The Project Gutenberg eBook ofFive Little FriendsThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: Five Little FriendsAuthor: Sherred Willcox AdamsIllustrator: Maud PetershamMiska PetershamRelease date: May 17, 2008 [eBook #25497]Most recently updated: January 3, 2021Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Jason Isbell, Emmy and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FIVE LITTLE FRIENDS ***
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
Title: Five Little FriendsAuthor: Sherred Willcox AdamsIllustrator: Maud PetershamMiska PetershamRelease date: May 17, 2008 [eBook #25497]Most recently updated: January 3, 2021Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Jason Isbell, Emmy and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Title: Five Little Friends
Author: Sherred Willcox AdamsIllustrator: Maud PetershamMiska Petersham
Author: Sherred Willcox Adams
Illustrator: Maud Petersham
Miska Petersham
Release date: May 17, 2008 [eBook #25497]Most recently updated: January 3, 2021
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Jason Isbell, Emmy and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FIVE LITTLE FRIENDS ***
Cover
PonyPony
ILLUSTRATED BYMAUD AND MISKA PETERSHAMNew YorkTHE MACMILLAN COMPANY1922All rights reserved
Copyright, 1922,ByTHE MACMILLAN COMPANY.—————————Set up and electrotyped. Published December, 1922.Printed in the United States of America.
PageThe Five Little Friends at School1The Five Little Friends in Vacation53
THE GOLDFISHTHE GOLDFISH
Bob and Betty, Paul and Peggy and little Dot are five little friends. They go to the same school. Many other children go to the school too, but these five little friends are the ones this story is about.
Bob is the tall boy in the brown suit. Betty is the girl in the checked dress. Paul is the boy with the white blouse. Peggy is the girl with curls. Little Dot is the tiny child with bobbed hair.
Bob and Betty, Paul and Peggyand little Dot have a very fine teacher. She is called Miss West. Many other children are in Miss West's room too. But the five little friends are the ones this story is about.
One morning when the children came to school Miss West had a surprise for them. On her desk was something large and round. It was all covered with paper.
"Guess what this is, children," said Miss West.
"It is a balloon," said Bob.
"I think it is a football," said Paul.
"No, no, you are both wrong,"said Miss West. She took the paper off. What do you think it was?
It was a big glass bowl. In it were six goldfish. They were swimming about in the water.
"Little folks," said Miss West, "these are our school pets. We must feed them and give them fresh water. Then they will live a long time and we can have fun watching them."
The children stood around the bowl. They watched the fish swim and float. They laughed when one fish chased another round and round the bowl. He looked veryfunny with his big mouth wide open.
Soon Miss West showed the children how to feed the fish. After that they took turns in caring for them. Paul and Peggy had the first turn. Next Bob and Betty had their turn. After that little Dot took care of the fish all by herself. The other children had turns too. But this story is about the five little children whose names you know.
One day Miss West said to the children, "How many of you little girls and boys have pets of your own?"
A great many hands were raised.
"I have!" said Bob.
"I have!" said Paul.
"I have," "I have," "I have," said Betty and Peggy and little Dot.
"I have thought of a fine plan," said Miss West. "Each day one child may tell the other children about his pet."
"What fun!" said Betty; and all the other children thought, "What fun that will be!"
"Who will have the first turn?" asked Bob.
"We will play a game to see," said Miss West.
Peggy drew out a slip
So Miss West wrote the names of all the children on slips of paper Then she put all the slips in Paul's cap. Next she blindfolded Peggy. Peggy put her hand in the cap and drew out a slip. What name doyou think was on this slip? The name wasDot.
So the next day little Dot told about her pet. This is what she said:
"My pet is a white cat. Her name is Snowball. She is as white as snow. When she curls up in front of the fire she is round like a ball.
"One day my daddy could not find his hat. He looked and looked and looked for it. At last he found it in a dark corner under the stairs.
"There was something in the hat. First Daddy saw two bright eyes. Then he saw Snowball all curled upin the hat. By her side were two little baby kittens. They were just like their mother. We named them Fluff and Muff. Now we have a happy cat family.
"Daddy never got his hat back. At first the kittens slept in it. Now Fluff and Muff are so big they sleep in a box. But they like Daddy's hat to play with. Fluff gets on one side and Muff on the other. Then they pull and pull. Daddy's hat is almost worn out now."
The children liked little Dot's story very much. They laughed when they thought of Fluff on oneside and Muff on the other and Daddy's hat in the middle.
The next day Betty was blindfolded. She put her hand in the cap and drew a slip. This timePaulwas written on the slip. So it was Paul's turn to tell about his pet. This is what he said:
"My pet is a big collie dog. His name is Hero. When my mother goes to market she takes Hero with her. He trots by her side and carries a basket in his mouth.
"Sometimes my mother sends Hero home with the meat and bread for dinner. He goes right along. He does not stop or lookaround. When he comes to our house he sets the basket down. Then he watches it until Mother comes. If anyone calls, 'Here, Hero,' he pricks up his ears, but he will not move from his place.
"One day I tried to coax him away with a big bone. I know the bone looked and smelled good to Hero. He sniffed the air and looked at the bone with hungry brown eyes, but he never moved from the basket.
"Last summer we went to the seashore. We took Hero with us. One day I was on the beach, playing in the sand. Hero was lyingasleep in the sun. I was making a sand fort and my back was toward the sea.
"Suddenly a big wave dashed in and knocked me down. Then another big wave came and carried me out into the water. As I did not know how to swim, I was very much frightened. I tried to call out, but my mouth was full of sea water. I could make only a little frightened sound; but Hero heard me. What do you think he did? He jumped into the water and swam out to me.I was too nearly drowned to catch hold of him. So he took my clothes in his mouthand began to swim with me to the shore.
THE RESCUETHE RESCUE
"I was heavy, and Hero was almost worn out before he got there. But he never once let go. He kept right on until he dropped me on dry land. Then he lay panting on the sand.
"Just then Mother came to see where I was. When she saw what had happened she hugged me hard. Then she hugged Hero hard too. The next day she bought Hero a new collar with his name on it in big letters—HERO. That night Hero had a big bone with lots of meat on it for his supper."
The children enjoyed Paul's story as much as they had Dot's. They thought Hero was a fine name for such a brave dog. They said Paul was a lucky boy to have a pet like that.
On another day little Dot was blindfolded. The slip of paper she drew had this name on it—Betty. So it was Betty's turn to tell about her pet. This is what she told:
"My pet is a pigeon. He is not just a common pigeon like the ones on the church roof. He is a carrier pigeon. My Uncle Fred brought him from France. He calls him the living airplane. Can you tell why?
"He is named Arrow. In France Arrow used to carry messages to the soldiers. These messages were written on tiny slips of paper and tied around Arrow's neck.
"When Uncle Fred came home he taught Arrow to go from my grandmother's house to our house and straight back again. It was a ten mile trip.
"This is the way Uncle Fred did it. Almost every day he would feed Arrow at both places. It was easy for him to do this as he used to ride over to our house a great deal. When he took Arrow away from one place he would leave somegrain there. Arrow knew this. So when he was let loose he would fly straight to the grain. He never seemed to lose his way or stop in the wrong place.
"On Valentine's Day, Uncle Fred wanted to surprise me. He turned Arrow loose at Grandmother's house with something tied around his neck by a ribbon. Uncle Fred did not tell anyone what it was.
"Arrow flew straight to our house. When I saw him I ran out to his feeding place. I spied the ribbon and untied it. I found a tiny gold heart with my name on it. I liked this Valentine best of all."
Betty and Arrow
The boys and girls in the class enjoyed the story of Arrow. They liked it so much that Betty said she would ask Uncle Fred to come toschool and tell about what Arrow did in France.
Another day when one of the pupils was blindfolded and drew a slip of paper, the name on the slip wasBob. So at last it was Bob's turn. This is the story Bob told:
"My pet is a pony named Dandy. Grandfather bought him for me. He got him from a man who had a pony show. This man had taught Dandy many tricks.
"When I say, 'Dandy, how old are you?' Dandy lifts his right front foot and brings it down three times. This is how he says that he is three years old. When I say,'Make a bow, Dandy,' he puts his front feet out and bows his head almost to the ground. His mane hangs over his eyes and he looks very funny.
"Dandy can play 'Hide-and-Go-Seek' too. This is the way he does it. I take an ear of corn and show it to him. Then I run and hide it. I call, 'Come, Dandy, come.' He comes and looks all around for the corn. When he finds it, he takes it in his mouth and trots around and around with it. When I say, 'Bring it to me, Dandy,' he comes to me with the ear of corn in his mouth. But when I try to takethe corn, he shakes his head and trots away again.
"One day I tried to play 'Hide-and-Go-Seek' with a handkerchief instead of an ear of corn. Dandy did not like it this way. He looked at the handkerchief. Then he sniffed at it. At last he shook his head and turned away. He seemed to say, 'A game like that may be fun for a boy, but it isn't fun for a pony. I am not going to play.'"
Everyone liked the story of Dandy. Some of the children asked to hear some more about him. But Miss West said it wastime for recess. So the children went out into the school yard and played "Pony" and "Hide-and-Go-Seek."
Another day someone drew Peggy's name on the slip of paper. And this is what Peggy told:
"My pet is a big green and red parrot. She has a cage in the living room. Mother calls her 'the General' because she likes to give orders. When we sit down Polly calls out, 'Get busy! Get busy! Get busy!' If we are too busy and do not notice Polly she rolls over on her back in the bottom of the cage and cries, 'Come quick!Come quick! Polly's sick! Polly's sick!' In the evening we put a cloth over Polly's cage to keep her quiet. When the cloth is taken off in the morning she begins to shout, 'Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!'
"One evening we forgot to put the cloth over Polly's cage. That night, quite late, my big brother went down into the living room to find a book he had been reading. When he turned on the light, Polly thought it was day. She began to scream, 'Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!'
"Everyonedidwake up. At first we were frightened. But when wefound out what had happened we laughed and laughed. We laughed more when we heard a voice croak, 'Come quick! Come quick! Polly's sick! Polly's sick!'"
The girls and boys all laughed at the story of Polly. Paul wrote a poem about her. This is what he wrote:
Upon my word,Poll's a funny bird.
The children went around at recess saying this. They said some of Polly's speeches too.
One day Miss West told the children a true story that was very, very sad. It was about a blindman who sold papers. He had owned a little dog that used to lead him to his work and watch him all day; but the little dog had died. Now the poor man had no one to lead him. So he could not sell his papers.
The children were very sorry for him. They wanted to do something to help.
"Wouldn't it be fine," said Betty, "if we could buy him another dog?"
"But how can we get the money?" said Paul.
"We could give all our pennies, but that wouldn't be enough," said little Dot.
"I know, I know!" cried Bob. "Let's give a show and have our pets for the show animals."
Pet Show
The children thought this was a fine plan. Miss West thought so too. She let them plan for the show.
Then she let them make tickets. Each child made two tickets. They were like the funny picture in the middle of this page.
Everyone who came had to pay for a ticket. Even the children who had pets in the show had to pay.
When the big children heard about the Pet Show they bought tickets too. Then they helped the five little friends get ready for the show.
The school yard was the show ground. The big boys made a gate for the people to come through. They made pens for all the animals. Next they printed some big signs to put on the pens. The signs were like these only much, much bigger.
THE SIGNS WERE LIKE THESE ONLY MUCH, MUCH BIGGERTHE SIGNS WERE LIKE THESE ONLY MUCH, MUCH BIGGER
At last it was the day of the Pet Show. Bob and Betty, Paul and Peggy and little Dot came early with their pets. Soon the other children came too. There were big children, and middle-sized children, and little wee children.
When they stopped at the gate who do you think the ticket man was? It was Hero with a basket in his mouth. The children dropped their tickets into the basket. They patted Hero's shaggy head and called him "Good dog" and "Brave old fellow."
He looked very kind but very, very solemn.
THEY DROPPED THEIR TICKETS INTO THE BASKETTHEY DROPPED THEIR TICKETS INTO THE BASKET
They went to all the pens to see the show pets. Dandy stood in his pen. He looked very wise and very plump and shaggy. He poked his head out and let the children stroke his mane.
In Polly's pen nothing could be seen but a big cage with a black cover over it. Not one bright feather showed. Not a single sound came from the cage.
Snowball and her kittens were curled up in their box. They were as quiet as mice. All three had red and blue ribbons around their necks.
The pen with Arrow's name on itwas empty. On the ground some grain was scattered. By the grain were three light gray feathers. But no living airplane could be seen. "Where can he be?" the children asked.
Just then Bob came out in front of the children. He was dressed like a real showman. He had on a high hat and a long coat. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, in a funny deep voice, "the big show is about to begin. Will you please find seats in the show tent?" The children laughed and sat down on the ground.
HE WAS DRESSED LIKE A REAL SHOWMANHE WAS DRESSED LIKE A REAL SHOWMAN
Bob went on talking like a showman."Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "you are now to see Dandy, the trick pony." When he had said this, Bob went to the pen and brought Dandy out.
"Now Dandy," he said, "tell the ladies and gentlemen how old you are." Dandy lifted his right foot and brought it down three times. The children clapped their hands.
"Make a bow to the ladies and gentlemen, Dandy," said Showman Bob. Dandy put his front feet out. Then he bowed his head almost to the ground. His mane fell over his eyes and he looked very wise and funny.
Next Bob took an ear of corn from his pocket. He held it in front of Dandy's nose. "Dandy, do you see this?" he said. Dandy nodded his head. His mane fell over his eyes. He looked very funny and full of mischief.
"Now Dandy," said Showman Bob, "shut your eyes." Dandy winked and blinked. Then he shut his eyes tight. "Keep your eyes shut till I call 'Come,'" said Bob. Then Bob started off with the ear of corn.
BOB HID THE EAR OF CORN BEHIND A BOXBOB HID THE EAR OF CORN BEHIND A BOX
Dandy kept his eyes shut just one little minute. Then he opened them and began to peep. Hepeeped very slyly to see where Bob was hiding the corn. The children shouted with joy! Then Showman Bob came back. The corn was still in his hand. He pretended to be angry. He made Dandy hide his eyes once more.
Again Dandy peeped slyly to see where Bob was hiding the corn. At last Showman Bob took little Dot's hat and tied it over Dandy's eyes. How the children did laugh! Dandy looked so funny with a little girl's hat on.
Then Bob hid the ear of corn behind a box. He called, "Come, Dandy, come!" Dandy shook hishead very hard. The hat rolled on the ground. Then Dandy began going round the show grounds. He stopped and sniffed at everything. "Oh see!" said Peggy, "Dandy is looking with his nose!" Soon Dandy sniffed at the box and found the ear of corn.
"Come, Dandy, come!" called Showman Bob. Dandy came trotting up with the ear of corn in his mouth. But when Bob put out his hand for the corn Dandy kicked up his heels and away he went. He ran round and round like a pony in a circus.
The children clapped their handsand shouted. Dandy went faster and faster. It was very exciting. At last Dandy stopped running. Then Bob led him back to the pen. There the little pony munched the corn happily.
General Polly
Next it was Peggy's turn to show Polly. Showman Bob brought out a table. Then he helped Peggy put Polly's big cage on it. Peggy lifted the black cloth. There was Polly! She was the greenest, reddest, funniest parrot you ever saw. She winked her eyes, shook her feathers, and called out, "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" The children laughed; but they did not get up.So General Polly sang out, "Get busy! Get busy! Get busy!" The children soon knew what they must "get busy" about. Polly began tosay in her most coaxing voice, "Polly wants a cracker! Poor Poll! Pretty Poll! Poor Polly wants a cracker!" This sounded so funny that everybody laughed.
Peggy had some crackers in her pocket. She took them out and let the children feed Polly. They poked bits of cracker through the wires of her cage. Polly was not very polite. She pecked and grabbed and talked to herself. But everything she did was so funny that the children enjoyed it.
At last Polly had all the crackers she wanted. Then she grew tired and cross. She began to scream,"Bad boy! Go away! Go away! Go away!" The children ran back to their seats. General Polly was left all alone.
For a time she liked this. She swung on her perch and made queer noises to herself. Then she grew tired. She threw herself on the bottom of the cage and began to moan, "Come quick! Come quick! Polly's sick! Polly's sick!" Then Peggy came with the black cloth, and General Polly was taken to her pen.
Dot and her cat family
Next it was little Dot's turn to show her cat family. She was too shy to play showman as Bob haddone. She just came out in front of the children and stood there. Snowball was in her arms and Fluff and Muff were on her shoulders. Sheput Snowball down. Then she gave her shoulders a shake and Fluff and Muff scrambled down to the ground.
Next Dot took two red balls from her pocket. Each ball had a long rubber fastened to it. It would bounce high without rolling away. Dot put a ball near each kitten's paws. Just as Fluff and Muff sprang to get the balls, Dot pulled the rubber. You never saw such surprised kittens! They sat still and looked with wide-open eyes. These were queer balls indeed that flew up into the air instead of rolling on the floor. This was something new and strange.
The next time Dot bounced the balls Fluff and Muff were ready. Up they jumped, with their paws raised, but the balls sprang out of reach. "The kittens are trying to be living airplanes, too," said Paul.
Next Dot went to the pen and brought something back. She held it up and said shyly, "This is Daddy's hat. It used to be the kittens' bed. Now it is their plaything."
Fluff and Muff
When she had said this she threw the hat on the ground. Quick as a wink Fluff was on one side of it and Muff was on the other. Then theybegan to paw and pull. Fluff pulled one way. Muff pulled the other. It was a real pulling match. Some of the children cried, "I thinkthat Fluff will win." Others cried, "Hurrah for Muff."
Just then a queer noise was heard. Can you guess what it was? It was the brim of Daddy's hat. It had torn all the way around—rip, rip, rip. Off it came so suddenly that both little kittens rolled over backward.
All the children clapped their hands and laughed aloud. This frightened Fluff and Muff. They scampered to their mother as fast as their little white feet could carry them. This ended the act of the cat family.
Next it was Betty's turn to showArrow. But Arrow's pen was still empty. Betty whispered to Miss West. Miss West rose and said, "While we are waiting for the next act, let's sing together." She started a song everyone knew. All the children joined in.
Just as they were singing a second song, something happened. A light speck was seen moving through the air. It came nearer and nearer. At last it circled round the pen, where the grain was scattered. Then it flew slowly to the ground. It was Arrow, the living airplane.
The children crowded about thepen to see. "Look," said one of them. "There is something around Arrow's neck!" Betty bent over and looked. Yes, therewassomething. She untied it quickly. On a piece of paper was written, "This is Arrow's gift to the blind man." In the paper was a bright five dollar gold piece.
Betty read aloud what was on the paper. Then she held up the five dollar gold piece. How the children did shout and clap their hands. "Hurrah for Betty's Uncle Fred!" they cried. "Hurrah for the living airplane! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!" When the last shouthad been given, Showman Bob stepped out. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said in his deep showman's voice, "we thank you for coming to the Pet Show. We know the blind man will thank you too when he gets his new dog. The show will now close with a grand parade!"
Then Bob made a showman's bow and went behind the schoolhouse. Soon a drum began to beat—tum, tum, tum. The parade was coming! First marched Showman Bob beating the drum. Behind him was Betty carrying a big American flag. On her shoulderwas Arrow, the living airplane. Next came brave old Hero pulling a little cart. In the cart were Snowball, Fluff, and Muff and what was left of Daddy's hat. Dot marched beside the cart. After them cameDandy. Paul was walking by his side and holding something on his back. It was Polly's cage with the black cover off.
A parade!
Pretty Poll was peeping from behind the wires. She looked surprised and a little bit frightened. Suddenly she rolled on her back at the bottom of the cage. The last thing the children heard as the parade passed out of sight was, "Come quick! Come quick! Polly's sick! Polly's sick!"
I wish the children who read this book could hear about the blind man and his new dog but that is another story.
THE LUNCH WAS PACKED AND OFF THE CHILDREN WENTTHE LUNCH WAS PACKED AND OFF THE CHILDREN WENT
Soon after the Pet Show, school closed for the summer vacation. The children said good-bye to each other and to Miss West.
For weeks everybody had been busy making plans for the summer.
Paul went to the seashore and you may be sure brave Hero was taken along.
Bob and his family went to the seashore too; and, what was best of all, they took a cottage not far from where Paul lived.
Dandy was sent out to the country.
Betty's mother said, "I want to have my little girl spend a summer on a farm—a real farm," so they went to Mr. White's.
See if you can guess who went with them!
No, it wasn't Arrow. The living airplane was left with Uncle Fred at Grandmother's. It wasn't Miss West. She went away on a long trip across the ocean. It was a very nice little person whose name begins withD, and it was another very nice little person whose name begins withP.
Peggy's mother went too, but Poll was sent to a bird shop. Little Dot's mother stayed in the city with Dot's father and the cat family to keep them from getting lonely.
Dot promised to be a good girl and to do just what the other mothers told her.
It was a bright June afternoon when the three little girls and the two mothers got off the train at a little country station. Mr. White came to meet them. He and Billy, the hired man, piled all the trunks and bags in a wagon. Then Billy climbed up on the high seat and cracked his whip, saying, "Get-up!Get-up!" The horses pulled, the dust flew, and away the wagon went. Then Mr. White packed the mothers and the little girls into his automobile and away they also went to the farm.
The farm was the very nicest place in the whole world. At least that is what the three little girls thought. Everything about it was nice. The rooms were big and cool and low. The wide side porch was a lovely place to eat dinner. The big low attic was splendid for rainy-day play; but the very, very nicest of all the nice things at the farm was Mary White.
Mary was nine years and she had lived on the farm all her life. She knew all the good places to play. She could call every animal on the farm by name. She could make up the most delightful games. What a splendid playmate she was!
First she took the children to the pasture to see the cows. There were three of them, Bonny-Belle, Bess, and Buttercup.
Beside Buttercup was the dearest little calf with long thin legs and a soft tan coat. It was Don, Buttercup's first baby. He was just two months old and very full of life and mischief.
"Is that another cow over there?" said Peggy, pointing to a field beyond the pasture. "Oh, no," said Mary, "That's Big Ben. He is a very wild and cross bull, so he has to have a home all by himself. No one ever goes into his field except Billy. Big Ben seems to hate people. But what he hates most is anything that is red."
The children peeped in at Big Ben, with nice safe-afraid shivers going down their backs. Then Mary said, "Come let's go to the farmyard."
The farmyard was a very busy place. "I never saw so many petsin all my life," said Betty. But Mary knew them all. She showed them Mrs. Speckle with her family of little baby chicks that looked like fluffy, yellow balls bobbing around her.
Next she pointed out Mrs. Black Hen with her larger children. Some of these chickens were losing their feathers. How Mary did laugh when Peggy cried, "See, those poor little chickens are peeling off!"
"Now," said Mary, "I will show you my trained chicken." First she went into the house and came out with two ripe, red cherries still on the stem. Then she called softly,"Come, come, Tom Thumb," and as she finished calling she put the stem of the cherries between her lips.
Out from among the other chickens came a beautiful little white rooster. He looked almost like a toy, he was so tiny. With a glad little crow he flew straight up to Mary's shoulder, where he began to peck at the cherries. He ate very daintily. Sometimes he would stop eating and cuddle down on Mary's shoulder. When the ripe red treat was all eaten he gave another glad crow and flew down.
MARY WHITE AND TOM THUMBMARY WHITE AND TOM THUMB
Betty and Dot and Peggy lovedto help feed the chickens. Every morning after breakfast Mrs. White would come out into the yard with a big pan of corn-meal mush and Mary would follow with a smaller pan of bread crumbs. Then both mother and little girl would call, "Chick, chick, chick! Chick, chick, chick! Chick, chick, chick!" as if they were singing the same tune over and over. At this, such a hurry and scurry as there would be!
It seemed as if every fowl on the farm heard the call and was coming. There were big hens and little hens, brown hens, black hens, white hens, and speckled hens.There were fluffy baby chicks and long-legged middle-sized chickens. There were proud roosters with bright combs and gay, glossy feathers. There were stately turkeys with long necks and great fan-like tails. There were ducks with long fat bodies and big flat feet.
Hurry, scurry! Scurry, hurry! "Cluck, cluck." "Peep-peep." "Groo-groo." "Gobble-gobble." "Quack, quack." Such noise and excitement you never heard!
Such table manners you never saw! All were talking at once. Everyone was pecking and pushing and grabbing!
One morning at the farmyard breakfast Mrs. White said, "Where can Brown Betty be? I haven't seen her for two or three weeks. I am afraid she has gone off and hidden her nest somewhere. I wish I knew where, for turkey eggs are scarce this year. If you four children will find her nest I will pay you ten cents for each egg in it."
The little girls were very much excited.
"Just suppose," said Betty, "that we find a nest with six eggs in it. That will be sixty cents. What shall we buy with so much money?"
"Wouldn't it be fun to get Fatherto take us to the store and let us buy things for a picnic?" said Mary.
"Oh, yes, let's have a picnic," cried Peggy and Betty.
"But first," said wise little Dot, "we must find Brown Betty's nest."
That very day the children began to hunt for the hidden eggs. They climbed up into the barn loft and looked in the hay. Here they found Mrs. Nicker on her nest. When they came near she ruffled up her feathers and gave an angry cluck. "Don't be afraid," laughed Betty; "we are looking for something worth much more than one little hen's egg."
In the hay
Then hidden down in the hay they came across a mouse's home with four baby mice in it. They looked very small and young andfunny. Their tiny eyes were shut tight. "You are cunning little things but you won't buy us a picnic," said Peggy.
In the eaves of the barn they found a swallow's nest, but the baby birds had flown away. Only some pieces of eggshell were left.
All that day and part of the next and the next and the next the children hunted and hunted but no Brown Betty and no turkey eggs could they find.
One bright June morning Mary said, "Let's go into the woods to play."
"Oh, may we?" Betty and Peggyasked their mothers. And little Dot said, "Oh, please may I?" and looked from one mother to the other.
"Yes, let them go," said Mrs. White. "The woods are not far away and there is nothing to harm them there."
So the four little girls started out.
They went down a shady lane and through a meadow. Then they came to the woods and wandered about for a while. At last they stopped by the side of a little brook that flowed merrily on its way.
In a few minutes, shoes and stockings were taken off and thechildren were wading in the cool, rippling water. It was lots of fun, but the water was very cold. Soon they were glad to dry their feet in the soft grass and put on their shoes and stockings again.
"Let's make a tree playhouse," said Mary; "I'll show you how." So they set to work with Mary as leader. They found a hollow tree with plenty of room in it. Next they gathered all the soft, velvety moss they could find. With this they made a thick green carpet on the floor. Then they made green moss furniture too. They had a bed, a couch, a table, and a chair.
"We should have some one to live in our green, mossy house," said Peggy. "Let's go to the meadow and gather some daisies and make little flower people out of them."
So off the children went. In a little while, back they came with their hands full of flowers.
Peggy was the first one to reach the tree house. She looked in and then began to laugh and call to the others to come quickly.
"We needn't make any flower people for our house," she said. "It's already rented." And sure enough, there on the green mosscouch was a fat brown toad. He was winking and blinking and looking much pleased with his new home.