buddy, suddenly. "I haven't gone home! I'm in the blackberry bush over here!"

"Why, how in the world did you get there?" asked Johnnie, and Buddy told him.

"I think it would be more polite to ask him how he's going to get out," suggested Billie.

"That's so," agreed Buddy. "It's going to be hard work. But I guess I can crawl through."

So he tried to crawl through the bush, but you know how it is when you go after berries, the briars seem to stick into you all over. That's the way it was with Buddy. He couldn't crawl out, no matter how hard he tried, for the stickers caught into his fur and held him fast.

"Can't you jump out through the same hole you fell in through?" asked Billie, and Buddy tried to do so, but he was scratched more than ever.

Then Billie and Johnnie tried to open up a place through the bottom part of the briars for Buddy to slide out, but they couldn't do it, and they were very sorry they had jumped off the plank so quickly, for that made all the trouble.

Well, it began to look as though Buddy would never get out, and he felt like crying, only he was brave, and didn't shed a single tear. Then Johnnie suggested that he and Billie go up a tall tree, and lower a string down to Buddy in the bush, and try to pull him up that way. They tried it, but it wouldn't work, for the stickers still caught in the little guinea pig's fur.

So they didn't know what to do, and were just going to give up, when who should come bounding along but Sammie Littletail. He knew what to do in a second.

He dug a burrow, beginning outside the berry bush, and slanting it up under the roots, so that it came out inside, right near where Buddy was crouched down inside the clump of briars. The burrow was like a tunnel, and was big enough for Buddy to crawl out through, which he did, never getting scratched once. They all said Sammie was very smart to think of that, and I agree with them. Then they all played sea-saw some more, until it was time to go home.

Now in case there is a cool breeze, to blow the dust out of the poor coalman's eyes, I'll tell you next about Buddy and Brighteyes bringing home the cows.

BRINGING HOME THE COWS.

Not far from where Buddy and Brighteyes Pigg lived, there was a man who had a farm, and on the farm were a number of cows that gave milk. Out of the milk butter was made, and sometimes, when the butter was all churned, the farmer's wife would take some of the buttermilk that remained in a pail and set it down where Dr. Pigg and his family could get it.

They thought this was very kind of the farmer's wife, and Dr. Pigg told his children that if they could ever do her a favor, they must be sure to do so. They promised, though for some time they had no chance to do any kindness to the farmer or his wife either. But just you wait and see what happens.

One day, in the middle of summer, when it was very hot every place, except in the cool and shady woods, Buddy and Brighteyes were strolling along under the trees near a brook, throwing pebbles in the water and floating down bits of bark and chips, which they pretended were boats sailing off to distant countries.

"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Buddy at last, "I wish I had something to do. There's nothing to do here."

"Why do you always want to be doing something?" asked his sister. "Why aren't you content to sit here in the shady woods, and sail the boats?"

"Because," answered Buddy, and that was the only reason he could give. Then Brighteyes thought of a new game to play. She took a piece of bark for her boat, and she found a nice, white chip for Buddy, and they made believe their boats were having a race down stream, and Buddy's boat won, which made him feel quite happy.

Well, pretty soon, the sun began to go down behind the hills, and the two guinea pig children knew it was time to go home, so they started off. But they had not gone very far before they came to a field, with a fence around it, and the field was quite hilly and stony and very large. Near the fence sat a man, and he had one shoe off, and he was looking at his foot.

"Oh dear!" Buddy and Brighteyes heard him say, for they could understand the man's language, if they couldn't talk it. "Oh dear! I've cut my foot on a sharp stone," the man said, "and I don't see how I can walk away over through the field and climb the hills after the cows. Oh dear; this is bad luck, and it's almost milking time, and the cows are sure to be away back in the far end of the pasture, and I can't go after them. I'll call them, and maybe they'll come to me, for I surely can't walk after them."

So the man stood up on one foot and called: "Co Boss! Co Boss! Co Boss! Co! Co! Co!" Then he waited quite some time, but the cows didn't come, and he called again: "Co Boss! Co Boss! Co Boss!" and he waited some more, but still the cows didn't come. "Oh, I guess I'll have to go after them, no matter if I have cut my foot," said the man at last, and he put on his shoe, though it hurt him, and he began to limp over the hilly field, very slowly and painfully.

All at once Brighteyes said to Buddy: "Oh, Bud, that man is the farmer, and it's his wife who gives us the buttermilk! Wouldn't it be nice if we could do him a favor, and go and drive the cows home for him?"

"How, could we?" asked Buddy. "The cows are big and we are little. We never could drive them home."

"We can try," said Brighteyes cheerfully. "Come, we'll hurry on ahead of the farmer and perhaps I shall think of a plan."

So the two little guinea pig children slipped under the fence and ran up across the hilly field, and the farmer, who was limping along, calling "Co Boss!" every once in a while, never saw them. His foot was hurting him very much and he had to go slowly.

Well, Buddy and Brighteyes kept on, bounding over the stories and stopping now and then to eat some blackberries or huckleberries or raspberries or a few late, wild strawberries, and pretty soon they came to the back part of the field, where, resting in the shade of some trees, were all the cows.

Oh, I guess there was a dozen and a half of them—big, nice mooley cows, with brown eyes and long tongues, and they were all chewing their cuds like gum, you know, and wondering why the farmer didn't come to drive them home to milk, for they hadn't heard him calling them, you see.

"How are we ever going to drive them home?" asked Buddy of his sister.

"Let me think a minute," said Brighteyes, so she thought real hard for a minute, or, possibly a minute and a little longer, and then she exclaimed: "We must each take a long, leafy tree branch, and go up behind the rows, and wave the branches, and tickle the cows with the leaves, and they'll think it's a boy driving them home, and they'll march right along, and the poor farmer, with his sore feet, won't have to come after them."

And that's exactly what Buddy and Brighteyes did. They got some branches, gnawing them off a tree with their sharp teeth, and with the leaves they tickled the cows until they almost made them sneeze.

The cows looked around, expecting to see some boys driving them, but Buddy and Brighteyes hid behind their big branches, and the cows were none the wiser. So they swallowed their cuds, blinked their eyes, switched their tails, and started up and down the hills, over the field, toward the barnyard to be milked.

Now, before the farmer-man had come very far from the fence, he met the cows, and maybe he wasn't surprised to see them coming. But he was glad, too, let me tell you, for he didn't have to walk any farther with his cut foot.

Then Brighteyes and Buddy ran and hid, for they did not want to be seen, and the man jumped upon the back of a gentle cow, and rode her all the way home, and told his wife how the whole herd, in some strange manner, had come all the way from the back of the field alone. You see he didn't know Buddy and Brighteyes had driven them.

Well, in a few days the man's foot was well, so he could drive the cows himself, and the farmer's wife gave Dr. Bigg's family lots of buttermilk; for, somehow, she guessed that the little guinea pig boy and girl had done the farmer a kindness, as their papa had told them to.

Now the following story will be about Buddy on horseback—that is, providing no cats get into our coalbin to scratch the furnace and make it go out.

BUDDY RIDES HORSEBACK.

One night Buddy Pigg's mamma came into his room, where he was sleeping soundly and dreaming he was playing a ball game with Bully and Bawly, the frogs, and Mrs. Pigg gently shook her little boy by the shoulder.

"Wake up, Buddy!" she called. "Wake up!"

"What's the matter, mother?" Buddy exclaimed, as he sat up in bed. "Is the house on fire?"

"No," she answered, "but your papa is very sick, and I want you to go for Dr. Possum." Then Buddy jumped up very quickly and began to dress, for he loved his papa very much, and would do anything in the world for him. When Buddy was ready to start he heard Dr. Pigg groaning very hard, and saying:

"Oh, dear, what a pain I have! Oh, dear! When will Dr. Possum come?"

"Buddy is going for him at once," Mrs. Pigg said. "He will soon be here. But have you no medicine that you can take?" For Dr. Pigg had once worked in a hospital, and generally had some medicine in the house, but this time he had none that would stop his pain. So Buddy had to get ready to go for the doctor, while Mrs. Pigg and Brighteyes made mustard plasters for Dr. Pigg.

Well, when Buddy was all dressed, he happened to look out of the window, and he saw how dark it was, for there was no moon that night, and the stars were all hidden behind clouds. But do you s'pose Buddy was going to stay home on that account? No, sir-ee! He was frightened, and I guess you'd have been, too, but he was brave, and he made up his mind he'd go for Dr. Possum.

So Buddy put on his hat and coat and went out of the front door and into the dark night, where, for all he knew, a bad fox might be waiting to grab him. But Buddy took a long stick, and he filled his pockets with stones, and he made up his mind he would throw them at the fox if he saw him.

The little guinea pig boy went on, and on, through the woods, toward Dr. Possum's home, and, after a while, he was not so frightened as he had been at first. Then, all of a sudden, as he was passing a big, black bush, he heard a funny noise. First he thought it was a wolf or a bear, and then he heard a voice say:

"Oh, come on down into the burrow, Waddy."

Then Buddy knew it was the two groundhog boys, Woody and Waddy, who had made the funny noises, but they didn't mean to scare him, and he wasn't at all frightened now. Woody and Waddy had heard Buddy coming along, and, a moment later, they saw him and asked where he was going.

"I'm going after Dr. Possum, because my papa is sick," said Buddy.

"Wait and we'll let you take our lantern," said Woody, and he hurried down into the burrow, and came back with a large bottle, filled with lightning bugs, which gave plenty of light. And it had a string on, to carry it by. As Buddy took it, very thankfully, Waddy said he hoped he would find the doctor at home.

Then Buddy started off again, but he hadn't gone much farther through the woods before he heard another noise. This noise was a real loud one, like some giant tramping up and down, and stamping his feet, and suddenly there came a great snort, and the earth seemed to shake, and a big, black thing jumped up in front of Buddy, scaring him frightfully.

He trembled so that the cork nearly came out of the bottle of lightning bugs, and, if it had, the fireflies would have been spilled all over the ground, worse than when you spill your ice cream cone—only it didn't happen, I'm glad to say, but almost. Then the black shape stood still, and a great voice called out:

"Where are you going with that lantern?"

"If you please, kind sir," answered the little boy guinea pig, "I'm going for Dr. Possum for my papa, who has a terrible pain. The groundhog boys lent me this lantern. But who are you, if you please, kind sir?"

"Why, I am Gup, the horse," was the answer. "So you are going for Dr. Possum, eh? He is a friend of mine. I'm sorry if I frightened you. Yes, I'm only Gup, the horse. You see, my name is Gup because there is a little boy at our house, and he can't talk very plainly, and he calls me 'Gup' when he wants to say 'get up,' you see. However, it doesn't much matter, and I don't mind.

"But, speaking of doctors, I know where Dr. Possum lives, and I'll take you right to his house in less than no time. Besides, you and your sister were so kind as to drive the cows home for the man who cut his foot, and as he is a friend of mine I want to return your kindness to him. Jump upon my back, Buddy."

"Oh, I'm afraid I'll fall," said Buddy, when he saw how high up Gup's back was from the ground.

"Nonsense!" exclaimed the horse. "I wouldn't let you fall for the world. Here, hold up your firefly lantern so you can see, climb upon that low stump, and then you can jump on my back. I'll stand still, and then I'll take you right to Dr. Possum's house."

So Buddy got up on Gup's back. It was the first time he had ever ridden a horse or been up so high, and, of course, for a while, he was frightened. But Gup told him just how to cling tightly to his big neck and how to hold the lantern so the lightning bugs would shine on the path, and then Gup started off.

Oh, how fast he went! Right through the woods, he galloped, and he never bumped into a tree or a bush even once. He went gently, too, so that Buddy would not fall off, and, my goodness sakes alive! in a short time the little guinea pig boy was at Dr. Possum's house. He knocked on the door, rat-a-tat-tat, and, luckily, the doctor was at home. He got right out of bed, took his satchel of medicines and was just going to get into his automobile to go to Dr. Pigg's house, when he found that his auto was broken. Either the spark was off the plug or the plug was off the spark, I forget which. Then Gup said:

"Get right up on my back, doctor. I can carry you and Buddy, too. It's no great weight, I assure you. Never mind the automobile. They are always making trouble."

So Dr. Possum, with his medicine box, climbed upon Gup's back, behind Buddy, and he helped hold the little guinea pig on during the ride home. Faster and faster went Gup through the dark woods his hoofs going "tat-a-tat-too," and he didn't bump into a tree or a bush, and he did not jar off Buddy or Dr. Possum, and pretty soon there they were safe at Dr. Pigg's house, and Dr. Possum gave Buddy's papa some medicine that soon made him better. Then Gup, the kind horsie, took Dr. Possum safely back through the dark woods as straight as a string.

In the morning Dr. Pigg was all well again, and he said Buddy was very brave to go off for a doctor in the night, and I think so, too.

Now, in case it doesn't thunder too hard and scare the chimney so that it falls off the roof, I'll tell you next about Buddy and Brighteyes tumbling down hill.

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