Bunny Brown and his mother walked out of the front yard to the street.As they passed the side dining room window, Aunt Lu saw them, and asked:
"Where are you going?"
"To look for Sue," explained Mrs. Brown. "She seems to have wandered off somewhere all by herself, and I don't want her lost again. It isn't so bad when Bunny and Sue both get lost," the mother went on, "for they can help find one another. But if Sue is all alone she may get frightened."
"Do you really think she is lost again?" asked Aunt Lu. "If she is I'll come and help look for her. Or, perhaps, we'd better get Bunker Blue."
"Oh, no, I really don't think she is lost," said Mrs. Brown. "She has, most likely, just walked down the street. Bunny and I will find her."
"Lots of things get lost here," Bunny remarked. "Sue and I got lost, but we found a dog; didn't we, Splash?" he asked, and the dog barked.
"Yes, and my lovely ring is lost, and it hasn't been found," and Aunt Lu looked at the finger on which used to sparkle the diamond.
"I wish I could find it for you," said Bunny. "But Sue and I have looked everywhere."
"I know you have, my dear."
As Bunny and his mother reached the street they saw Jed Winkler walking along, carrying a long chain that rattled.
"Oh, Jed, have you seen Sue?" asked Mrs. Brown. "She was here a while ago, but she went off by herself, and I'm afraid she's lost."
"Don't worry, ma'am," said the old sailor. "She's just down the street a few houses. I saw her as I came past. She's playing with Sadie West, in her yard."
"Oh, that's all right, then!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "Sue often goes there. Is anyone else with her, Jed?"
"Yes, a lot of children."
"May I go down there and play, too?" asked Bunny. "Are there any boys there, Mr. Winkler?"
"Some. I saw Charlie Star and Harry Bentley," and the old sailor laughed as he rattled the chain.
Bunny did not mind playing with his sister Sue, but he did not want to take part in games with too many girls, for sometimes the older boys called him "sissy." And Bunny did not like that.
"Well, if there are other fellers there, I'll go and play," said Bunny, as he started off to join Sue. Then he happened to think of the chain the old sailor was carrying.
"What's it for?" asked the small boy.
"It's a new chain for Wango, my monkey," explained the sailor. "He hasn't been very well, lately, and I had the horse-doctor look him over."
"That's funny," said Bunny. "To have a horse-doctor for a monkey."
"Well, if there had been a monkey-doctor in town I'd have had him for Wango," went on Mr. Winkler, "but as there wasn't any I had to do the next best thing. The horse-doctor said my monkey was being kept in the cage too much.
"So I got this long chain, and I'm going to fasten one end of it to a collar, to go around Wango's neck, and tie the other end of the chain to the porch railing, so he can't get away. Then I can let Wango stay outdoors when the weather is good, and he will get well. At night I will put him in his cage again."
"And the chain won't let him run away," commented Bunny.
"That's it, little man, the chain won't let Wango run away," said the sailor. "That is, I hope it won't, though he often gets out of his cage. He's quite a tricky monkey."
Mr. Winkler went on down the street, rattling the monkey-chain, and Mrs.Brown, no longer worried about Sue, turned back into the yard, whileBunny hurried on, as fast as his little legs would take him, to SadieWest's yard, where he found his sister and several of their chums havinga good time.
They had made a see-saw, by putting a plank over a box, and were swaying up and down on this, some children on one end of the plank and some on the other. As soon as Bunny came running in the yard, Sue called out:
"Oh, goodie! Here's my brother. Now he can teeter-tauter up and down.Come on, Bunny, you can have my place!"
Sue was so eager to give Bunny her place, and a chance to ride, that she slid off the board suddenly. Then that left too many little ones on the other end, and they went down, all at once, with a bump!
Sadie West was spilled off, and so was Charlie Star and Harry Bentley. They all fell in a heap, but as the green grass was long, and soft, no one was hurt.
"Don't do that again, Sue!" called Charlie, "You upset us all."
"I won't," Sue promised. "Come on, Bunny. It's your turn now."
"I don't want any turn at falling," Bunny said, with a laugh.
Once more the plank over the box swayed up and down, giving the children a ride. After a while, getting tired of that, they played in a swing and also in a hammock, having more fun.
Then it was dinner time, and Sadie's mother told her to come in and wash before going to the table. The other children knew it must be time for their meals also, so, calling good-byes to one another, they scattered.
"Come over again," Sadie invited them.
"We will!" promised Bunny.
"Let's go home this way, across the lot," suggested Sue, as she andBunny started out.
"Oh, I don't want to," Bunny answered. "It's quicker to go by the street, and around the corner. And I want to look in Mrs. Redden's window, and see what she's got new."
"Well, you go that way," Sue agreed, "and I'll go across lots, and we'll see who gets there first."
"That's just like little Red Riding Hood and the wolf," said Bunny with a laugh. Sue looked quickly over her shoulder.
"But there's no wolf here," Bunny went on quickly. "You go ahead, Sue, over the lot, and I'll go by the street."
There was a large vacant lot, near where Sadie West lived, and by crossing it, and going out at the far end, the Brown children could reach their home. So Sue started across the lot, crawling through a hole in the fence.
Bunny started down the street, going quite fast, for he wanted to spend a few minutes looking in the window of the toy shop, and he also wanted to get home first, ahead of Sue.
But he had not gone far before he heard his sister calling:
"Bunny! Oh, Bunny! Oh, dear! He's coming after me!"
Bunny turned and ran back. Looking through the fence that was built around the lot, he saw a big goat, with long horns, walking toward Sue. And the little girl, who had picked a few daisies, was standing in the tall grass, too frightened to run back and crawl through the fence.
"Bunny! Bunny! Take the goat away!" Sue cried.
"Sue! Sue! I'm coming! Don't be afraid!"
Bunny cried this as he hurried up to the fence, through the pickets of which he could see the goat walking toward his sister. Sue was screaming now.
But, after he had said this, Bunny did not know exactly what to do. He did not know much about goats, and this was a big one, with long, sharp horns. The goat belonged to an Italian family in town, and the Italian man used to ask those who owned vacant lots to let his goat go into them and eat the grass. That was how the goat happened to be in this lot. If Sue had known the animal was there, she would not have taken the short cut, but would have gone, with her brother, along the street.
"Bunny! Bunny!" Sue cried. "He's coming closer!"
Bunny began to crawl through the hole in the fence as his sister had done. As he did so, he saw, lying on the ground, several stones. He picked up two, one in each fist.
"I won't let him hurt you, Sue!" he called, but, even as he said that, Bunny did not know what he was going to do. "I wish I had a red rag," he thought, "I could wave it at the goat and maybe scare him."
Bunny had heard his mother read from a book how bulls and turkey gobblers do not like red rags waved at them, and Bunny thought a goat was something like a bull. They both had horns, at any rate.
"And if I could wave a red rag at him, maybe it would make him so mad that he'd run away and leave Sue alone," thought Bunny as he found himself in the vacant lot with his sister.
Bunny was not quite right about the red rag, so perhaps it is just as well he did not have one. For bulls run TOWARD a red rag, instead of AWAY from it, and perhaps goats might do the same; though I am not sure about this.
But, at any rate, Bunny had no red rag; and the goat, instead of running away, was coming toward Sue, who was too frightened to move. She just stood there, crying:
"Bunny! Oh, Bunny! Make him go away."
"I will," said her brother. "Go on away, you old goat you!" he cried. "Go away or I'll throw a stone at you. I don't want to hurt you, but I'm not going to let you hook my sister with your horns. Go on away!"
But the goat only bleated, like a sheep, and came on. Seeing Bunny coming toward her made Sue a little braver. At least she found that she could run, so she did, hiding behind her brother.
"I'll take care of you," he said bravely.
On came the goat. Bunny's heart was beating fast. He raised one hand in which he held a stone.
"Look out! I'm going to throw it, you old goat!" cried the little blue-eyed boy.
"Whizz!" went the stone toward the goat. It struck him on the horn, and of course it did not hurt, for a goat's horns have no feeling on the outside, any more than have your finger-nails.
"Bounce!" went the stone off the goat's horn. The animal shook his head, as if he did not like that.
"Go on away!" called Bunny. "I got another stone for you if you don't go!"
But the goat still came on. Bunny threw the second stone, but it did not hit the goat. The little boy was looking around for another stone, when he and Sue heard a loud barking behind them, and up rushed Splash, their big dog.
"Oh, good! Now he'll drive the goat away!" cried Sue. "Oh, Bunny; aren't you glad!"
"That's what I am!" Bunny answered. "Drive him away, Splash!"
Splash rushed, barking, at the goat, and the horned animal at once turned about and ran to the other end of the lot, kicking up his heels. Splash kept on after him, barking, but not trying to bite, for the dog was gentle.
"Splash! Splash!" called Bunny. "Come back! Come back!"
Splash minded very well and back he came, quite proud, no doubt, at having driven off the goat.
"Hurry and get out of here!" begged Sue, as she ran toward the hole in the fence. Bunny turned to follow her. He looked back to see if the goat was coming, feeling not half afraid, now that Splash was with them.
In another minute Bunny, Sue and their dog were safely out in the street. The goat, at the far end of the lot, looked toward them and made his queer, bleating noise.
Afterward Bunny Brown and his sister Sue learned that the goat was a very kind one, and used to playing with children. It would not have hurt Sue at all, and the reason it walked up to her was because it thought she was going to feed it, as the little Italian children often did. So Bunny and Sue had their fright for nothing, though of course, at the time, Bunny thought the goat might hurt his sister.
"And I'm sorry I hit him with a stone," said Bunny, when, afterward, he was told how gentle the goat was.
"Oh, well, you didn't hurt him," said Aunt Lu.
Bunny, Sue and Splash were late for their dinner that day.
"My! What kept you?" asked Mrs. Brown, as they entered the house. "I did not want you to stay so long away."
"It was the goat that made me," Sue said, and then she and Bunny told of their adventure.
"Well, of course you couldn't help that," Mrs. Brown said with a smile. "Something new always seems to be happening to you children. Now wash and come to your meal."
There were jam tarts for dessert that day, and as Bunny ate his, the raspberry jam coming up through the three small holes in the top crust, the little fellow said:
"These are so good! Who made them?"
"Aunt Lu did," answered his mother. '"Aren't they nice?"
"Lovely!" murmured Sue. "May I have another, Mother?"
"I think so, as they are small."
"And I want one!" Bunny exclaimed. "They taste just like—just like a play-party!" he finished.
"So they do!" cried Sue. "I was trying to think what it was they tasted like—but it's a party!"
"What a queer way for jam tarts to taste!" laughed Aunt Lu. "But I am glad you like them. I'll make some more some day."
"Oh, fine!" exclaimed Bunny. "And oh, Mother! Maybe we could have one!"His eyes were shining brightly.
"Have one what?" asked Mrs. Brown.
"Why, one party," Bunny replied. "Could Sue and I have a little party, and would Aunt Lu bake some jam tarts for us?"
"I'll bake the tarts, if your mother wants you to have the party," AuntLu answered.
Mrs. Brown thought for a moment.
"Well," she said slowly, "I suppose you could have a little party. Not a very big one, as I am so busy. Just a few of your friends to eat on the lawn under the trees."
"Oh, that would be lovely!" Sue cried.
"And we'll have some boys, and not all girls!" Bunny declared.
"Half girls and half boys," Aunt Lu suggested. "And I'll make half jam tarts and half jelly ones, so they may take their choice."
"And I'll bake a cake for Splash!" exclaimed Sue. "He likes cake. We might give the party for him," she went on. "That would be fun!"
"And they could all bring our dog presents—bones and things like that," laughed Bunny.
And so it was decided. The party would be for Splash, though of course he would not be allowed to eat all the good things. Bunny Brown and his sister Sue wanted those for themselves and their playmates.
The next day Bunny and Sue went around to the different houses, where their little friends lived, and each one was asked to come to the party. "Oh, I'm so glad you asked me!" cried Sadie West, when Sue told about the fun they would have.
"I want you more than anyone," was Sue's reply.
"And how funny to have the party for Splash!" Sadie went on.
"Well, dogs like nice things."
"Of course they do. I think it's just fine!" and Sadie clapped her hands. "I'll tie a little pink ribbon on the bone I bring your dog."
Helen Newton said she would bring Splash a dog-biscuit.
"You buy them in a store," she said. "Papa buys them for our dog, and you can get puppy cakes, too. Only of course Splash is too big for a puppy cake."
"You could bring him a lot of little puppy cakes, and they would be the same as one big dog-biscuit, maybe," said Sue.
"No, I'll bring him a regular cake, and I'll put a blue ribbon on it," decided Helen, and then the little girls laughed to think what fun they would have at the party.
The day of the party for Splash, the dog, came at last, though Bunny Brown and his sister Sue were so anxious for the time to arrive that it seemed very long indeed. But everything comes if you wait long enough, so they say, and finally the time for the party came.
"Oh, what a fine day!" cried Bunny, as he ran to the window on the morning of the day of the party. "The sun is shining, Sue!"
"That's good," answered his sister from her room. "A party is no fun in the rain."
"And there's wind enough to fly the kites," went on Bunny. He and some of his little boy friends had talked over what they would do at the party.
"The girls will want to play with their dolls," said Harry Bentley.
"Well, we don't want to do that," observed Charlie Star. "What can we do?"
"We can make kites, and fly 'em," Bunny said, and so this was what he and the boys at the party would do while the girls were playing with their dolls. So Bunny was now glad to notice, as he looked from the window, that the wind was blowing; not too hard, but enough to fly kites.
The two children were soon dressed, and down at the breakfast table. But they did not eat as much as usual, and Bunny left more than half his oatmeal in his dish.
"Why, Bunny! What is the matter?" asked his mother.
"I guess they are thinking so much about the party that they can't eat as they ought," Aunt Lu said.
"Oh, but that isn't right!" Mother Brown exclaimed. "Come, Bunny—Sue, eat a nice breakfast, and then you may fix up the lawn in any way you like for your party."
"I've a big bow for Splash's neck," said Sue.
"And I'm going to make a harness, and hitch him up to the express wagon, so he can pull us around the yard," remarked Bunny.
"Now please eat your breakfast!" begged their mother, and Bunny and Sue did their best. But it was hard work not to talk or think about their party.
Aunt Lu helped them get the lawn in readiness. All about the Brown house was a big grass plot, and in the back were a number of shade trees. The tables, which were made from boxes, with boards across the top, were to be set out there.
There were to be sandwiches, cake, lemonade and ice cream, with AuntLu's lovely jam and jelly tarts besides.
"It was the tarts that made us think about the party, so of course we want them," announced Sue.
Splash, the dog, seemed quite proud of the big bow that Sue tied on his neck, to make him look pretty. But Splash did not care so much for the harness that Bunny made. The little boy took some ropes and straps, and tied them about the dog's neck and front legs. Then some ends of the ropes were made fast to the little express wagon, and Bunny got in it, calling to Splash to "giddap!" That was the way Grandpa Brown made his horses go, and so, of course, a dog ought to go when you said that to him.
Splash went all right, but just as when Bunny had hitched him to the boat, that was stuck on the island, the harness was not strong enough, and it broke, so that Splash ran off, with the straps and ropes dangling from him.
"I guess I'm too heavy for him to pull," said Bunny, as he got out of the wagon.
"You could have one of my dolls to ride in the wagon," offered Sue. "Take an old one, and I don't care if she falls out. She wouldn't be too heavy for Splash to pull."
"I'll try it," Bunny said.
Once again he tied the ropes about Splash, and the little express wagon, and this time, when Bunny walked along beside the dog, Splash really did pull the wagon along, giving the doll a ride.
But Bunny did not think this was much fun. He wanted to ride in the wagon himself.
"I'm going to make a big, strong harness," he said, and off he went to look for more rope.
"Well, I'm going to get the tables ready," Sue said. "I'm going to pick some flowers for them."
Aunt Lu, with the help of the cook, had made the wooden tables, which were boards over boxes. White cloths were now spread on them, for it was nearly time for the party. The things to eat would not be set out until the party guests came.
Sue loved flowers, and she picked them from the fields and woods whenever she saw any to gather. Not far from the Brown home, in fact in the next lot to the lawn, was a field in which grew daisies, buttercups, clover and other wild flowers.
Sue picked many of these, and then she and Aunt Lu put them in pitchers and vases of water, and set them on the tables. There were two tables, one for the girls and one for the boys.
Bunny had asked that this be done.
"'Cause the girls will bring their dolls to the table," he said, "and we fellows don't want to eat with a lot of dolls."
"Oh, you funny boy!" laughed his mother, but she had let him have his way. So Aunt Lu and Sue had two tables to decorate with flowers.
While they were doing this Bunny was trying to make another harness for Splash, so the dog could pull the express wagon with the little boy in it. But Bunny did not have very good luck, or else Splash pulled too strongly, for one harness after another broke, until Bunny gave up.
"I'll save my money and buy a harness at the store," he said.
"There, I think we have flowers enough, Sue!" exclaimed her aunt, as she looked at the tables. Indeed they were very pretty, and they would look even better when the dishes, and the good things to eat, were put on.
"Isn't it 'most time?" asked Bunny, after a bit. "I'm getting hungry."
"Oh, you must wait for the company," his mother told him. "They will soon be here."
And, a little later, Sadie West and Helen Newton came. When they saw how pretty the flowers looked on the table they exclaimed:
"Oh, how nice!"
"Where is Splash?" asked Sadie. "I've brought him a bone," and so she had, all wrapped in waxed paper from the inside of a cracker package, and on the bone, just as she had promised, was a pink ribbon.
"Here, Splash! Splash!" called Bunny, who had given up trying to make his pet pull the express wagon.
The dog came running up from the far end of the yard.
"See what Sadie has brought for your party!" laughed Bunny.
Splash took the bone, but the ends of the ribbon got up his nose and he sneezed in the queerest way, which made the children laugh.
"I guess Splash doesn't like too much style," said Sadie, who was older than Bunny and Sue.
"I wonder how he'll like my dog-biscuit," remarked Helen Newton, as she unwrapped it from the paper. "I put a red bow on it. Do you like red better than pink, Splash?"
The dog, who was gnawing the bone Sadie had brought him, looked up and wagged his tail. He must have thought it was fine to have so many good things to eat, even though he did not understand about the party. He sniffed at the dog-biscuit, which is a sort of cake, with ground-up meat, and other good things in it that dogs like. Then Splash would gnaw a little on the bone, and, afterward, nibble at the hard biscuit.
"Well, Splash is enjoying himself anyhow," said Aunt Lu, as she came out to begin setting the tables.
Soon after this a number of the boys and girls came. There were ten girls and six boys, though ten boys had been invited. But though all the girls came to the party given for Splash, all the boys did not. It often is that way at parties; isn't it? More girls than boys. But the boys don't know what fun they sometimes miss.
"Play some games, children," said Mrs. Brown. "Run about and play, and then it will be time to eat. Aunt Lu and I will put on the cake, and other goodies."
"Let's play tag!" said Sue.
"And after that hide-and-go-to-seek," Bunny called.
"And puss-in-the-corner," added Sadie West.
One after the other they played the games, running about on the grassy lawn, and having great fun. Splash dug a hole and hid his bone, after gnawing on it as long as he cared to. He ate all the dog-biscuit, and then Bunny got a ball which Splash would run after when it was thrown.
Bunny and his boy friends played the ball game with the dog, while the girls, after having tired themselves with the lively games, like tag, brought out their dolls and dressed and undressed them.
"When are we going to fly the kites?" asked Charlie Star.
"We can do it now," Bunny answered.
Each boy had made himself a kite, which he brought with him. Bunny got his from the house, and, going to an open place, where the trees would not catch the strings, the boys put up their air-toys.
The wind was good, as Bunny had said, and soon there were six kites floating in the air. That is there were six for a time, and then Bunny's string broke, and away flew his kite.
"Oh, dear!" he cried.
"That's too bad!" exclaimed Charlie Star. "Come on, boys, we'll haul down our kites and chase after Bunny's!"
They were just going to do this when Mrs. Brown came out to say that it was time to eat.
"You can look for the kite, afterward," she said; "if you go now all the ice cream may melt, as we have taken it out of the freezer."
Of course the boys did not want anything like that to happen, so they said they would wait. Down they sat at the tables, the boys at theirs and the girls at the one made ready for them. Aunt Lu, Mrs. Brown and the cook passed the good things, and, for a time, there was not much talking done. The children were too busy eating.
"Don't forget Aunt Lu's jam and jelly tarts!" called out Bunny. "They're fine!"
And when they had been passed around, all the guests at the party saidBunny was right, and that the tarts were just fine!
"I'm so glad you like them," said Aunt Lu, very much pleased.
Bunny wanted to give a Punch and Judy show, with Sue, after the meal was over. He said he could wear the big, hollow lobster claw, and make himself look very funny.
"But I think I wouldn't—not now," his mother remarked. "You would have to build a little booth, or place for you and Sue to get inside of, and we haven't time for that. Just play some easy games."
"All right," agreed Bunny.
Aunt Lu had all the children sit in a ring on the grass while she told them a story. And it was just after the story was finished that George Watson played his trick.
George had not been invited to the party, because he was too old, Mrs.Brown said.
Perhaps this had made George rather angry. At any rate, when the children were thanking Aunt Lu for the nice story she had told them, there was suddenly tossed over the fence, right into the midst of them, a paste-board shoe box. It fell near Bunny's feet, and he jumped back, he was so startled.
"Who threw that?" Bunny asked.
"George Watson did," said Charlie Star. "I saw him walk up along the fence, and throw it over."
"What is it?" asked Sue.
"Maybe it's a present for Splash," suggested Sadie.
"George Watson would rather pull Splash's tail, than give him a present," declared Bunny. And indeed George often played rather mean tricks on animals, and little children.
"Open the box, and see what's in it," suggested Helen Newton.
"I'll open it," offered Bunny.
The cover of the box was tied on, but Bunny slipped off the string. As he lifted the cover, Sue, who stood behind her brother, looking over his shoulder, exclaimed:
"Oh, it's alive! It's alive! Look out, Bunny! There's something alive in that box, and it might bite you!"
Bunny Brown tried to clap the cover quickly back on the box, but he did not quite do it. It went on crooked, and when Charlie Star tried to help he only made it worse, so that the cover went spinning to one side.
Suddenly some little green animals began hopping from the box. Out they hopped, and then they began jumping in all directions, among the little boys and girls.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" screamed the girls, as they started to run.
Some of the boys—the smaller ones—also ran, but they did not scream.
Bunny Brown and Charlie Star were the only boys who did not run.
"Oh, Bunny! What is it? What are they?" cried Sue, looking over her shoulder as she ran toward the house.
"It's snakes! I saw 'em! Big green snakes," insisted Sadie West.
"Oh, what a mean boy George is, to scare us so!" said Helen.
Then Bunny Brown laughed, and so did Charlie. Hearing this the girls stopped screaming, and the boys stopped running.
"What is it?" asked Sue again. "Did they bite you, Bunny?"
"Nope," he answered, still laughing, "they can't bite me!"
"Why not?" his sister wanted to know.
"'Cause they're only frogs. They won't hurt anybody!"
And that is what was in the box that George had tossed over the fence into the midst of the party-guests—a box of big, green frogs that he had caught at the mill pond. George wanted to scare Bunny and Sue for not asking him to their dog's party. But the little scare was soon over, and the children only laughed at the frogs.
The green hoppers jumped this way and that, through the grass, and Bunny and his friends did not try to catch them.
"They're looking for water," Bunny said.
Splash saw that something queer was going on, and he ran up to see what it was. He barked at some of the frogs, as they hopped through the grass, but did not try to bite them.
"And to think George fooled us with frogs," laughed Charlie. "When I see him I'll tell him we just like frogs, and they didn't scare us a bit."
"I thought they were snakes, at first," Sue said. "That's why I ran away."
"It was not a very nice trick," said Aunt Lu. "But still it did no harm.Now for another game, and I think there are a few more tarts left."
"Oh, goodie!" cried the children.
There were enough tarts for each one to have another, and, when they had been passed around, after a lively game of Puss-in-the-corner, the party was over. Everyone said he had had a fine time, and when Bunny Brown and his sister Sue asked their guests to come again, each one said:
"I surely will!"
"I guess everybody would be glad to come to another party like it," saidSadie West to Helen Newton, as they walked home together.
"I'm sure of it," answered Helen. "And wasn't Splash nice!"
"Yes, he's a lovely dog. I wish I had one I could have a party for."
"You could give a party for your cat, some day," said Helen.
"Oh, so I could! And I will, too—maybe next week. I wish Sue's Aunt Lu would bake some tarts for me."
"Maybe she will."
"I wonder if it would be polite to ask her?" inquired Sadie. "I'll speak to mother about it."
"Well, did you like your party, Splash?" asked Bunny, as he patted the shaggy dog on the head, when all the little guests had gone.
Splash did not say anything, of course. But he wagged his tail, and walked over to where he had buried the bone Sadie had brought him. So I guess Splash did like the party as much as did the children. And he had several good things to eat, which, after all, is what most parties are for.
One day Aunt Lu read a story from a magazine to Bunny and Sue. It told about some boys who, on a warm day, set up a lemonade stand under a shady tree, in front of their house, and sold lemonade at a penny a glass. The money they made they sent to a church society, that took poor children out of the hot city to the cool country for a week or so.
Sue noticed that Bunny was very quiet after Aunt Lu had read the story, and, as the two children went out into the yard, the little girl asked:
"What are you thinking about, Bunny?"
"Lemonade," he answered.
"Were you thinking you'd like some? 'Cause I would."
"Well, I would like some to drink," Bunny admitted, "but I was thinking we could make a stand, and sell lemonade ourselves. I could fix up a box for a stand, and I could squeeze the lemons."
"I'd put the sugar in," Sue said. She was always willing to help. "But where would we get the ice and the lemons and the sugar?"
"Oh, mother would give them to us. I'm going to ask her."
"And what would we do with the money, Bunny?"
The little fellow thought for a minute. There was in his town no church society, such as Aunt Lu had read about. The money made from selling lemonade must go to the poor, Bunny was sure of that. All at once his eyes grew bright.
"We could give all the money to Old Miss Hollyhock!" he said. "She is terribly poor."
"Old Miss Hollyhock," as she was called, was an aged woman who lived in a little house down near the fish dock. Her husband had been a soldier, and when he died the old lady was given money from the government—a pension, it was called. Still she was very poor, and she was called "Old Miss Hollyhock," because she had so many of those old-fashioned hollyhock flowers in her garden. Her real name was Mrs. Borden.
"We could give the money to her," Bunny said.
"Oh, yes!" Sue agreed. "She needs it."
"Then we'll have a lemonade stand," decided Bunny.
Mrs. Brown said she did not mind if Bunny and Sue did this. A number of the children in Bellemere had done this, at different times, and some of the larger boys and girls had made even as much as five dollars, giving the money to the church, or to the Sunday school.
"Of course you won't make as much as that, Bunny," his mother said, "but you may take in a few pennies, and it won't do you any harm to sit in the shade and sell lemonade."
"Will you buy some?" asked Sue.
"Oh, I guess so," Mrs. Brown answered, smiling.
So she gave the children the ice, sugar and lemons, and they made a big pitcher of lemonade. Bunny set up a box under a tree in front of the house, covering the box with a clean white cloth. Then with the pitcher and glasses on a serving tray, he and Sue were ready for business.
"Lemonade! Lemonade!" they called, just as had done the children in the story. "Lemonade, in the shade, nice and cold, just fresh made!"
One man did stop and buy some.
"My, that's good!" he said, as he finished the glass. "How much is it?"
"A penny," Bunny said.
"Oh, only a penny? Why, that glass of lemonade was worth five cents anywhere! It was just sweet enough, and just cold enough. Here!" and the man laid a five cent piece down on the stand and walked off.
"Oh, isn't that good!" cried Bunny, his eyes fairly dancing with joy as he looked at Sue.
"It's just fine!" she answered. "What a lot of money!"
But few were as generous as the kind man, and most of those who drank at the lemonade stand just laid down pennies.
Bunny and Sue had taken in quite a few pennies, and the pitcher was nearly empty of lemonade.
"I'll go in and make more as soon as we sell it all," Bunny said.
"We'll have a lot of money for Old Miss Hollyhock," observed Sue. "She will be rich, then, won't she, Bunny?"
"I guess sixteen cents isn't rich. But we did better than I thought we would. Oh, look!" suddenly cried Bunny. "There's a dog, and some one has tied a tin can to his tail!"
Down the street, yelping and barking, came a small yellow dog, and, bounding after him, bumping about and scaring him, was a big, empty tin can, tied to the dog's tail.
"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue, "he's coming right here. He'll upset our lemonade stand!"
"That's what he will," Bunny agreed. "Hi, there! Stop! Go the other way! Shoo!" he cried, waving his arms at the dog, while Sue took up the nearly empty lemonade pitcher.
On came the frightened dog, straight for the stand and the two children.
"Oh, Bunny! Bunny! What are we going to do?" cried his sister Sue.
Bunny swallowed a sort of lump in his throat that always seemed to come when he was a bit frightened. Then he looked around. Next he glanced at Sue.
"Get under the box, Sue!" he cried. "Then the dog can't get you!"
"But what will you do?" asked the little girl. "I don't want you to get hurt, Bunny."
"I—I won't be afraid," said the little boy. "I—I'll pour lemonade on the dog, and that will make him run away."
"Oh—Oh!" gasped Sue. "Throw away our good lemonade?"
"We can make more," said Bunny. "There's only a little left, anyhow."
He reached for the pitcher. At the same time Sue started to crawl under the empty box they had made into a lemonade stand.
But the yelping, yellow dog, with the tin can tied to his tail, was coming faster than either Bunny or Sue thought. Before Bunny could take up the nearly empty pitcher of lemonade, or before Sue could crawl under the box, the dog was upon them.
Right under the box the poor, frightened creature ran, thinking, I suppose, that it would be a good place to hide and get away from that terrible tin can that was pounding after him, no matter how fast he went.
So into the box he ran, and I think you can guess what happened. The dog was going so fast, and the box, not being held down to the ground, was so easily pushed over, that it toppled to one side.
And, as Bunny Brown and his sister Sue were standing near the box, it fell over on them, and the lemonade pitcher upset, and the lemonade in it splashed all over the little boy and his sister. The glasses bounced off into the grass, and the dog suddenly turned a somersault, and fell on top of Bunny, Sue, the box and the lemonade pitcher.
And that's what happened, just as you must have guessed.
For a few seconds there was such a tangle of dog, lemonade, pitcher, lemonade stand, to say nothing of Bunny and Sue, that if any one had been there to see he would hardly have known which was the dog, and which was Bunny and Sue.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" cried the little girl.
"What—what's the matter?" gasped Bunny.
The dog howled, barked and whined, and then the box rolled to one side, and so did the now empty pitcher of lemonade. Sue found herself sitting on the grass, holding what she thought was her doll, but which was really one of Bunny's chubby legs.
Bunny lay on his back, and in his arms he held—what do you think? Why the little yellow dog, to be sure!
And now the dog stopped howling and barking, for he must have known that Bunny and Sue would be his friends, and he was not afraid any more. And that is the way they were when Aunt Lu and Splash, the big dog, came out to see how the two little lemonade sellers were getting along.
"Oh my goodness!" exclaimed Aunt Lu. "Oh my goodness! What has happened?"
At first she was a bit frightened, but when she saw that Sue was smiling, and that Bunny was just ready to laugh, Aunt Lu laughed also.
"Well, if none of you is hurt, and nothing broken, I think this is very funny!" Aunt Lu exclaimed. "Oh, but what a mix-up!"
Splash, the big dog, seemed to think so too, for he barked—not a cross, ugly bark, but a sort of laughing kind—as if, he, also, felt that it was jolly fun.
Then Splash saw the little yellow dog in Bunny's arms, and the big dog went up to him, wagging his tail, while the two sort of rubbed noses—you know the way dogs do instead of shaking hands, or paws, I suppose I should say, and right away they were friends.
"Oh, look! look!" Sue exclaimed, now laughing herself. "I thought I had my doll, and—it's Bunny's leg!"
"Huh! I wondered what was holding me." exclaimed the little boy.
Sue let go of him, and Bunny got up. Then he rolled the lemonade box away from Sue, for it was resting partly on her, and by this time the little yellow dog (which Bunny had put down) was making better friends than ever with Splash.
[Illustration: "GET UNDER THE BOX, SUE!" HE CRIED.]
Then Aunt Lu saw the tin can tied to the yellow dog's tail, and she cried out:
"Oh, what a shame! Who did that?"
"We didn't!" Bunny answered quickly.
"Oh, of course not! I know you wouldn't do such a thing," returned his aunt. "Here, little dog, I'll cut it off for you," and she took her scissors out of her apron pocket, for she had been sewing just before coming out to look at the lemonade stand. "I'll cut it off for you," said Aunt Lu.
"Oh, don't cut off his tail!" begged Sue.
"Of course not!" laughed Aunt Lu. "I meant I'd cut off the tin can. You poor little doggie! No wonder you were frightened. And now tell me all how it happened," she went on, as she snipped, with her scissors, the string around the little yellow dog's tail. He seemed very happy to be free of the tin can.
"Well, it just happened—that's all," said Bunny. "He ran into our lemonade stand, and upset it."
"But I guess he didn't mean to," remarked Sue, who had, by this time, found her real doll in the long grass.
"No, he was so scared that he didn't know where he was running," decided Aunt Lu. "Well, now I'll help you pick things up, and then you had better come to the house. Haven't you sold enough lemonade for one day?"
"I guess so," answered Bunny.
"Did you lose the money?" asked Sue anxiously. "Where is the money we got?"
"In my pocket," Bunny replied. It was lucky he had put it there, or, when the box was knocked over, the pennies and five cent pieces might have been scattered in the grass and lost.
But everything was all right, and not a glass was broken, for they fell in soft, grassy places. The lemonade was spilled, of course, a little of it going on Bunny and Sue. But they did not mind that. And, best of all, the little dog no longer had a tin can tied to his tail.
"I wonder who did it?" asked Sue.
"Oh, some bad boys, I suppose," answered her aunt. "Boys who tie cans to dogs' tails don't stop to think how frightened the poor animals may get. But I'm glad this was no worse. Now, little yellow dog, you had better run home, that is if you have a home."
The yellow dog seemed to have some place to go. For, after he had once more rubbed noses with Splash, had barked, as if saying good-bye, and had wagged his tail joyfully, away he trotted down the street.
Now and then he looked back, as if to thank Bunny and Sue, and their aunt, for what they had done for him, or perhaps he was looking to make sure the banging, dangling tin can was no longer fast to his tail.
But it was not, for Aunt Lu had tossed it away. Then she helped Bunny and Sue carry in the pitcher and glasses, and put away the box that had been used for a stand.
"We'll sell some more lemonade to-morrow," Bunny said.
"Yes," agreed Sue. "We want to get a lot of money for poor folks."
"How much did you take in?" Aunt Lu wanted to know.
Bunny gave it to her to count, as he could not go higher than ten, and there was more money than that.
"Why you have twenty-one cents!" Aunt Lu exclaimed. "That's fine, children! I'll keep it for you, and if you do get more I'll put it all together, and give it to Old Miss Hollyhock for you."
But Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did not sell lemonade next day. One reason was because it rained, and, for another, they found something else to do.
The Brown house was the nicest place you could think of in which to spend a rainy day, that is the big attic was, and it was up there that Bunny Brown and his sister Sue were always allowed to play.
The day after they had had the lemonade stand the rain came down very hard. Bunny and Sue stood with their noses pressed flat against the window panes.
"Oh dear!" sighed Sue.
"Oh dear!" sighed Bunny.
"Tut! Tut!" exclaimed their mother. "I know what that means. Up to the attic with you, and play some of your games!"
"Oh yes!" cried Bunny joyfully.
"We'll play trolley car with the spinning wheel!" said Sue.
This was only one of the games they played. There was a big spinning wheel up in the attic. It had belonged to Mrs. Brown's grandmother, and in the olden days, before yarn for socks and mittens was made by machinery, it was spun on a spinning wheel. This was a big wheel, as large as one on a wagon, but not so heavy. And it went around and around, very easily.
Bunny and Sue would sit on a trunk, spin the wheel, and make believe they were in a trolley car. They would take turns being the motorman. Sometimes Bunny would have that place, while Sue would be the conductor, and again Bunny would collect the fare and let Sue spin the wheel.
All that rainy day Bunny and Sue played in the attic, making up many new games about which I shall tell you another time. They had so much fun that they could hardly believe it when night came, and it was time to go to bed.
"And maybe the sun will shine to-morrow," said Bunny.
It did, the rain having gone somewhere else to water the flowers and trees.
The next afternoon Aunt Lu promised to take Bunny and Sue down to their father's office, on the dock. They wanted to see the fish boats come in, and Aunt Lu had some shopping to do.
Bunny and Sue, nicely dressed, freshly washed and combed, went out on the front porch to wait for Aunt Lu. She had said she would be down as soon as she changed her dress.
But Bunny and Sue grew tired of waiting.
"Let's walk on a little way," said Bunny. "We can go down to the corner, and back again, and Aunt Lu will be down then."
Sue was always ready to do just what Bunny said, and soon the two children, hand in hand, went walking down the street. They did not intend to go far, but something happened, as it often did with them.
Just beyond the corner there was a moving picture theatre, lately opened. Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu had taken Bunny and his sister there once or twice, when there was a fairy play, or something nice to see, so Bunny and Sue knew what the moving pictures were like.
"Oh, let's just go down and look at the picture posters outside," said Bunny, as they stood on the corner, from where they could see the theatre.
"All right," said Sue quickly.
In front of the moving picture place were some big boards, and on them were pasted brightly colored posters, almost like circus ones, telling about the moving pictures that were being shown inside. There was a picture of a man falling in the water, and another of a railroad train. Bunny loved cars and locomotives.
Not thinking anything wrong, the two tots ran across the street, looking carefully up and down first, to see that no automobiles were coming. They crossed safely.
A little later they were standing in front of the moving picture theatre, looking at the gay posters.
"Wouldn't you like to go in?" asked Bunny.
Sue nodded her curly head.
"Maybe Aunt Lu will take us," she said.
"We'll ask her," decided Bunny.
Then they heard, from down the side street, the sound of a piano. It came from the moving picture place, and the reason Bunny and Sue could hear it so plainly was because the piano was near a side door, which was open to let in the fresh air.
"Let's go down there and listen to the music a minute," Bunny said."Then we'll go back and tell Aunt Lu."
"All right!" agreed Sue.
A little later the two were standing at the open, side door of the place. They could hear the piano very plainly now, and, what was more wonderful, they could look right in the theatre and see the moving pictures flashing on the white screen.
"Oh! oh!" murmured Bunny. "Look, Sue."
"Oh! oh!" whispered Sue. And then Bunny had a queer idea.
"We can walk right in," he said. "The door is open. I guess this is for children like us—they don't want any money. Come on in, Sue, and we'll see the moving pictures!"
Bunny Brown and his sister Sue walked right into the moving picture theatre. The door, as I have told you, was open, there was no one standing near to take tickets, or ask for money, and of course the children thought it was all right to go in.
No one seemed to notice them, perhaps because the place was dark, except where the brilliant pictures were dancing and flashing on the white screen. And no one heard Bunny and Sue, for not only did they walk very softly, but just then the girl at the piano was playing loudly, and the sound filled the place.
Right in through the open side door walked Bunny and Sue, and never for a moment did they think they were doing anything wrong. I suppose, after all, it was not very wrong.
Bunny walked ahead, and Sue followed, keeping hold of his hand. Pretty soon she whispered to her brother:
"Bunny! Bunny! I can't see very good at all here. I want to see the pictures better."
"All right," Bunny whispered back. "I can't see very good, either. We'll find a better place."
You know you can't look at moving pictures from the side, they all seem to be twisted if you do. You must be almost in front of them, and this time Bunny and Sue were very much to one edge.
"We'll get up real close, and right in front," Bunny went on. Then he saw a little pair of steps leading up to the stage, or platform; only Bunny did not know it was that. He just thought if he and Sue went up the steps they would be better able to see. So up he went.
The screen, or big white sheet, on which the moving pictures were shown, stood back some distance from the front of the stage. And it was a real stage, with footlights and all, but it was not used for acting any more, as only moving pictures were given in that theatre now.
Sue followed Bunny up the steps. The pictures were ever so much clearer and larger now. She was quite delighted, and so was her brother. They wandered out to the middle of the stage, paying no attention to the audience. And the people in the theatre were so interested in the picture on the screen, that, for a while, they did not see the children who had wandered into the darkened theatre by the side door.
The music from the piano sounded louder and louder. The pictures became more brilliant. Then suddenly Bunny and Sue walked right out on the stage in front of the screen, where the light from the moving picture lantern shone brightly on them.
"What's that?" cried several persons.
"Look! Why they're real children!" said others.
Bunny and Sue could be plainly seen now, for they were exactly in the path of the strong light. There was some laughter in the audience, and then the man who was turning the crank of the moving picture machine began to understand that something was wrong.
He stopped the picture film, and turned on a plain, white light, very strong and glaring, Just like the headlights of an automobile. Bunny and Sue could hardly see, and they looked like two black shadows on the white screen.
"Look! Look! It's part of the show!" said some persons in front.
"Maybe they're going to sing," said others.
"Or do a little act."
"Oh, aren't they cute!" laughed a lady.
By this time the piano player had stopped making music. She knew that something was wrong. So did the moving picture man up in his little iron box, and so did the usher—that's the man who shows you where to find a seat. The usher came hurrying down the aisle.
"Hello, youngsters!" he called out, but he was not in the least bit cross. "Where did you get in?" he asked.
By this time the lights all over the place had been turned up, and Bunny and Sue could see the crowd, while the audience could also see them. Bunny blinked and smiled, but Sue was bashful, and tried to hide behind her brother. This made the people laugh still more.
"How did you get in, and who is with you?" asked the usher.
"We walked in the door over there," and Bunny pointed to the side one."And we came all alone. We're waiting for Aunt Lu."
"Oh, then she is coming?"
"I don't guess so," Bunny said. "We didn't tell her we were coming here."
"Well, well!" exclaimed the usher-man. "What does it all mean? Did your Aunt Lu send you on ahead? We don't let little children in here unless some older person is with them, but—"
"We just comed in," Sue said. "The door was open, and we wanted to see the pictures, so we comed in; didn't we Bunny?"
"Yes," he said. "But we'd like to sit down. We can't see good up here."
"No, you are a little too close to the screen," said the usher. "Well,I'd send you home if I knew where you lived, but—"
"I know them!" called out a woman near the front of the theatre. "That is Bunny Brown and his sister Sue. They live just up the street. I'll take them home."
"Thank you; that's very kind of you," said the man. "I guess their folks must be worrying about them. Please take them home."
"We don't want to go home!" exclaimed Sue. "We want to see the pictures; don't we, Bunny?"
"Yes," answered the little fellow, "but maybe we'd better go and getAunt Lu."
"I think so myself," laughed the usher. "You can come some other time, youngsters. But bring your aunt, or your mother, with you; and don't come in the side door. I'll have to keep some one there, if it's going to be open, or I'll have more tots walking in without paying."
"Come the next time, with your aunt or mother," he went on, "and I'll give you free tickets. It won't cost you even a penny!"
"Oh, goodie!" cried Sue. She was willing to go home now, and the lady who said she knew them—who was a Mrs. Wakefield, and lived not far from the Brown home—took Bunny and Sue by the hands and led them out of the theatre.
The lights were turned low again, and the moving picture show went on. Bunny and Sue wished they could have stayed, but they were glad they could come again, as the man had invited them.
As Mrs. Wakefield led them down the street, toward their home, they sawAunt Lu running to meet them.
"Oh, Bunny! Sue!" she exclaimed. "Where have you been? I've looked all over for you!"
"We went to the moving pictures," said Bunny.
"By the side door," added Sue. "And we were on the stage, and the people all laughed; didn't they Bunny?"
"Yes, they did. And the man said we could come back for nothing, and you are to bring us. When will you, Aunt Lu?"
"Why—why I don't know what to think of it all!" their aunt exclaimed. "In a moving picture show—by the side door—on the stage—to go again for nothing—I never saw such children, never!"
"Well, it all happened, just that way," said Mrs. Wakefield, and she told how surprised she, and all the others in the theatre were to see Bunny and Sue wander out on the stage into the strong light.
"But you musn't do it again," Aunt Lu said, and of course Bunny and Sue promised they would not.
"Now come on down to the fish dock, and we'll see the boats come in,"Bunny begged, and off they started.
There was much going on at Mr. Brown's, dock that day. Some boats were getting dressed up in new suits of sails, and others were being painted. Then, too, a number of fishing boats came in, well filled with different kinds of fish. Some had lobsters in them and there was one big one, with very large claws.
"That one's claws are bigger than the claw you have, to play Punch andJudy with, Bunny," said Sue.
"Yes," agreed her brother, "but that claw is too big for my nose."
"I should think so!" laughed Aunt Lu. "Your whole little face would almost go in it, Bunny. Oh dear!" she went on. "I don't like lobsters as much as I used to."
"Why not?" asked Mr. Brown, who came out of his office to see his children and their aunt. "I was going to have you take one up to the house to make into salad for dinner. Why don't you like lobsters any more, Aunt Lu?"
"Oh, because whenever I see them, and remember the one we had for supper the first night I came here, I think of my lost diamond ring, that I never shall find."
"Yes, it is too bad," agreed Mr. Brown. "I thought you were going to find it, Bunny?"
"Well, Sue and I looked and looked and looked," said the little fellow, "but we couldn't find it anywhere!"
"Yes, they have tried," said Aunt Lu. "But never mind, we won't talk about it."
They looked into the other fishing boats, and then Bunker Blue came along. As he had nothing much to do just then he took Aunt Lu and the children for a little ride in a motor boat, that went by gasoline, the same as does an automobile. Only, of course, a boat goes in the water, and an automobile runs on land.
Bunny and Sue had a pleasant afternoon with Aunt Lu, and when she told their father about the children having wandered into the moving picture show, he laughed so hard that tears came into his eyes.
"If this keeps on," he said, "we'll have either to keep them home all the while, or else you'll have to be with them every minute, Aunt Lu. You can't tell what they are going to do next."
It was a day or two after this that, as Bunny and Sue were going down the street, to buy a little candy at Mrs. Redden's store, something queer happened.
They each had five cents, that Aunt Lu had given them, but they were allowed to spend only one penny of it this day, as their mother did not wish them to eat too much candy.
"I'm going to buy a lollypop—they last longer," Bunny announced.
"I'll get one, too," agreed Sue, as they entered the toy place. The door swung open, a bell over it ringing to call Mrs. Redden, for she lived in rooms back of the store, where she kept house.
"How are you, Bunny and Sue?" asked the candy-lady as she smiled at them. "I was beginning to think you had forgotten me."
"Oh, no," Bunny said.
"We'd never forget you," declared Sue. "I want a lollypop and so doesBunny."
Mrs. Redden opened the glass show-case in which the candy was kept. As she reached in her hand, to take out the lollypops, Bunny and Sue, standing in front, saw a brown, hairy paw also put into the case. And the brown paw, which was close to Mrs. Redden's hand, caught up a bunch of lollypops and quickly pulled them out.
"Oh! oh! oh, dear!" screamed Mrs. Redden. "Oh, what is it?"
A second later a brown, furry animal jumped up from back of the counter, and scrambled from shelf to shelf, until it was on the very top one. And there the animal sat, peeling the wax paper off a lollypop.
"Oh, what is it? What is it?" cried Mrs. Redden. "Oh, take it away!"
Bunny and Sue were not a bit frightened. They looked up at the furry figure, on the top shelf of the candy store, and Bunny said:
"Why, it's only Wango, Mr. Winkler's monkey! I guess he broke loose from his chain."
"Yes, it's Wango!" echoed Sue. "Come down, Wango!" she called, for both children had often petted the queer little monkey.
Wango accidentally dropped one of the lollypops he held. He had so many in his paws that it was hard to hold them all. He quickly reached for the falling candy, but he accidentally hit a glass jar filled with jelly beans. It crashed down to the floor, spilling the candy beans all over.
"Oh! oh, dear! what a mess!" cried Mrs. Redden, and she ran to get the broom to drive Wango away.