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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/20133-8.txt b/20133-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2c9b444 --- /dev/null +++ b/20133-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6615 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's +City Home, by Laura Lee Hope, Illustrated by Florence England Nosworthy + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home + + +Author: Laura Lee Hope + + + +Release Date: December 19, 2006 [eBook #20133] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT +AUNT LU'S CITY HOME*** + + +E-text prepared by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, J. P. W. Fraser, Emmy, and +the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team +(https://www.pgdp.net/) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 20133-h.htm or 20133-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/1/3/20133/20133-h/20133-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/1/3/20133/20133-h.zip) + + + + + +BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME + +by + +LAURA LEE HOPE + +Author of The Bunny Brown Series, The Bobbsey Twins Series, +The Outdoor Girls Series Etc. + +Illustrated by Florence England Nosworthy + + + + + + + +New York +Grosset & Dunlap +Publishers +Made in the United States of America + + + * * * * * + + +BOOKS + +By LAURA LEE HOPE + + +_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated._ + + +THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES + + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP REST-A-WHILE + + +THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES + +For Little Men and Women + + THE BOBBSEY TWINS + THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE + THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME + + +THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES + + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT OCEAN VIEW + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS ON PINE ISLAND + + + GROSSET & DUNLAP + PUBLISHERS NEW YORK + + + * * * * * + + + Copyright, 1916, by + GROSSET & DUNLAP + + + + +_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home._ + + +[Illustration: "THIS IS WHERE AUNT LU LIVES" +_Frontispiece_ (_Page 93._) +_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home._] + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. A MIDNIGHT ALARM 1 + + II. BUNNY AND SUE GO OUT 14 + + III. AUNT LU'S INVITATION 23 + + IV. ON THE GROCERY WAGON 33 + + V. SURPRISING OLD MISS HOLLYHOCK 40 + + VI. OFF FOR NEW YORK 49 + + VII. ON THE TRAIN 58 + + VIII. AUNT LU'S SURPRISE 68 + + IX. THE WRONG HOUSE 80 + + X. IN THE DUMB WAITER 95 + + XI. A LONG RIDE 105 + + XII. BUNNY ORDERS DINNER 116 + + XIII. THE STRAY DOG 129 + + XIV. THE RAGGED MAN 138 + + XV. BUNNY GOES FISHING 148 + + XVI. LOST IN NEW YORK 157 + + XVII. AT THE POLICE STATION 166 + + XVIII. HOME AGAIN 175 + + XIX. BUNNY FLIES A KITE 184 + + XX. THE PLAY PARTY 193 + + XXI. THE REAL PARTY 202 + + XXII. IN THE PARK 211 + + XXIII. OLD AUNT SALLIE 218 + + XXIV. WOPSIE'S FOLKS 228 + + XXV. A HAPPY CHRISTMAS 236 + + + + +BUNNY BROWN +AND HIS SISTER SUE +AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A MIDNIGHT ALARM + + +"Bunny! Bunny Brown! Sue, dear! Aren't you going to get up?" + +Mrs. Brown stood in the hall, calling to her two sleeping children. The +sun was shining brightly out of doors, but the little folks had not yet +gotten out of bed. + +"My! But you are sleeping late this morning!" went on Mrs. Brown. "Come, +Bunny! Sue! It's time for breakfast!" + +There was a patter of bare feet in one room. Then a little voice called. + +"Oh, Bunny! I'm up first. Come on, we'll go and help grandma feed the +chickens!" + +Little Sue Brown tapped on the door of her brother's room. + +"Get up, Bunny!" she cried, laughing. "I'm up first; Let's go and get +the eggs." + +In the room where Bunny Brown slept could be heard a sort of grunting, +stretching, yawning sound. That was the little boy waking up. He heard +what his sister Sue said. + +"Ho! Ho!" he laughed, as he rubbed his sleepy eyes: "Go to get eggs with +grandma! I guess you think we're back on grandpa's farm; don't you Sue?" +and he came to his door to look out into the hall, where his mother +stood smiling at the two children. + +When Bunny said that, Sue looked at him in surprise. She rubbed her hand +across her eyes once or twice, glanced around the hall, back into her +room, and then at her mother. A queer look was on Sue's face. + +"Why--why!" she exclaimed. "Oh, why, Bunny Brown! That's just what I did +think! I thought we were back at grandpa's, and we're not at all--we're +in our home; aren't we?" + +"Of course!" laughed Mrs. Brown. "But you were sleeping so late that I +thought I had better call you. Aren't you ready to get up? The sun came +up long ago, and he's now shining brightly." + +"Did the sun have its breakfast, Mother?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, little man. He drank a lot of dew, off the flowers. That's all he +ever takes. Now you two get dressed, and come down and have your +breakfast, so we can clear away the dishes. Hurry now!" + +Mrs. Brown went down stairs, leaving Bunny and Sue to dress by +themselves, for they were old enough for that now. + +"Oh, Bunny!" exclaimed the little girl, as she went back in her own +room. "I really did think, when I first woke up, that we were back at +Grandpa Brown's, and that we were going out to help grandma feed the +hens." + +"Do you wish we were, Sue?" asked Bunny. + +"Oh, I don't know, Bunny," said Sue slowly. "I did like it at grandma's, +and we had lots of fun playing circus. But I like it at home here, too." + +"So do I," said Bunny, as he started to get dressed. + +The two children, with their father and mother, had come back, only the +day before, from a long visit to Grandpa Brown's, in the country. I'll +tell you about that a little later. So it is no wonder that Sue, +awakening from the first night's sleep in her own house, after the long +stay in the country, should think she was back at grandpa's. + +"Bunny, Bunny!" called Sue, after a bit. + +"What is it?" he asked. + +"Will you button my dress for me?" + +"Is it one of the kind that buttons up the back, Sue?" + +"Yes. If it buttoned in front I could do it myself. Will you help me, +just as you did once before, 'cause I'm hungry for breakfast!" + +"Yep, I'll help you, Sue. Only I hope your dress isn't got a lot of +buttons on, Sue. I always get mixed up when you make me button that +kind, for I have some buttons, or button-holes, left over every time." + +"This dress only has four buttons on it, Bunny, an' they're big ones." + +"That's good!" cried the little fellow, and he had soon buttoned Sue's +dress for her. Then the two children went down to breakfast. + +"What can we do now, Bunny?" asked Sue, as they arose from the table. +"We want to have some fun." + +"Yes," said Bunny. "We do." + +That was about all he and Sue thought of when they did not have to go to +school. They were always looking for some way to have fun. And they +found it, nearly always. + +For Bunny Brown was a bright, daring little chap, always ready to do +something, and very often he got into mischief when looking for fun. Nor +was that the worst of it, for he took Sue with him wherever he went, so +she fell into mischief too. But she didn't mind. She was always as ready +for fun as was Bunny, and the two had many good times together--"The +Brown twins," some persons called them, though they were not, for Bunny +was a year older than Sue, being six, while she was only a little over +five, about "half-past five," as she used to say, while Bunny was +"growing on seven." + +"Yes," said Bunny slowly, as he went out on the shady porch with his +sister Sue, "we want to have some fun." + +"Let's go down to the fish dock," said Sue. "We haven't seen the boats +for a long time. We didn't see any while we were at grandpa's." + +"Course not," agreed Bunny. "They don't have boats on a farm. But we had +a nice ride on the duck pond, on the raft, Sue." + +"Yes, we did, Bunny. But we got all wet and muddy." Sue laughed as she +remembered that, and so did Bunny. + +"All right, we'll go down to the fish dock," agreed the little boy. + +Their father, Mr. Walter Brown, was in the boat business at Bellemere, +on Sandport bay, near the ocean. Mr. Brown owned many boats, and +fishermen hired some, to go away out on the ocean, and catch fish and +lobsters. Other men hired sail boats, row boats or gasoline motor boats +to take rides in on the ocean or bay, and often Bunny and Sue would have +boat trips, too. + +The children always liked to go down to the fish dock, and watch the +boats of the fishermen come in, laden with what the men had caught in +their nets. Mr. Brown had an office on the fish dock. + +"Where are you two children going?" called Mrs. Brown after Bunny and +Sue, as they went out the front gate. + +"Down to Daddy's dock," replied Bunny. + +"Well, be careful you don't fall in the water." + +"We won't," promised Sue. "Wait 'til I get my doll, Bunny!" she called +to her brother. + +She ran back into the house, and came out, in a little while, carrying a +big doll. + +"I didn't take you to grandpa's with me," said Sue, talking to the doll +as though it were a real baby, "but I'll take you down to see the fish +now. You like fish, don't you, dollie?" + +"She wouldn't like 'em if they bit her," said Bunny. + +"I won't let 'em bite her!" retorted Sue. + +At the fish dock Bunny and Sue saw a tall, good-natured, red-haired boy +coming out of their father's office. + +"Oh, Bunker Blue!" cried Bunny. "Are any fish boats coming in?" + +Bunker Blue was Mr. Brown's helper, and was very fond of Bunny and Sue. +He had been to grandpa's farm, in the country, with them. + +"Yes, one of the fish boats is coming in now," said Bunker. "You can +come with me and watch." + +Bunny took hold of one of Bunker's hands, and Sue the other. They always +did this when they went out on the dock, for the water was very deep on +each side, and though the children could swim a little, they did not +want to fall into such deep water; especially with all their clothes on. + +Soon they were at the end of the dock. Coming up to it was a sailing +boat, that had been out to sea for fish. + +"Did you get many?" called Bunker to the captain. + +"Yes, quite a few fish this time. Want to come and look at them? Bring +the children!" + +"Oh, can we go on the boat?" asked Bunny eagerly. + +"I guess so," said Bunker Blue. + +He led the children carefully to the deck of the fish boat. Bunny and +Sue looked down into a hole, through an opening in the deck. The hole +was filled with fish, some of which were still flapping their tails, for +they had only just been taken out of the nets. + +"Oh-o-o-o! What a lot of fish!" exclaimed Sue. She leaned over to see +better, when, all at once, her doll slipped from her arms, and fell +right down among the flapping fish. + +"Oh, dear!" cried Sue. + +"I'll get her for you!" cried Bunny, and he was just going to jump down +in among the fish, too, but Bunker Blue caught him by the arm. + +"You'll spoil all your clothes if you do that, little man!" Bunker said. + +"But I want to get Sue's doll!" + +Bunny himself did not care anything about dolls; he would not play with +them. But he loved his sister Sue, and he knew that she was very fond of +this doll, so he wanted to get it for her. That was why he was ready to +jump down in the hold (as that part of the ship is called) among the +flapping fish. + +"I'll get her for you," said Bunker. With a long pole Bunker fished up +the doll. Her dress was all wet, for there was water on the fish. + +"And oh! dear! She smells just like a fish herself!" cried Sue, +puckering up her nose in a funny way. + +"You can take off her dress and wash it," said Bunny. + +"Yes," said Sue, "I can do that, and I will." She took off the doll's +dress, and then looked for some place to wash it. + +"Here, Sue, give it to me," said the captain of the boat, for he knew +Bunny and Sue very well indeed. "I'll soon have the dress clean for +you." + +"How?" asked Sue, as she gave it to Captain Tuttle. + +He tied the dress to a string, and then dipped it in the water, over the +side of the boat. Up and down in the water he lifted the doll's dress, +pulling it up by the string. + +"That's how we sailors wash our clothes when we're in a hurry," said +Captain Tuttle. "Now when your doll's dress is dry, it will be nice and +clean. You can hang it up here to dry, while you're watching us take +out the fish." + +He fastened Sue's doll's dress on a line over the cabin, and then he and +his men took the fish out of the boat, and packed them in barrels in ice +to send to the city. + +Bunny and Sue looked on, and thought it great fun. Sometimes a big flat +fish, called a flounder, would slip from one of the baskets, in which +the men were putting them, and flop out on deck, almost sliding +overboard. + +Soon all the fish were out, and as Sue's doll's dress was now dry, she +and Bunny started back home. + +"Well, we had fun then, Sue," said the little boy. "Didn't we?" + +"Yes," agreed his sister. "But what can we do this afternoon?" + +"Oh, we'll go down to Charlie Star's house and have some fun. He's got a +new swing and a hammock." + +"Oh, that will be fine!" cried Sue. + +The children had a good time playing with Charlie that afternoon. Others +of their playmates came also, and Bunny and Sue told of the jolly fun +they had had in the country, on grandpa's farm. + +After a while the sun, that had been shining brightly all day, began to +get ready to go to bed, down back of the hills where the clouds would +cover it up until morning. And it was time also, for Bunny Brown and his +sister Sue to go to bed. All the little folk of the town of Bellemere +were getting sleepy. + +How long Bunny and Sue slept they did not know. But Bunny was dreaming +he had turned into a fish, and was going to flop into the water, and Sue +was dreaming that she and her doll were having a fine ride in a motor +boat, when both children were awakened by the loud ringing of a bell. + +"Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" went the bell. + +"Is that our door bell?" asked Sue of Bunny, who slept in the room next +to hers, the door being open between. + +"No, I guess it's a church bell," said Bunny, half awake. + +Then he and his sister heard their father moving around his room. + +"What is it, Walter?" asked Mrs. Brown. + +"It's a midnight alarm," he answered. "I guess it must be a fire, though +it's the church bell that's ringing. I can't see any blaze from my +window, but it must be a fire, or why would they ring the bell?" + +"And why should they ring the church bell, when we have a fire bell?" +asked Mrs. Brown. + +"I don't know," answered her husband. "I guess I'd better get up, and +see what it is. I wouldn't want any of my boats to burn up." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +BUNNY AND SUE GO OUT + + +Bunny Brown, in his little room, and Sue Brown, in hers, jumped out of +bed and ran to the window. They could hear the ringing of the church +bell more plainly now. + +"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" it sounded through the silence of the night. It +was not altogether dark, for there was a big, bright moon in the sky, +and it was almost as light as a cloudy day. + +"Can you see any blaze?" Bunny and Sue heard their mother ask their +father. + +"No, not a thing. But it's funny that that bell should ring. I'm going +out to see what it is." + +"I'll come with you," said Mrs. Brown. "I'll just put on my slippers, a +bath robe and a cloak, and come along. It's so warm that I'll not get +cold." + +"All right, come along," said Mr. Brown. "The children are asleep and +they won't miss us." + +Bunny and Sue felt like laughing when they heard this. They were not +asleep, but their father and mother did not know they were awake. Pretty +soon Mr. and Mrs. Brown slipped quietly down the stairs and out of the +house--out into the moonlit night. The church bell was still ringing +loudly, and Bunny and Sue could hear the neighbors, in the houses on +either side of them, talking about it. Everyone wondered if there was a +fire. + +"Oh, Bunny!" called Sue in a whisper to her brother, when daddy and +Mother Brown had gone out. "Is you awake, Bunny?" + +"Yep, course I am! Are you?" + +"Yep. Say, Bunny, let's go to the fire; will you?" + +"Yep. I'll just put on my bath robe and slippers." + +"An' I will too. We'll go and see what it is. Daddy and mother won't +care, and we can come home with them." + +Now while Bunny Brown and his sister Sue are getting ready to go out to +see what that midnight alarm means, I'll tell you a little bit about the +children, and the other books, of Which this is one in a series. + +The first book was called "Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue." In that I +told you that Bunny and Sue lived with their father and mother in +Bellemere, near the ocean. Mr. Brown was in the boat business, and he +had a big boy, Bunker Blue, as well as other men and boys, to help him. +But of them all Bunny and Sue liked Bunker Blue best. + +In the first book I told how Bunny's and Sue's Aunt Lu came from the +city of New York to pay them a long visit, how she lost her diamond +ring, and how Bunny found it in the queerest way. + +In the second book, named "Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue on Grandpa's +Farm," I told how the Brown family went on a trip in a big automobile. +It was a regular moving van of an automobile, and so large that Bunny +and Sue, Mr. and Mrs. Brown and Bunker Blue could eat and sleep in it. +They camped out during the two or more days they were making the trip +to grandpa's. + +And what fun the children had in the country! You may read in the book +all about how they saw the Gypsies, how they were frightened by tramps +at the picnic, how they were lost, and what jolly times they had with +their dog Splash. + +Then, too, Bunny and Sue helped find grandpa's horses, that the Gypsies +had taken away. So, altogether, the children had lots of fun on Grandpa +Brown's farm. They even went to a circus, and this brings me to the +third book, which is called: "Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue Playing +Circus." + +And that is just what Bunny and Sue did. They got up a little circus of +their own, and held it in grandpa's barn. Then Bunker Blue, and some of +the larger boys in the country, thought they would get up a show. They +did, and held it in two tents. Of course Bunny and Sue helped. + +A week or so after the circus Bunny and Sue, with Bunker, and their +father and mother (and of course their dog Splash) came back from the +country in the big automobile. + +Bunny and Sue had many friends in Bellemere where they lived. Not only +were the boys and girls their friends, but also many grown folk, who +liked the Brown children very much indeed. There was Mrs. Redden, who +kept the village candy store, and there was Uncle Tad, an old soldier, +who lived in the Brown house. Bunny and Sue liked them very much. + +Then there was old Jed Winkler, a sailor, who lived with his sister, +Miss Euphemia Winkler, and a monkey. That's right! Mr. Winkler did have +a pet monkey named Wango, and he was very funny--I mean the monkey was +funny. He was so gentle that Bunny and Sue often petted him, and gave +him candy and peanuts to eat. Wango did many queer tricks. + +But now I think I have told you enough about Bunny and Sue, as well as +about their friends, so we will go back to the children. We left them +getting ready to go out into the moonlight, you know, to see what the +ringing of the church bell meant. + +"Is you all ready, Bunny?" called Sue when she had put on her bath robe +and slippers. + +"Yep," he answered. "Come on." + +Hand in hand the children went softly down the front stairs, as their +father and mother had done. Mr. and Mrs. Brown were now out in the +street, some distance away from the house. Men and women from several +other houses, near that of the Brown family, were also out, wondering +why the bell was ringing. + +"Don't wake up Uncle Tad!" whispered Bunny to Sue, as they walked along +so softly in their bath slippers. + +"No, I won't," answered the little girl. "And don't wake up Mary, +either. She might not let us go." + +"All right," whispered Bunny. + +Mary was the cook, but, as she slept up on the third floor, she would +hardly hear the children going out. + +"Shut the door easy," said Bunny to Sue, as they reached the front +steps. "Don't let it slam." + +They had found the door open, as Mr. and Mrs. Brown had left it, and +the two children, each taking hold of it, closed it softly after them. + +"Now we're all right!" whispered Bunny, as he started down the street on +the run, for the bell was ringing louder than ever now, and Bunny was +anxious to see the fire, if there was one. He hoped it would not be one +of his father's boats, or the office on the fish dock. + +"Wait! Wait for me!" cried Sue to her brother. "I can't run so fast, +Bunny, 'cause I'll stumble over my bath robe. It's awful long!" + +"Hold it up, just as I do," said Bunny, turning around to look at his +sister. "Hold it up, and then your legs won't get tangled in it." + +Sue pulled the robe up to her knees, and held it there. Bunny was doing +the same thing, the bare legs of the children showing white in the +moonlight. Bunny started off again. + +"Wait! Wait!" begged Sue. "Take hold of my hand, Bunny." + +"I can't!" he answered. "I've got to hold up my robe, or I'll tumble and +bump my nose. Besides, how can I take hold of your hand when you +haven't got any hand for me to take hold of?" + +That was true enough. Sue was holding up her long robe with both hands. + +"If I had some string I could tie up our robes," said Bunny, looking on +the moonlit sidewalk, hoping he might find a piece. "But I hasn't got +any," he said, "so I can't hold your hand, Sue. But I'll go slow for +you." + +He waited for his sister to catch up to him, and then the two children +hurried on. They could go faster now, for their long bath robes did not +dangle around their feet. + +Down the street they hurried. The bell kept ringing and ringing, and +Bunny and Sue could see and hear many other persons who had gotten up to +see what it all meant, and who were now hurrying down the street. + +"Oh, Bunny!" said Sue. "Isn't it just nice out to-night?" + +"Yes," he said. The night was warm, and the moon was bright. Bunny Brown +and his sister Sue did not think they were doing wrong to get up at +midnight, and run down the street. + +"I--I wonder where mother is?" said Sue, as they turned a corner. + +"We don't want to see her, or daddy either," answered Bunny, keeping in +the shadows, out of sight. + +"Why not, Bunny Brown? Why don't we want to see our papa or mamma?" + +"'Cause they'll send us back to bed, and we want to see the fire." + +"Oh! do you think there is a fire, Bunny?" + +"I guess so, or the bell wouldn't ring. But we'll soon see it, Sue, for +we're almost at the church." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +AUNT LU'S INVITATION. + + +"Ding-dong!" went the bell in the steeple. "Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" + +By this time many persons were out in the street. Mr. Gorden, the +grocery man, who lived next door to the Brown family, saw Bunny and Sue +hurrying along. + +"Hello!" he cried. "What are you two youngsters doing up at this hour of +night?" + +"We--we came to see the fire," said Bunny. + +"Where is your pa and your ma?" asked Mr. Gordon. + +"They--they went on ahead," explained Bunny. + +"Oh, well, if they're with you I guess it's all right," the grocer said. + +Of course Mr. and Mrs. Brown were not with Bunny and Sue, and their +parents didn't even know that the children were out of their beds. But +Mr. Gordon thought Bunny and Sue were all right, for he hurried on, +calling back over his shoulder: + +"I don't know where the fire is. I think it must be a mistake, for I +don't see any bright light. Good-night, Bunny and Sue!" + +"Good-night!" called the children, and they followed on behind Mr. +Gordon. + +Now they were in front of the church. Before it was quite a crowd of +people, but Bunny and Sue seemed to be the only children. At first no +one noticed them. Everyone was anxious to know what the ringing of the +bell meant. + +"Where's the fire?" + +"Who rang the alarm?" + +"Why didn't they ring the fire bell instead of the church bell?" + +"Who's ringing it, anyhow?" + +"And what a funny way to ring it!" + +Those were some of the remarks and questions Bunny and Sue heard, as +they stood in front of the church. + +"Ding-dong!" the bell kept on ringing. "Ding-dong!" + +"Well, there's one thing sure," said Mr. Gordon. "There isn't any fire +around here, or we'd see it." + +"Then someone must be ringing the bell for fun," suggested another +voice. + +"That's daddy," whispered Sue to Bunny. + +"Hush!" Bunny said, as he moved around behind Mr. Gordon. He did not +want his father or his mother to see him just yet--not until he had +found out what made the bell ring. + +"It must be some boys doing it just for fun," said another man. + +"Then we ought to get the police after them!" exclaimed someone else. +"The idea of waking folks up at this hour of the night by ringing a +church bell! They ought to be spanked!" + +"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" went the bell again. Everyone looked up at the +church steeple, trying to see who was ringing the bell. There was no +fire--everyone was sure of that. + +Then, all at once a man cried: + +"There he is! I see him! There's the boy who has been ringing the +bell!" + +He pointed up to the steeple. Climbing out of one of the little windows, +near the top, could be seen something small and black. + +"It's a boy--a little boy!" cried Mr. Gordon. + +"Oh, he'll fall!" gasped Mrs. Brown. "The poor little fellow! How will +he ever get down?" + +Indeed he was very high above the ground. But he did not seem to be +afraid. + +"Little tyke!" said a man. "He ought to be spanked for this! I wonder +whose boy he is?" + +"I'm glad it isn't Bunny or Sue," said Mrs. Brown. + +"Yes, they are safe at home in bed," answered Mr. Brown. + +And, all this while, mind you, Bunny and Sue were right there in the +crowd, where they could hear their father and their mother talking. But +Mr. and Mrs. Brown did not see their children. + +"Who are you, up there on that steeple?" cried Mr. Gordon. "Whose boy +are you, and what are you doing there?" + +There was no answer. + +"Maybe it's Ben Hall, the circus boy," said Sue, as she thought of the +strange boy who had come to grandpa's farm. + +"No, it couldn't be!" said Bunny. + +"It might," Sue went on. "Ben was a good climber, you know. He climbed +up high in the barn, and jumped down in the hay, and he turned a +somersault." + +"Yes, but the church steeple is higher than the barn," said Bunny. "That +isn't Ben Hall. It's a little boy--not much bigger than I am." + +Just then the moon, which had been behind a cloud, came out. The church +steeple was well lighted up, and then everyone cried: + +"Why, it isn't a boy at all! It's a monkey!" + +"A monkey has been ringing the bell!" + +"Whose monkey is it?" someone asked. + +"Why it's Wango!" exclaimed Bunny Brown, out loud, before he thought. +"It's Mr. Winkler's monkey, Wango!" + +"And I know how to get him down!" chimed in Sue. "Just give him some +peanuts, and he'll come down!" + +The children's voices rang out clearly in the silence of the night. +Everyone heard them, Mr. and Mrs. Brown included. + +"Why--why, that sounded just like Bunny!" said Mrs. Brown. + +"And Sue," added Mr. Brown. "Bunny! Sue!" he called. "Are you here? +Where are you?" + +"We--we're here, Daddy," said Bunny, sliding out from behind Mr. Gordon. + +"And I'm here, too!" said Sue. She let her bath robe fall down over her +bare legs. + +"Well I never!" cried Mrs. Brown. "I thought you were at home in bed!" + +"We--we heard the fire-bell, Mother," said Bunny, "and when you and +daddy got up we got up, too." + +"But we didn't wake Uncle Tad nor Mary," said Sue. + +The crowd laughed, and Mr. and Mrs. Brown had to smile. After all, Bunny +and Sue had done nothing so very wrong. It was a warm, light night, and +they were not far from home. Besides, they were only following their +father and mother, though of course they ought not to have done that. + +"Well, well!" said Mrs. Brown. "I wonder what you children will do +next?" + +"We--we don't know," answered Sue, and everyone laughed again. + +"As long as there isn't any fire, we'd better get back home," said Mr. +Brown. "Come on, Bunny and Sue." + +"Oh, please let us watch 'em get Wango down," begged Bunny. "Did he +really ring the bell?" + +"I guess he must have," said Mr. Gordon. "He's a great monkey for +getting loose, and doing tricks. I don't see how we're going to get him +down if he doesn't want to come, though. It's too high to climb after +him." + +"If we had some peanuts or lollypops, he'd come down," said Sue. "Once +he was up on a high candy shelf in Mrs. Redden's store, and he came down +for peanuts." + +"Well, we might try that," said the store-keeper. "But here comes Mr. +Winkler himself. I guess he'll know how to manage Wango." + +The old sailor, who had also been awakened by the ringing of the bell, +came slowly down the street. He looked toward the church steeple in the +moonlight, and saw his pet. + +"Wango, you bad monkey! Come right down here!" called Mr. Winkler. + +But Wango only chattered, and stayed where he was. + +"How'd he get up there?" someone asked. + +"Oh, he broke loose in the night, when we were all asleep, and jumped +out of an open window," said Mr. Winkler. "I suppose he must have +climbed up inside the church steeple, and, seeing the bell rope hanging +down, he swung himself by it, as he does on a rope I have fixed for him +at home. His swinging back and forth on the rope rang the bell. I don't +really believe he meant to do it." + +And that was how it had happened, and how Wango had made people think +there was a fire in the middle of the night when there wasn't any fire +at all. + +"Wango, come down!" called Mr. Winkler. + +But the monkey would not come. + +"If you had some peanuts he'd come," said Sue. + +"I have some peanuts, little Sue," said Mr. Winkler, and he brought out +a handful from his pocket. "Here, Wango, come and get these!" the old +sailor called. + +Wango chattered, and came scrambling down the church steeple. He liked +peanuts very much, and he was soon perched on his master's shoulder +eating the brown kernels, and throwing the shells to one side. + +"Well, now that everything is over all right, we'll go back home," said +Mr. Brown. "But the next time a bell rings at night, I don't want you +children running out," he said. + +"We won't," promised Bunny. "But it was so nice and warm, and moonlight, +that we couldn't stay in, Daddy." + +Daddy Brown laughed, and a little later he and his wife, with Bunny and +Sue, were safe at home. They went in without awakening Uncle Tad or +Mary, the cook. The other people also went home. Mr. Winkler fastened +Wango so he could not get loose, and soon everyone was asleep again, +even the bell-ringing monkey. + +In the morning Bunny and Sue went over to see the old sailor's pet. +Wango jumped around on his perch and chattered, for he liked the +children. + +"I--I wish we'd had him in the circus at grandpa's farm," said Bunny, as +he watched Wango do some of his tricks. "He would have made them all +laugh." + +"Yes," said Sue. "Wango is funny!" and she petted the little, brown +animal. + +When Bunny and Sue reached home again, munching on some cookies Miss +Winkler had given them, they found their mother reading a letter. + +"Good news, children!" Mother Brown cried. "Good news!" + +"Oh, are we going back to grandpa's farm?" asked Bunny. + +"No, not this time," said his mother. "This is a letter from Aunt Lu. +She invites us to come to her home, in New York City, to spend the fall +and winter. Oh, it's just a lovely invitation from Aunt Lu!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +ON THE GROCERY WAGON + + +Bunny Brown and his sister Sue began to dance up and down, and to clap +their fat little hands. They always did this when they were happy over +some pleasure that was coming. And surely it would be a pleasure to go +to Aunt Lu's city home. + +"Oh, Mother, may we go?" cried Bunny. + +"Please say we can!" begged Sue. + +"Why, yes, I think we'll go," smiled Mother Brown. "I have been thinking +for some time of paying Aunt Lu a visit, and, now that she asks us to +come, I think we will go." + +"And will daddy come?" Bunny wanted to know. + +"Well, he can't come and stay as long as we shall stay, perhaps," said +Mrs. Brown, "but he may be with us part of the time, as he was at +grandpa's farm." + +"Oh, goodie! What fun we'll have! Oh, goodie! What fun we'll have!" sang +Sue, dancing around, holding her doll by one arm. + +"And we'll ride in street cars, and on the steam cars," said Bunny, "and +I'll see a policeman and a fireman and the fire engines, and we'll have +ice cream cones, and--and----" + +But that was all the little boy could think of just then, and he had to +stop to catch his breath, which had nearly got away from him, he had +talked so fast. + +"There won't be any horses to ride, and we can't see the ducks and +chickens," said Sue, "like we did on grandpa's farm in the country, +Bunny." + +"No, but we can see lots of other things in the city. I know we'll have +plenty of fun, Sue." + +"Yes, I guess we will. When are we going, Mother?" + +"Oh, in about a week, I think. I'll write and tell Aunt Lu we are +coming." + +"She hasn't lost her diamond ring again; has she?" asked Bunny. + +"No, I guess not. She doesn't say anything about it, if she has," +answered Mrs. Brown. + +"'Cause if she had lost it we'd help her find it," the little boy went +on. "Oh, Sue! aren't you glad we're going?" + +"Well, I just guess I am!" said Sue, happily, singing again. + +She and Bunny talked of nothing else all that day but of the visit to +Aunt Lu, and at night, when they were going to bed, they made plans of +what they would do when they got to Aunt Lu's city house in New York. + +"You'll come; won't you, Daddy?" asked Bunny, at breakfast the next +morning, just before Mr. Brown was ready to start for his office at the +fish dock. + +"Well, yes, I guess I'll come down when it gets so cold here that the +boats can't go out in the bay on account of the ice," said daddy. + +"Oh, are we going to stay until winter?" asked Sue. + +"Yes, we shall stay over Christmas," her mother answered. + +"Will there be a place to slide down hill?" Bunny wanted to know. + +"I'm afraid not, in New York City," Mr. Brown said. "But you can have +other kinds of fun, Bunny and Sue." + +"Oh, I can hardly wait for the time to come!" cried Sue, as she once +more danced around the room with her doll. + +"Let's go out in the yard and play teeter-tauter," called Bunny. "That +will make the time pass quicker, Sue." + +Bunker Blue had made for the children a seesaw from a long plank put +over a wooden sawhorse. When Bunny sat on one end of the plank, and Sue +on the other, they went first up and then down, "teeter-tauter, bread +and water," as they sang when they played this game. + +Soon the brother and sister were enjoying themselves this way, talking +about what fun they would have at Aunt Lu's city home. Then, all at +once, Bunny jumped off the seesaw, and of course Sue came down with a +bump. + +"Oh, Bunny Brown!" she cried, "what did you do that for? Why didn't you +tell me you were goin' to get off, an' then I could stop myself from +bumpin'." + +"I'm sorry," said Bunny. "I didn't know I was going to jump till I did. +Did you get hurted?" + +"No, but I might have. And you knocked my doll out of my lap, and maybe +she's hurted." + +"Oh, you can't hurt a doll!" cried Bunny. "Pooh!" + +"Yes you can, too!" + +"No you can't!" + +The children might have gone on talking in this unpleasant way for some +time, only, just then, up the side drive came Mr. Gordon's grocery +wagon, with Tommie Tobin, the grocery boy, on the seat driving the +horse. + +"Oh, he's got things in for us!" cried Sue. "Let's go an' see what they +is, Bunny. Maybe it's cookies, and we can have one. I'm hungry, and it +isn't near dinner time yet. It's only cookie time." + +The two children went over to the grocery wagon. Tommie Tobin jumped off +the seat, and hurried into the Brown kitchen with a basket of things. He +did not see Bunny and Sue, as they were on the other side of the wagon. + +Just then Bunny had an idea. He often got ideas in his queer little +head. + +"Oh, Sue!" he cried. "I know what let's do!" + +"What?" she asked. + +"Let's get in the grocery wagon, and have a ride." + +"Oh, Bunny! All right. Let's!" + +Softly the children drew nearer the wagon. Then Sue thought of +something. + +"But, Bunny," she said, "Tommie won't like it. Maybe he won't let us +ride." + +"Oh, he'll like it all right," said Bunny. "He gave Charlie Star a ride +the other day. Anyhow he won't know it." + +"Who won't know it; Charlie?" + +"No, Tommie. We'll get in the wagon, and hide down between the boxes and +baskets, while he's in our house. Then he won't see us. Come on, Sue." + +"But it's so high up I can't get in, Bunny." + +"Oh, I'll help you. Here, we can stand on this box, and then we can easy +get up." + +Bunny found a box beside the drive-way. He put it up near the back of +the grocery wagon, and stood up on it. Then he helped Sue up on the +box. + +"Now you can get in," said the little boy. "I'll boost you, just like +Bunker Blue boosts me when I climb trees. Up you go, Sue!" + +Bunny raised Sue up from the box. She put one leg over the tail-board of +the wagon, and down inside she tumbled in the midst of the grocery +packages, the boxes and baskets. + +"Here I come!" cried Bunny, and in he came tumbling. He fell between Sue +and a bag of potatoes. Just then the children heard a joyous whistle. + +"Now keep still--keep very still," whispered Bunny to Sue. "Here comes +Tommie, and if he doesn't see us he'll drive off and give us a nice +ride. Keep still, Sue." + +Sue kept very still. So did Bunny. Tommie came out whistling. He tossed +the empty basket into the back of the wagon, gave one jump up on to the +seat, and cried: + +"Giddap!" + +Off trotted the horse with the wagon, taking Sue and Bunny for a ride, +along with the groceries. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +SURPRISING OLD MISS HOLLYHOCK + + +"Aren't we having a fine ride, Bunny?" + +"Hush, Sue! Not so loud! He'll hear us!" whispered the little boy, as he +and his sister cuddled down in among the boxes and baskets in the +grocery wagon. + +"But it is a nice ride; isn't it?" + +"It sure is, Sue." Bunny laughed in a sort of whisper, so Tommie, the +boy who drove the wagon, would not hear him. And, so far, Tommie had no +idea that he was taking with him Bunny and Sue. + +The two children had no idea where they were going. They often did +things like that, without thinking, and sometimes they were sorry +afterward. But it had seemed all right to them to get into the wagon for +a ride. + +"We won't go very far," Bunny went on, in another whisper, after a bit. +"We'll just ride around the block, and then get out." + +"Will we have to walk home?" Sue asked. + +"Maybe Tommie will drive us back," said Bunny. "He's real good, you +know." + +"I'd rather ride than walk," said Sue. + +Tommie was whistling away as loudly as he could, and this, with the +rattle of the wagon, and the clatter of the horse's hoofs made so much +noise that the whisperings of Bunny and Sue were not heard by the +grocery boy. + +The horse began to trot slowly, and Bunny and Sue, peering out from the +back of the wagon, saw that it was going to stop in front of Charlie +Star's house. + +"What's he stopping for?" asked Sue. + +"Hush!" whispered Bunny. "I guess Tommie is going to leave some +groceries here." + +Bunny had guessed right. Tommie reached back inside the wagon, and +picked up a basket full of packages and bundles. The delivery boy did +not notice Bunny and Sue, who crouched down low, so as to keep out of +sight. Then, still whistling, Tommie ran up the walk with some groceries +for Mrs. Star. + +In a little while Tommie was back again, and once more the horse trotted +off as the grocery boy called: "Giddap there, Prince!" Prince was the +name of the horse. + +"Oh, this sure is a fine ride!" said Sue, laughing and snuggling close +up to Bunny. "Aren't you glad we came?" + +"Yes," he answered, "but I hope he brings us back. We're a long way from +home now, and it's pretty far to walk." + +"Oh, I guess he'll take us," said Sue. "Anyhow we're having a good time, +and so is my doll," and she looked at her toy which she had brought with +her. The doll was now sound asleep on a pound of butter in one of the +baskets, her feet resting on a bag of sugar, and one arm stretched over +a box of crackers. + +"She won't get hungry, anyhow," said Bunny with a laugh. + +"She doesn't eat when she's asleep," said Sue. + +Tommy stopped his grocery wagon several times, to leave boxes or baskets +of good things at the different houses. Finally he stopped in front of +a house where lived Mr. Thompson, and here Tommie had to wait a long +time, for the Thompson family was very large, and they bought a number +of groceries. Tommie used to write down in his book the different things +Mrs. Thompson wanted to order, so he could bring them to her the next +time he drove past. + +Bunny and Sue, cuddled down amid the boxes and baskets, did not like to +stay still so long. They wanted to be riding. Finally Sue looked out of +the back of the wagon and said: + +"Oh, Bunny, look! There's where old Miss Hollyhock lives," and she +pointed to a shabby little house, where lived a poor old woman. +"Hollyhock" was not her name, but everyone called her that because she +had so many of those old-fashioned flowers around her house. She was so +poor that often she did not have much to eat, except what the neighbors +gave her. Mrs. Brown often sent her things, and once Bunny and Sue sold +lemonade, and gave the money they took in to old Miss Hollyhock. + +"Yes, that's where she lives," said Bunny. + +"And maybe she's hungry now," Sue went on. + +"Maybe she is," agreed Bunny. + +"We could give her something to eat," suggested Sue, after thinking a +few seconds. + +"How?" Bunny wanted to know. + +"Look at all these groceries," Sue said. "There's a lot here that Tommie +don't need. We could get out, and take a basket full in to old Miss +Hollyhock." + +"Oh, so we could!" Bunny cried. "We'll do it. Pick out the biggest +basket you can find, Sue." + +Neither Bunny Brown nor his sister Sue thought it would be wrong to take +a basket of groceries from the wagon for poor old Miss Hollyhock. They +did not stop to think that the groceries belonged to someone else. All +they thought of was that the old lady might be hungry. + +"We'll take this basket," said Sue. "It's got lots in." + +She pointed to one that held some bread, crackers, sugar, butter, +potatoes, tea and coffee. All of these things were done up in paper +bags, except the potatoes. Bunny and Sue could tell which was tea and +which was coffee by the smell. And they had often gone to the store for +their mother, so they knew how the grocer did up other things good to +eat, in different sized bags or packages. + +"Yes, that will be a nice basket to take to old Miss Hollyhock," agreed +Bunny. "But I don't think I can carry it, Sue." + +"I'll help you," said the little girl. "Anyhow, if we can't carry it all +at once, we can take it in a little at a time." + +"We--we ought to have a box to step on when we get out, same as we had +to get in," said Bunny. + +"Here's one," and Sue pointed to an empty box in the wagon. + +Bunny dragged it to the back of the wagon. The end, or "tail," board was +down, so there was no trouble in dropping the box out of the wagon to +the ground. Then Bunny could step on it and get out. He also helped Sue +down. But first they pulled the big basket of groceries close to the end +of the wagon, where they could easily reach it. + +"Now we'll surprise old Miss Hollyhock," said Bunny. + +"Won't it be nice!" exclaimed Sue. + +They did not stop to think that they might also surprise someone else +besides the poor old lady. + +Looking toward the Thompson house, to make sure Tommie was not coming +out, Bunny and Sue filled their little arms with bundles from the +grocery basket, and started toward old Miss Hollyhock's cabin. They did +not want Tommie to see what they were doing. + +"'Cause maybe he wouldn't want to give her so much," said Bunny. "But +mother will pay for it if we ask her to." + +"Yes," said Sue. + +Together they went up to old Miss Hollyhock's door. Then Bunny thought +of something else. + +"We'll give her a surprise," he whispered to Sue. "We'll make believe +it's Valentine's Day or Hallowe'en, and we'll leave the things on her +doorstep, and run away." + +"That will be nice," said Sue. + +The children had to make three trips before they had all the groceries +out of the basket and piled nicely on the front steps of old Miss +Hollyhock's house. But at last it was all done, and Bunny and Sue +climbed back in the wagon again. Bunny even reached down and pulled up +after him the box on which he and his sister had stepped when they got +in and out. + +All this while Tommie had not come out of the Thompson house, so of +course he had not seen what the children had done. Soon after Bunny and +Sue were safely snuggled down amid the boxes and baskets once more, the +grocery boy came down the walk whistling. + +He threw an empty basket into the wagon, put in his pocket the book in +which he had written down the order Mrs. Thompson had given him, and +cried to Prince: + +"Giddap!" + +"And he giddapped as fast as anything!" said Sue, in telling about it +afterward. "He giddapped so fast that I tumbled over backward into a box +of strawberries. But I didn't smash very many, and Bunny and me ate 'em, +so it didn't hurt much." + +On went the grocery horse, and pretty soon Tommie, on the front seat, +cried: + +"Whoa!" + +The horse stopped in front of a big house where lived Mr. Jones. Tommie +looked back into the wagon. He did not see Bunny and Sue, for they had +pulled a horse blanket over themselves to hide, since there were not so +many boxes in the wagon now. + +"Hello!" cried Tommie in surprise. "Where's that big basket of groceries +for Mr. Jones? I surely put it in the wagon, but it's gone! This is +queer!" + +Bunny and Sue, hiding under the blanket, wondered what would happen +next. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +OFF FOR NEW YORK + + +"Where is that basket of groceries for the Jones house? Where can it +have gone to?" asked Tommie aloud, as he looked back into his wagon. +"I'm sure I put it in, and now--" + +He turned around on his seat, and stepped over into the back part of the +wagon, among the boxes and baskets. He looked at them carefully, and +finally he raised the horse blanket that was over Bunny and Sue. + +"Why--why--what--what in the world are you doing here?" cried Tommie, +much surprised to see the two children hiding there. + +"We--we're having a ride," said Sue. + +"Where did you get in?" asked Tommie. + +"When you stopped at our house," answered Bunny. "And we've been riding +with you ever since." + +"Well, well!" cried Tommie. "And to think I never knew it! You riding +in with me all the while, and I never knew a thing about it! Well, +well!" + +He laughed, and Bunny and Sue laughed also. It was quite a joke. + +"You don't mind, do you, Tommie?" asked Bunny. + +"No, not a bit. I'm glad to have you." + +"And will you ride us home?" asked Sue. + +"Sure, yes, of course I will. But I've got to deliver the rest of my +groceries first. And that makes me think--I've lost a big basket full +that ought to go to Mr. Jones. I'm sure I put 'em in the wagon, but +they're not here. You didn't see a big basket of groceries--butter, +bread, tea, coffee and sugar--fall out, while you were riding in there, +did you?" + +Bunny and Sue looked at one another. They were both thinking of the same +thing. + +"That must have been the basket," said Bunny slowly. + +"Yes," agreed Sue. + +"What basket?" asked Tommie. + +"We--we gave a basket of groceries to old Miss Hollyhock," said Bunny +slowly. "It was while you were in Mr. Thompson's house. You know old +Miss Hollyhock is awful poor, and we gave her the things to eat. We left +'em on her doorstep." + +"For a Hallowe'en surprise," added Sue, "or a Valentine, though it isn't +Valentine's Day yet, either." + +"So that's what happened; eh?" cried the grocery boy. "Old Miss +Hollyhock has the things I ought to leave for Mrs. Jones! Well, well!" + +"Is you mad?" asked Sue, for there was a queer look on Tommie's face. + +"No, not exactly mad, Sue," said Tommie slowly. "But I don't know what +to do. I know you meant to be kind, and good to old Miss Hollyhock; but +what am I to do about the things for Mrs. Jones? I can't very well go +and take them away from old Miss Hollyhock, for she must think that some +of her friends sent them, as they often do. It wouldn't do to take them +away." + +"Oh, no! You musn't take 'em away from her, after we gave 'em to her," +said Bunny. "That would make her feel bad." + +"And she feels bad now, 'cause she's poor," put in Sue. "She's hungry, +too, maybe." + +"Yes, I guess she is," agreed Tommie. "Well, I don't know what to do. If +I go back to the store to get more things for Mrs. Jones, Mr. Gordon +will want to know what became of the basketful I had. And old Miss +Hollyhock has them. Well--" + +"Oh, I know what to do!" cried Bunny. + +"What?" asked Tommie. + +"You go to my house," said the little boy, "and my mamma will give you +money to buy more groceries for Mrs. Jones. Then old Miss Hollyhock can +keep the ones Sue and me give her. Won't that be all right?" + +"Yes, I s'pose it will if your mother gives me the money," answered +Tommie slowly. + +"She won't have to give you the money," said Sue. "We don't pay money +for groceries anyhow; we charge 'em." + +"Well, it's the same thing in the end," said Tommie with a laugh. "But I +guess the best I can do is to take you two youngsters home, and see what +happens then. I'll tell Mrs. Jones I'll come later with her groceries." + +Tommie ran up to the Jones house, and was soon back on the wagon again. +He drove quite fast to the home of Bunny and Sue. + +"Oh, you children!" cried Mrs. Brown, when she heard what had +happened--about Bunny and Sue riding in the grocery wagon, and giving +the things away to old Miss Hollyhock that Mrs. Jones ought to have had. + +"You'll pay for the groceries, won't you, Mother?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, dear, I suppose so. I know you meant to be kind, but you should +ask me before you do things like that. However, the food will be a great +help to old Miss Hollyhock. I was going to send her some anyhow. + +"Here, Tommie, you give this note to Mr. Gordon, the grocer, and he will +charge the things to me, and give you more for Mrs. Jones. I'm sorry you +had all this trouble." + +"Oh, I don't mind," and Tommie was smiling now. "I'm glad Bunny and Sue +had a nice ride." + +"And it makes you feel good to give things to people," said Bunny. "I +mean it makes you feel good inside." + +"Like eating bread and jam when you're hungry," observed Sue. + +"No, it isn't like that," said Bunny. "'Cause when your hungry, and you +eat bread and jam it makes you feel good here," and he put his hand on +his stomach. "But when you make somebody, like old Miss Hollyhock, a +present it makes you feel good higher up," and he patted his little +heart. + +"Well, I'm glad to know you like to be kind," said Mother Brown. "But +please don't run away and ride in any more grocery wagons, or something +may happen so that you can't go on a visit to Aunt Lu's city home." + +"Oh dear!" cried Sue. "We wouldn't want that to happen! Are we soon +going, Mother?" + +"Pretty soon, I guess. I have some sewing to do first. I must make you +some new dresses." + +The next week was a busy one in the Brown house. There were clothes to +get ready for Bunny and Sue, and as they had just come back from a long +visit to grandpa's, in the country, some of their things needed much +mending. For Bunny and Sue had played in the hay; they had romped around +in the barn, and had run through the woods, and across the fields. + +But the summer vacation had done them good. They were strong and +healthy, and as brown as little Indian children. They could play all day +long, come in, go to bed, and get up early the next morning, ready for +more good times. + +One day the postman brought another letter from Aunt Lu. + + "I can hardly wait for Bunny and Sue to come to + see me," said Aunt Lu. "I am sure they will have a + fine time in the city, though it is different from + the seashore where they live. Bunny will not find + any lobster claws here. And my home isn't in the + country, either. There are no green fields to play + in, though we can go to Central Park, or the Bronx + Zoo." + +"What's a Zoo?" asked Bunny. "Is it something good to eat?" + +"It's a game, like tag," guessed Sue. + +"No," said Mother Brown. "Aunt Lu means the Bronx Zoölogical Park, and +she calls it Zoo for short. That means a place where animals are kept." + +"Wild animals?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes." + +"Pooh! I know what a Zoo is--it's a circus!" the little boy exclaimed. + +"Well, it's partly like that," said his mother. "But that isn't all of +Aunt Lu's letter." + +"What else does she say?" asked Sue. + +"Why, she writes that she has a surprise for you." + +"Oh, what is it?" asked Bunny. + +"Tell us!" begged Sue. + +"Aunt Lu doesn't say," said Mrs. Brown. "You will have to wait until you +get to Aunt Lu's city home. Then you'll find out what the surprise is." + +Bunny and Sue tried all that day to guess, but of course they could not +tell whether they had guessed right or not. + +"Oh dear!" sighed Sue. "I wish it was time to go now." + +But the days soon passed, and, about a week later, Mrs. Brown, with +Bunny and Sue, were at the railroad station, ready to take the train for +New York. Mr. Brown could not go with them, though he said he would come +later. He went to the station with them, however. + +"Here comes the New York train," said Mr. Brown as a whistle sounded +down the track. "Now you're off for Aunt Lu's!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +ON THE TRAIN + + +Mr. Brown helped his wife and the two children on to the train. Then he +had to hurry down the steps, for the engine was whistling, which meant +that it was about to start off again. + +"And I don't want to be carried away with it, much as I would like to +go," said Daddy Brown. "But I'll come to Aunt Lu's and see you before +the winter is over, though now I must stay here, and look after my boat +business, with Bunker Blue." + +"Bring Bunker with you when you come to New York," called Bunny to his +father, as the train slowly rolled out of the station. + +"All right, perhaps I will," answered Mr. Brown. + +Bunny Brown and his sister Sue crowded up to the open car window to wave +a last good-bye to their father, who stood on the depot platform. At +last they could see him no longer, for the train was soon going fast, +and was quickly far away. Then the children settled down to enjoy their +ride. + +"Mother, can't I sit next to the window?" begged Sue. + +"No, I want to!" cried Bunny. + +The children did not often ride in the steam cars, and of course it was +quite a treat for each of them to sit next to the window, where one +could watch the trees, houses, fences and telegraph poles as they seemed +to fly past. In fact Bunny and Sue both wanted the window so much that +they quite forgot to be polite, as they nearly always were. + +"I'm going to be at the window," said Sue. + +"No, I am!" cried Bunny. + +"Children, children!" said Mrs. Brown softly. "Be nice now. I will let +you each have a seat by yourself, then you may each sit by a window. You +must not be so impatient about it." + +The car was not crowded, and there was plenty of room for Bunny and Sue +to have each a seat by a window. Mrs. Brown also sat in a seat by +herself behind the two little ones. She had seen that the windows were +not raised high enough for Bunny or Sue to put out their heads. + +"And you must not put out your arms, or hands, either," she said. "You +might be hit by a post or something, and be hurt. Keep your hands and +arms in." + +Bunny and Sue were quite happy now, for they loved to travel, as most +children do. Then, too, they were going to Aunt Lu's in the big city of +New York, and would have lots of good times there. They had said +good-bye to all their little friends, and to old Miss Hollyhock. The +poor old lady had found the groceries on her doorstep, and she was very +thankful for them. + +"I hope when you get old, and poor and hungry, you'll have some one to +be kind to you," she had said to Bunny and Sue, when she found out it +was to them she owed the good things. + +"Oh, we're never going to be poor!" Sue had said. "Our papa will buy us +things to eat. He buys us ice cream cones; don't he Bunny?" + +"Yes, dear, and I hope he will always be with you, to look after you," +said old Miss Hollyhock. + +Bunny and Sue had also said good-bye to Uncle Tad, to Mrs. Redden who +kept the candy store, and to Mr. and Miss Winkler. Nor did they forget +to say good-bye to Wango, the monkey. + +"We won't see any monkeys in the city," said Sue. + +"Yes we will," cried Bunny. "We'll see 'em in the Zoo. And they have +hand-organ monkeys in cities, Sue." + +"Maybe they do," she said. + +And now, as the two children were riding in the train, they talked of +what they saw from the windows, and also of the friends they had left +behind in Bellemere, not forgetting Wango, the monkey. + +"Mother, I want a drink of water," said Sue, after a while. "I'm +thirsty." + +"All right, I'll get you a drink," said Mrs. Brown. In her bag she had a +little drinking cup, that closed up, "like an accordion," as Bunny +said. And, taking this out, Mrs. Brown walked to the end of the car +where the water was kept in a tank, to get Sue a drink. + +As the little girl was taking some from the cup the train gave a sudden +swing to one side, and, the first thing Sue knew, the water had splashed +up in her face, and down over her dress. + +"Oh--oh, Mother!" gasped Sue. "I--I didn't mean to do that." + +"No, you couldn't help it," said Mrs. Brown. "It was the train that made +you do it. Water won't hurt your dress." + +Mrs. Brown sat down, after wiping the drops off Sue's skirt and face. +She was beginning to read a book when Bunny, who had been looking out of +his window, called: + +"Mother, I'm thirsty. I want a drink!" + +"Oh, Bunny dear! Why didn't you tell me that when I was getting one for +Sue?" + +"'Cause, Mother, I wasn't thirsty then." + +Mrs. Brown smiled. Then she once more went down to the end of the car +and got Bunny a drink. By this time the train had stopped at a station, +so the car was not "jiggling" as Sue called it. And Bunny did not spill +his cup of water. + +For some time after this the two children sat quietly in their seats. + +"I just saw a cow!" Sue called back to her brother. + +"Pooh!" he answered. "That's nothing. I just saw two horses in a field, +and one was running." + +"Well, a cow's better than a horse," insisted Sue. + +"No it isn't!" Bunny cried. "You can ride a horse, but you can't ride a +cow." + +"Well, a cow gives milk." + +Bunny could not think of any answer for a minute, and then he said: + +"Well, anyhow, two horses is better than one cow." + +Even Sue thought this might be so. She sat looking out of the window, +watching the trees, houses, fences and telegraph poles, as they seemed +to fly past. + +By and by a boy came through the car selling candy. + +"Mother, I'm hungry!" said Bunny. + +"So am I!" added Sue. "I want some candy!" + +Mrs. Brown bought them some chocolates, for the ride was a long one, and +they had eaten an early breakfast. The candy kept Bunny and Sue quiet +for a while, and Mrs. Brown was shutting her eyes for a little sleep, +when she heard some one behind her saying: + +"Oh, children, I wouldn't do that!" + +Quickly opening her eyes she saw Bunny and Sue crossing to the other +side of the car, to take some empty seats there. A passenger behind Mrs. +Brown, seeing that she was asleep, had spoken to the children. + +"Oh, you musn't do that," said Mrs. Brown. "Stay in the seats you had +first." + +"We want to see what's on this side," said Bunny. He had already climbed +up into a vacant seat, and was near the window, when, all at once, a +train rushed past on the other track, with a loud whistle, a clanging of +the bell and puffing of the engine, that sent smoke and cinders into +Bunny's face. The little fellow jumped back quickly. + +"There!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "You see it is much nicer on the side +where you were first. No trains pass on this side." + +So Bunny and Sue were glad enough to go back to the places they had at +first. For some time they were quiet, looking out at the different +stations as they stopped. At noon their mother gave them some chicken +sandwiches from a basket of lunch she had put up. + +"Why don't we go into the dining car, like we did once?" Bunny wanted to +know. + +"Because there isn't any on this train," said Mrs. Brown. "But we will +soon be at Aunt Lu's. Now sit back in your seats, and rest yourselves." + +Bunny and Sue did for a while. Then they looked for something else to +do. The train boy came through with some picture books, and Mrs. Brown +bought one each for Bunny and Sue. + +These kept them quiet for a little while, but the books were soon +finished, even when Bunny took Sue's and gave her his, to change about. + +"You come back and sit in my seat, Bunny," Sue invited her brother +after a while. + +"No, you come with me," said Bunny. So Sue got in with him, but she +wanted to sit next to the window, and as Bunny wanted that place +himself, they were not satisfied, until Sue went back in her own seat. + +About this time Bunny looked up and saw a long cord stretched overhead +in the car, like a clothes line. It hung down from the car ceiling, and +ran over little brass wheels, or pulleys, like those on Mr. Brown's +boats, only much smaller. + +"Do you see that cord, Sue?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes," answered the little girl. "What's it for?" + +"That's what holds the cars together," Bunny said. "The cars are tied to +the engine with that cord." + +Of course this was not so, for it takes strong iron chains and bars to +hold the railroad cars one to another, and to the engine. But Bunny +thought the cord, that blew a whistle in the engine, kept the train from +coming apart. + +"Is that what it's for?" asked Sue. "It isn't a very big string for to +hold a train." + +"Oh, it's very strong," Bunny said. "Nobody could break it." + +"I--I guess daddy could break it," Sue suggested. + +"No he couldn't!" + +"Yes he could! Daddy's awful strong!" + +"He couldn't break that cord!" declared Bunny. "Nobody could break it. +If I could pull it down here, you could pull on it and see how strong it +is. No one can break it." + +He reached up toward the whistle cord, but he was too short to get hold +of it. + +"I know how you can get it," said Sue. + +"How can I get it?" Bunny asked. + +"Hook it down with mother's parasol," answered Sue. + +"Oh, so I can!" cried Bunny. + +He went back to the seat where his mother sat. Mrs. Brown had fallen +asleep, and Bunny got her parasol without awakening her. + +The little fellow raised the umbrella, and hooked the crook in the end +of it over the whistle cord. He pulled down hard, and then--well, I +guess I'll tell you in the next chapter what happened. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +AUNT LU'S SURPRISE + + +When Bunny Brown pulled down on the whistle cord in the railroad car, a +very strange thing happened. All at once there was a loud squeaking, +grinding sound. The car shivered and shook and began to go slowly. It +stopped so suddenly that Bunny slid out of the smooth plush seat down to +the floor. So did his sister Sue. + +Some of the other passengers had hard work to keep from sliding from +their seats, and many of them jumped up and began calling: + +"What's the matter?" + +"What has happened?" + +"Is there an accident?" + +For when a train stops suddenly, you know, if it is going along fast, it +almost always means that something has happened, or that there is a +cow, or something else, on the track, and that the engineer wants to +stop, quickly, so as not to hit it. And that's what the other passengers +thought now. + +Mrs. Brown was suddenly awakened from her sleep. She, too, had almost +slid from her seat when the car stopped so suddenly. For the moment +Bunny pulled down on the cord, it blew a whistle in the cab, or little +house of the engine, where the engineer sits. And when the engineer +heard that whistle he knew it meant for him to stop as soon as he could. + +He could look down the track, and see that there was nothing on the +rails that he could hit, but, hearing the whistle, he thought the +conductor, or one of the brakemen, must have pulled the cord. Perhaps +the engineer thought some one had fallen off the train, as people +sometimes fall off boats, and the engineer wanted to stop quickly so the +passenger could be picked up. At any rate, he stopped very suddenly, and +that was what made all the trouble. Or, rather, Bunny Brown made all the +trouble, though he did not mean to. + +"Why, Bunny!" cried his mother, as she straightened up in her seat. +"Where are you? Where is Sue? What has happened?" + +For, you know, Bunny and Sue had slid down to the floor of the car when +the train came to such a sudden stop. + +"Where are you, children?" called Mrs. Brown, anxiously. + +"I--I'm here, Mother!" answered Sue. "Bunny pushed me off my seat!" + +"Oh-o-o-o, Sue Brown! I did not!" cried the little fellow, getting up +with the parasol still in his hand. "I did not!" + +"Well, you made the train stop, and that knocked me out of my seat, and +my doll was knocked down too, so there!" answered Sue, and she seemed +ready to cry. + +"Bunny, what happened? What did you do?" asked his mother. "What are you +doing with my parasol?" she asked. + +"I--I just reached up to pull down that rope with the crooked handle +end," Bunny answered, pointing to the whistle cord. "I wanted to show +Sue how strong it was, so I pulled on it." + +"Oh ho!" exclaimed a fat man, a few seats ahead of Bunny. "So that's +what made the train stop; eh? I thought someone must have pulled the +engineer's whistle cord to make him stop, but I didn't think it was a +little boy like you." + +"Oh, Bunny!" exclaimed his mother, when she saw what had happened. "You +shouldn't have done that. You musn't stop the train that way." + +"I--I didn't want to stop the train, Mother!" the little boy answered. +"I just wanted to show Sue about the cord. I fell out of my seat, too," +he added. + +"Yes, nearly all of us did," said the fat man with a laugh. "Well if you +didn't mean to do it Bunny, we'll forgive you I suppose," and he laughed +in a jolly way. + +Into the car came hurrying the conductor, with the gold bands on his +cap, and the brakeman. They looked all around, and then straight at +Bunny who still held his mother's parasol. + +"Who pulled the whistle cord?" asked the conductor. Years ago there used +to be a bell cord in the train, and a bell rang in the engineer's cab +when the cord was pulled. But now an air whistle blows. "Who pulled the +cord?" asked the conductor. + +Now Bunny Brown was a brave little chap, even when he knew he had done +wrong. So he spoke up and said: + +"I--I pulled it, Mr. Conductor. I pulled the cord." + +"You did eh?" and the conductor smiled a little now. Bunny looked so +funny and so cute standing there, with the parasol, and Sue looked so +pretty, standing near him, holding her doll upside down, that no one +could help at least smiling. Some of the passengers were laughing. + +"And so you stopped my train; did you?" the conductor asked. + +"I--I guess so," Bunny answered. "I was pulling down on the rope, to +show my sister how strong it was." + +"Oh, I see," the conductor went on. "Then you didn't stop my train +because you wanted to get off?" + +"Oh, no!" cried Bunny quickly. "I don't want to get off now. I want to +go to New York. We're going to my Aunt Lu's house." + +"Well, New York is quite a way off yet," laughed the conductor, "so I +guess you had better stay with us. But please don't pull on the whistle +cord again." + +"I won't," Bunny promised. "But it is a strong rope, isn't it, Mr. +Conductor? And it does hold the cars together; doesn't it?" + +"Well, no, not exactly," the conductor answered, while the passengers +laughed. "I'll show you what the cord does in a little while. But I'm +glad nothing has happened. I thought there was an accident when the +train stopped so quickly, so I ran through all the cars to find out. Now +we'll go on again." + +He reached up and pulled the car-cord twice. Far up ahead, in the cab of +the locomotive, a little whistle blew twice, and the engineer knew that +meant for him to go ahead. It's just like that on a trolley car. One +bell means to stop, and two bells to go ahead. + +"Oh Bunny! Why did you do it?" asked his mother, as she took the parasol +from him. + +"Why--why, I didn't mean to stop the train," he said. + +Mrs. Brown thought there was not much need of scolding Bunny, for he had +not meant to do wrong. He promised never again to pull on a whistle cord +in a train. + +Now the cars were rolling on again, and, in a little while the conductor +again came back to where Mrs. Brown was sitting. + +"Now where's the little boy who stopped my train?" he asked with a +smile. + +"I'm here," Bunny answered, "and this is my sister Sue." + +"Well, I'm glad to meet you both again, I'm sure," and the conductor +shook hands with Bunny and kissed Sue. "Now, if you two would like it, +I'll show you where you blew the whistle in the engine." + +"Oh, will you take us in the engine?" asked Bunny, who had always wanted +to go in that funny little house on top of the locomotive's back. + +"Yes, I'll take you in when we make the next stop," the conductor said. +"We have to wait a few minutes to give the engine a drink of water, and +I'll take you and your sister in the engine. That is if you say it's all +right," and he turned around to look at Mrs. Brown. + +"Oh, yes," Bunny's mother answered. "They may go with you if they won't +be a bother. I'm sorry my little boy made so much trouble about stopping +the train." + +"Oh, well, he didn't mean to, so we'll forget all about it. I'll come +back and get you when we stop," he said. + +A little later the train slowed up. It did it so easily that no one fell +out of his seat this time, and, pretty soon, back came the conductor to +get Bunny and Sue. + +The engine had stopped near a big wooden tank filled with water, and +some of this water was running through a big pipe into the tender of the +engine. The tender is the place where the coal is kept for the +locomotive fire. + +"Hello, Jim!" called the conductor to the engineer who was leaning out +of the window of his little house. "Here's the boy who stopped the train +so suddenly a while back." + +"Oh ho! Is he?" asked the engineer. "Well, he isn't a very big boy, to +have stopped such a big train." + +"I--I didn't mean to," said Bunny, and he and Sue looked back, and saw +that truly it was a long train. And the locomotive pulling it was a very +big one. + +"Well, you didn't do much damage," laughed the engineer. + +"I'm going to bring them up to see you," the conductor said. + +"That's right, let 'em come!" + +The engineer came out of his cab and took first Bunny, and then Sue, +from the conductor, who lifted them up to the iron step near the boiler. +A hot fire was burning under the engine to make steam, and Bunny and Sue +looked at it in wonder. + +Then the engineer took them up in his cab, and showed Bunny where, on +the ceiling, was the little air whistle--the one Bunny had blown when he +pulled the cord with the parasol. Then the engineer showed the children +the shiny handle that he pulled to make the engine go ahead, and another +that made it go backward. Then he showed a little brass handle. + +"This is the one I pulled on in a hurry when I heard you blow the +whistle once," he said. + +"What handle is that?" asked the little boy. + +"That's the handle that puts on the air brakes," said the engineer. "And +over here is the rope the fireman pulls when he wants to ring the bell. +I'll let you ring it." + +"And me, too?" asked Sue. + +"Yes, you too!" laughed the engineer. + +First Bunny pulled on the rope that was fast to the big bell on the top +of the engine, near the smoke-stack where the puffing noise sounded. +Bunny could hardly make the bell ring, as it was very heavy, but finally +he did make it sound: + +"Ding-dong!" + +"Now it's my turn!" cried Sue. + +She could only make the bell ring once: + +"Ding!" + +But she was just as well pleased. + +By this time the engine had taken enough water for its boiler, to last +until it got to New York, and the conductor took Bunny and Sue back to +their mother. They were quite excited and pleased over their visit to +the locomotive, and told Mrs. Brown all about the strange sights they +had seen. + +"But when will we be at Aunt Lu's?" asked Bunny, as he looked out of the +window. + +"Oh, soon now," his mother answered. + +And, in about an hour, the brakeman put his head in through the door of +their car, and called out: + +"New York! All change!" + +"Change what, Mother?" asked Sue. "Have we got to change our clothes? +Are we going to bed?" + +"No, dear. The man means we must change cars. We are at the end of our +railroad trip." + +"But it's so dark," said Bunny. "I thought it was time to go to bed." + +"It's the station that's dark," said Mrs. Brown. "Part of it is +underground, like a tunnel." + +Indeed it was so dark in the train and the station that the car lamps +were lighted. No wonder Bunny and Sue thought it time to go to bed. + +But when they got outside the sun was shining, though it was afternoon, +and would soon be supper time. + +"Oh, here you are! Hello, Bunny dear! Hello, Sue dear!" cried a jolly +voice. + +"Oh, Aunt Lu! Oh, Aunt Lu!" cried Bunny and Sue as they clung to their +aunt. "We're so glad to see you!" + +"And I'm glad to see you!" she cried, as she kissed her sister, Mrs. +Brown. "Now come on, and we'll soon be at my house." + +"But where's the surprise?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, we want to see the surprise," said Sue. + +"It's in my automobile," said Aunt Lu with a laugh. "Come on, I'll show +her to you." + +"Is it--is it a _her_?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, my dear. You'll soon see. Come on!" + +Aunt Lu led the way to a fine, large automobile just outside the +station. A man wearing a tall hat opened the door of the car, and +looking inside Bunny and Sue saw a queer little colored girl, her kinky +hair standing up in little pigtails all over her head. She smiled at +Bunny and Sue, showing her white teeth. + +"There!" cried Aunt Lu. "What do you think of my surprise?" + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE WRONG HOUSE + + +For a second or two Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did not know what to +say. They stood on the sidewalk, at the door of the automobile, which +was one of the closed kind, staring at the little colored girl, with her +kinky wisps of hair. + +"Well, what do you think of Wopsie?" asked Aunt Lu again. "Don't you +like my surprise, Bunny--Sue?" + +"Is--is this the surprise?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, this is Wopsie. I'll tell you about her in a little while. Get in +now, and we'll soon be at my house." + +Wopsie, the colored girl, smiled to show even more of her white teeth, +and then she asked: + +"Is yo' all de company?" + +"Yes, this is the company I told you about, Wopsie," said Miss Baker, +which was Aunt Lu's name. "This is Bunny," and she pointed to the little +boy, "and this little girl is Sue. They are going to be my company for a +long time, I hope." + +Wopsie gave a funny little bow, that sent her black topknots of hair +bobbing all over her head, and said: + +"Pleased to meet yo' all, company! Pleased to meet yo'!" + +Bunny and Sue thought Wopsie talked quite funnily, but they were too +polite to say so. They looked at the little colored girl and smiled. And +she smiled back at them. + +"Home, George," said Miss Baker to one of the two men on the front seat +of the automobile. The man touched his cap, and soon Bunny, Sue and +their mother were being driven rapidly through the streets of New York +in Aunt Lu's automobile. + +"It's almost as big as the one we went in to grandpa's, in the country," +said Bunny, as he looked around at the seats, and noticed the little +electric lamp in the roof. + +"But you can't sleep in it or cook in it," said Sue. "And there's no +place for Splash or Bunker Blue." + +"No," said Bunny. "That's so." + +The children had had to leave Splash, the dog, home with Daddy Brown, +and of course Bunker Blue did not come to Aunt Lu's. + +"No, we can't sleep in my auto, nor eat, unless it is to eat candy, or +cookies, or something like that," said Aunt Lu. "And I have some sweet +crackers for the children, if you think it's all right for them to eat," +said Aunt Lu to Mother Brown. + +"Oh, yes. I guess it will be all right. They must be hungry, though they +ate on the train." + +"And Bunny stopped the train, too!" cried Sue. "He pulled on the whistle +cord, with mother's parasol, and we stopped so quick we slid out of our +seats; didn't we, Bunny?" + +"Yep!" + +"My! That was quite an adventure," said Aunt Lu, laughing. + +"And we went in the choo-choo engine," went on Sue. "I ringed the bell, +I did, and so did Bunny. Was you ever in a train, Wopsie?" Sue asked the +little colored girl. + +"Yes'm, I was once." + +"Wopsie came all the way up from down South," said Aunt Lu. "She is a +little lost girl." + +"Lost!" cried Bunny and Sue. They did not understand how any one could +be lost when in a nice automobile with Aunt Lu. + +"Yes'm, I'se losted!" said Wopsie, shaking her kinky head, "an' I +suttinly does wish dat I could find mah folks!" + +"I must tell you about her," said Aunt Lu. "Wopsie, which is the name I +call her, though her right name is Sallie Jefferson, was sent up North +to live with her aunt here in New York. Wopsie made the trip all alone. +She was put on the train, at a little town somewhere in North Carolina, +or South Carolina--she doesn't remember which--and sent up here." + +"All alone?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, all alone. She had a tag, or piece of paper, pinned to her dress, +with the name and house number of her aunt. But the paper was lost." + +"De paper was losted, and now I'se losted," said Wopsie. + +"I'll tell them all about you, Wopsie," said Aunt Lu. + +Then she told Bunny and Sue how the little colored girl had reached New +York all alone, not knowing where to go. + +"A kind lady, in the same station where you children just came in, +looked after Wopsie," said Aunt Lu. "This lady looks after all lost boys +and girls, and she took Wopsie to a nice place to stay all night. In the +morning she tried to find Wopsie's aunt, but could not. Nor could Wopsie +tell her aunt's name, or where she lived. She was lost just as you and +Sue, Bunny, sometimes get lost in the woods." + +"And how did you come to take her?" asked Mother Brown. + +"Well, Wopsie was sent to a society that looks after lost children," +said Aunt Lu. "They tried to find her friends, either up here, in New +York, or down South, but they could not. I belong to this society, and +when I heard of Wopsie I said I would take her and keep her in my house +for a while. I can train her to become a lady's maid while I am waiting +to find her folks." + +"Are you trying to find them?" asked Mrs. Brown. + +"Yes, I have written all over, and so has the society. We have asked the +police to let us know if any one is asking for a little lost colored +girl. But I have had her nearly a month now, and no one has claimed +her." + +"Yep. I suah am losted!" said Wopsie, but she laughed as she said it, +and did not seem to mind very much. "It's fun being losted like this," +she said, as she patted the soft cushions of the automobile. "I likes +it!" + +"And are you really going to keep her?" asked Mrs. Brown of her sister. + +"Yes, until she gets a little older, or until I can find her folks. I +think her father and mother must have died some time ago," said Aunt Lu +in a whisper to Mrs. Brown. "She probably didn't have any _real_ folks +down South, so whoever she was with sent her up here." + +"Well, I'm glad you took care of her," said Mrs. Brown. "She looks like +a nice clean little girl." + +"She is; and she is very kind and helpful. She is careful, too, and she +will be a help with Bunny and Sue. Wopsie has already learned her way +around that part of New York near my apartment, and I can send her on +errands. She can take Bunny and Sue out." + +While Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu were talking together Wopsie had given +Bunny and Sue some sweet crackers from a box she took out from a pocket +in the side of the automobile. Aunt Lu had told her to do so. So Bunny +and Sue ate the crackers as they rode along, and Wopsie sat near them. + +"Don't you want a cracker?" asked Bunny. + +"No, sah, thank you," answered the little colored girl. "I don't eat +'tween meals. Miss Baker say as how it ain't good for your +intergestion." + +"What's in--indergaston?" asked Sue. + +"Huh! Dat's a misery on yo' insides--a pain," said Wopsie. "I t'ought +everybody knowed dat!" + +Bunny was silent a minute. + +"Do you know how to stop a train by pulling on the whistle cord?" he +asked. + +"No," said Wopsie. + +"Huh! I thought everybody knew that!" exclaimed Bunny. Then he laughed, +as Wopsie did. It was a little joke on her, when Bunny answered her the +way he did. + +The automobile came to a stop in front of a large building. Bunny and +Sue looked up at it. + +"My! What a big house you live in, Aunt Lu!" said Bunny. + +"Oh, this isn't all mine!" laughed Aunt Lu. "There are many others who +live in here. This is what is called an apartment house. I have my +dining room, kitchen, bath room and other rooms, and other families in +this building have the same thing. You see there isn't room in New York +to build separate houses, such as you have in Bellemere, so they make +one big house, and divide it up on the inside, into a number of little +houses, or apartments." + +Bunny and Sue thought that very strange. + +"But you haven't any yard to play in!" exclaimed Bunny, as he and his +sister got out of the automobile, and found that the front door of Aunt +Lu's apartment was right on the sidewalk. + +"No, we don't have yards in the city, Bunny. But we have a roof to go up +on and play." + +"Playing on a roof!" cried Bunny. "I should think you'd fall off!" + +"Oh, it has a high railing all around it. Wopsie may take you up there +after a bit. Then you can see how it seems to play on a roof, instead of +down on the ground. We have to do queer things in big cities." + +Bunny Brown and his sister Sue certainly thought so. + +As they entered the apartment house the children found themselves in a +wide hall, with marble floor and sides. There was a nice carpet over the +marble floor and bright electric lights glowed from the ceiling. + +"Right in here," said Aunt Lu, leading the children toward what seemed +to be a little room with an iron door, like the iron gate to some park. +A colored boy, with many brass buttons on his blue coat, stood at the +door. + +"Jes' yo' all wait an' see what gwine t' happen!" said Wopsie. + +"Why, what is going to happen?" asked Bunny. + +"Oh, ho! Yo' all jes' wait!" exclaimed Wopsie, laughing at her secret. + +"What is it? I don't want anything to happen!" cried Sue hanging back. + +"Oh, it isn't anything, dear. This is just the elevator," said Aunt Lu. +"Get in and you'll have a nice ride." + +"Oh, I like a ride," Sue said. + +In she stepped with Bunny, her mother, Aunt Lu and Wopsie. The colored +boy, who was also smiling, and showing his white teeth as Wopsie was +doing, closed the iron door. Then, all of a sudden, Bunny and Sue felt +themselves shooting upward. + +"Oh! Oh!" cried Bunny. "We're in a balloon! We're in a balloon! We're +going up!" + +"Just like a skyrocket on the Fourth of July!" added Sue. She was not +afraid now. She was clapping her hands. + +Up and up and up they went! + +"Oh, what makes it?" asked Bunny. "Is it a balloon, Aunt Lu?" + +"No, dear, it's just the elevator. You see this big house is so high +that you would get tired climbing the stairs up to my rooms, so we go +up in the elevator. It lifts us up, and in England they call them +'lifts' on this account." + +"Oh, I see!" Bunny cried, as he looked up and saw that he was in a sort +of square steel cage, going up what seemed to be a long tunnel; standing +up instead of lying on the ground as a railroad tunnel lies. "I see! +We're going up, just like a bucket of water comes up out of the well." + +"That's it!" said Aunt Lu. "And when we go down we go down just like the +bucket going down in the well." + +"It's fun! I like it!" and Sue clapped her hands. "I like the elevator!" + +"Yes'm, it sho' am fun!" echoed Wopsie. + +"Wopsie would ride up and down all day if I'd let her," said Aunt Lu. +"But here we are at my floor. Now wasn't that better than climbing up +ten flights of stairs, children?" + +"I guess it was!" cried Bunny. "Do you live up ten flights?" + +"Yes, and there are some families who live higher than that." + +They stepped out of the elevator into a little hall, and soon they were +in Aunt Lu's nice city apartment, or house, if you like that word +better. + +"Now, Wopsie," said Aunt Lu, "you tell Jane to make Mrs. Brown a nice +cup of tea." + +"And can we go up on the roof?" asked Bunny. + +"Not right away--but after a while," said his aunt. + +"Let's go out into the elevator again," suggested Sue. + +"No, dear, not now," said Mrs. Brown. + +Bunny and Sue thought they had never been in such a nice place as Aunt +Lu's city home. From the windows they could look down to the street, ten +stories below. + +"It's a good way to fall," said Bunny, in a whisper. + +"But you musn't lean out of the windows, and then you won't fall," his +mother told him. + +The children were given their supper, and then Wopsie took them up on +the roof. This was higher yet. It was a flat roof, with a broad, high +railing all around it so no one could fall off. And from it Bunny and +Sue could look all over New York, and see the twinkling lights far off, +for it was now getting on toward evening, though it was not yet dark. + +A little later Wopsie took them down in the elevator again, to the +street. There they saw other children walking up and down, some of them +playing; some babies being wheeled in carriages, and many men and women +walking past. + +"My! What a lot of people!" cried Bunny. "Is it always this way in a +city, Wopsie?" + +"Yes'm," answered the little colored girl, who seemed to mix up "Yes, +ma'am," and "Yes, sir." But what of it? She meant all right. "It's bin +dis way eber sence I come t' New York," she went on. "Allers a crowd +laik dis. Everybuddy hurryin' an' hurryin'." + +Wopsie stood still a moment to speak to another colored girl, who came +out of the next house, and Bunny and Sue walked on ahead. Before they +knew it they had turned a corner. Down at the end of the street they saw +a man playing a hand-piano, or hurdy-gurdy, as they are called. + +"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue. "Let's go down and listen to the music." + +"All right," Bunny agreed. "And maybe he has a monkey, like Wango." + +Hand in hand the two children ran on. They saw other children about the +hurdy-gurdy. Some of them were dancing. Bunny and Sue danced too. Then +the music-man wheeled his music machine away, and Bunny and Sue turned +to go back. They walked on and on, and finally Bunny, stopping in front +of a big house said: + +"This is where Aunt Lu lives." + +"But where is Wopsie?" asked Sue. "Why isn't she here?" + +"Oh, maybe she went inside," replied Bunny. "Come on, we'll go in the +elevator and have a ride." + +They went into the marble hall. It looked just like the one in Aunt Lu's +apartment. And there was the same colored elevator boy in his queer +little cage. Bunny and Sue went to the entrance. + +"Where yo' want to go?" asked the elevator boy. + +"To Aunt Lu's," answered Bunny. + +"What floor she done lib on?" the boy asked. + +"I--I don't know," Bunny said. "I--I forgot the number." + +"What's her name?" + +"Aunt Lu," said Sue. + +"No, I mean her last name?" + +"Oh, it's Baker," said Bunny. "Aunt Lu Baker." + +The colored elevator boy shook his head. + +"They don't no Miss Baker lib heah!" he said. "I done guess yo' chilluns +done got in de wrong house!" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +IN THE DUMB WAITER + + +Bunny Brown looked at his sister Sue, and his sister Sue looked at Bunny +Brown. Then they both looked at the colored elevator boy. He was smiling +at them, so Bunny and Sue were not as frightened as they might otherwise +have been. + +"Isn't this where Aunt Lu lives?" asked Bunny. + +"Nope. Not if her name's Baker," answered the elevator lad. "We sure +ain't got nobody named Baker in heah!" (He meant "here.") + +"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue. "Then we're losted again!" + +"Where'd you come from?" asked the colored boy. "Now don't git skeered, +'cause yo' all ain't losted very much I guess. Maybe I kin find where +yo' all belongs. What's de number of, de house where yo' auntie libs?" + +"I--I don't know," said Bunny. He had not thought to ask the number of +his aunt's house, nor had he looked to see what the number was over the +door before he and Sue came out. In the country no one ever had numbers +on their houses, and Bellemere was like the country in this way--no +houses had numbers on them. + +"Well, what street does your aunt done lib on?" asked the colored boy, +in the funny way he talked. + +"I don't know that, either," said Bunny. + +"Huh! Den yo' suah _am_ lost!" cried the elevator lad. "But don't yo' +all git skeered!" he said quickly, as he saw tears coming in Sue's brown +eyes. "I guess yo' all ain't losted so very much, yet. Maybe I kin find +yo' aunt's house." + +"If you could find Wopsie for us, she could take us there," said Bunny. + +"Find who?" + +"Wopsie. She's a little girl that lives with my aunt, and--" + +But the elevator boy did not wait for Bunny to finish. + +"Wopsie!" he cried. "Am she dat queer li'l colored gal, wif her hair all +done up in rags?" + +"Yes!" cried Sue eagerly. "That's Wopsie. We came out to walk with her, +but we heard the hand-piano music, and we got lost." + +"Do you know Wopsie?" asked Bunny. + +"I suah does!" cried the elevator boy. "She's a real nice li'l gal, an' +we all likes her." + +"She's losted too," said Bunny. + +"Yes, I knows about dat!" replied the elevator boy. "We all knows 'bout +Wopsie. Why she's jest down the street, and around the corner a few +houses. Now I know where yo' Aunt Lu libs. If you'd a' done said Wopsie +_fust_, I'd a knowed den, right off quick!" + +"Can you take us home?" asked Sue. + +"I suah can!" cried the kind colored boy. "Jes yo' all wait a minute." + +He called to another colored boy to take care of his elevator, and then, +holding one of Bunny's and one of Sue's hands, he went out into the +street. Around the corner he hurried, and, no sooner had he turned it, +than up rushed Wopsie herself. She made a grab for Bunny and Sue. + +"Oh, mah goodness!" cried the little colored girl. "Oh, mah goodness! +I'se so skeered! I done t'ought I'd losted yo' all!" + +"No, Wopsie," said Bunny. "You didn't lost us. We losted ourselves. We +heard music, and we went to look for a monkey." + +"But there wasn't any monkey," said Sue, "and we got in the wrong house, +where Aunt Lu didn't live." + +"But he brought us back. He knows you, Wopsie," and Bunny nodded toward +the kind elevator boy. + +"I guess everybody around dish yeah place knows Wopsie," said the boy, +smiling. "Will yo' all take dese chilluns home now?" he asked. + +"I suah will!" Wopsie said. "Mah goodness! I'se bin lookin' all ober fo' +'em! I didn't know where dey wented. Come along now, an' yo' all musn't +go 'way from Wopsie no mo'!" + +"We won't!" promised Bunny. + +He and Sue were beginning to find out that it was easier to get lost in +the city, even by going just around the corner, than it was in the +country, when they went down a long road. For in the city the houses +were so close together, and they all looked so much alike, that it was +hard to tell one from the other. + +"But yo' all am all right now, honey lambs," said Wopsie, who seemed to +be very much older than Bunny and Sue, though really she was no more +than three or four years older. + +"Do we have to go in now?" asked Bunny, as Wopsie led him and Sue down +the street, having said good-bye to the kind elevator boy who had +brought them part way home. + +"Yes, I guess we'd better go in," said the little colored girl. "Yo' ma +might be worried about yo'. We'll go in. It's gittin' dark." + +The elevator quickly carried them up to Aunt Lu's floor. + +"Oh, now I see the number!" cried Bunny. "It's ten--I won't forget any +more." + +"Well, did you have a good time?" asked Mother Brown when Bunny and Sue +came in, followed by Wopsie. + +"We got losted!" exclaimed Sue. + +"What! Lost so soon?" cried Aunt Lu. "Where was it?" + +"In a house just like this," broke in Bunny. "And it had a lift elevator +and a colored boy and everything. Only he said you didn't live there, +and you didn't, and I didn't know the number of your floor, or of your +house, and we got losted!" + +"But I found them!" said Wopsie, for she felt it might be a little bit +her fault that Bunny and Sue had gotten away. But of course it was their +own fault for running to hear the music. + +"You must be careful about getting lost," said Aunt Lu. "But of course, +if ever you do, just ask a policeman. I'll give you each one of my +cards, with my name and address on, and you can show that to the +officer. He'll bring, or send, you home." + +Sue and Bunny were each given a card, and they put them away in their +pockets, where they would have them the next time they went out on the +street. + +For the next two or three days Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did not go +far away from Aunt Lu's house. Wopsie took them up and down the block +for a walk, but more often they were riding in Aunt Lu's automobile. +And many wonderful sights did the children see in the big city of New +York. They could hardly remember them, there were so many. + +Bunny and Sue grew to like Wopsie very much. She was a kind, good girl, +anxious to help, and do all she could, and she just loved the children. +She was almost like a nurse girl for them, and Mrs. Brown did not have +to worry when Bunny and Sue were with Wopsie. + +"Do you think you'll ever find her folks?" asked Mrs. Brown of Aunt Lu, +when they were talking of the colored girl one day. + +"Well, I'm sure I hope so," answered Aunt Lu, "though I like the poor +little thing myself very much, and I would like to keep her with me. But +I know she is lonesome for her own aunt whom she has not seen since she +was a little baby. And I think the aunt must be worrying about lost +Wopsie. The police haven't been able to find any one who is looking for +a little colored girl, to come up from down South. Perhaps her aunt has +moved away. Anyhow I'll keep Wopsie until I find her folks." + +Sometimes Bunny and Sue thought that Wopsie looked sad. Perhaps she did, +when she thought of how she was lost. But she had a good home with Aunt +Lu, and after all, Wopsie was quite happy, especially since Bunny and +Sue had come. + +The two Brown children thought riding in the elevator was great fun. +Often they would slip out by themselves and get Henry, the colored boy, +to carry them up and down. And he was very glad to do it, if he was not +busy. + +One day Bunny and Sue went out into Aunt Lu's kitchen, where Mary, the +colored cook, was busy. She often gave the children cookies, or a piece +of cake, just as Mother Brown did at home. + +This day, after they had eaten their cookies, Bunny and Sue heard a +knocking in the kitchen. + +"Somebody's at the door," called Bunny. + +"No, chile! Folks don't knock at de kitchen do' heah," said Mary. "Dey +rings de bell." + +"But somebody's knocking," said Bunny. + +"Yes chile. I s'pects dat's de ice man knockin' on de dumb waiter t' +tell me he's put on a piece ob ice," went on the cook. + +She opened a door in the kitchen wall, and Bunny and Sue saw what looked +like a big box, in a sort of closet. In the box was a large piece of +ice. + +"Yep. Dat's what it am. Ice on de dumb waiter," said Mary, as she took +off the cold chunk and put it in the refrigerator. It was an extra piece +gotten that day because she was going to make ice cream for dessert. + +"What's a dumb waiter?" asked Bunny. + +"Dis is," said Mary, pointing to the box, back of the door in the wall. +"It waits on me--it brings up de milk and de ice. It's jest a big box, +and it goes up an' down on a rope dat runs ober a wheel." + +"I know--a pulley wheel," said Bunny. + +"Dat's it!" cried Mary. "De box goes up an' down inside between de +walls, and when de ice man, or de milk man puts anyt'ing on de waiter in +de cellar, dey pulls on de rope and up it comes to me." + +"What makes them call it a dumb waiter?" asked Sue. + +"'Cause as how it can't talk, chile. Anyt'ing dat can't talk is dumb, +an' dis waiter, or lifter, can't talk. So it's dumb." + +Bunny and Sue looked at the dumb waiter for some time. Mary showed them +how it would go up or down on the rope, very easily. + +A little while after that, Mary went to her room to put on a clean +apron; Bunny and Sue were still in the kitchen. + +"Sue," said Bunny. "I know something we can do to have fun." + +"What?" asked the little girl. + +"Play with the dumb waiter. It's just like a little elevator. Now I'll +get in, you close the door, and I'll ride down cellar. Then when I ride +up it will be your turn to ride down." + +"All right!" cried Sue. "I'll do it. You go first, Bunny." + +Standing on a chair, Bunny managed to crawl into the dumb waiter box, +where the piece of ice had been. And then, all at once something +happened. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +A LONG RIDE + + +"Are you all ready, Bunny?" asked Sue, as she stood on the chair close +to the little door of the dumb waiter, or elevator. + +"Yep," Bunny answered. + +Sue closed the door, and then there was a squeaking sound inside the +little closet where the waiter slid up and down. At the same time +Bunny's voice was heard crying: + +"Oh, Sue! I'm falling! I'm falling down!" + +Sue did not know what to do. She tried to open the door, but it had shut +with a spring catch when she pushed on it, and her small fingers were +not strong enough to open it again. + +"Oh dear!" cried the little girl. "Oh dear! Bunny! Mother! Aunt Lu! +Mary! Wopsie!" + +She called every name she could think of, and she would have called for +her father, Grandpa Brown and even Uncle Tad, only she knew they were +far away. + +"Bunny! Bunny!" Sue called. "Is you there? Is you in there?" + +But Bunny did not answer. And now Sue could hear no noise from the dumb +waiter, inside of which she had shut her brother. + +"Bunny! Bunny!" begged Sue. "Speak to me! Where is you?" + +But no answer came. Bunny was far off. I'll tell you, soon, where he +was. + +Sue got down off the chair, on which she stood to push shut the door, +after Bunny crawled inside the dumb waiter. The little girl ran out of +the kitchen, calling to her mother, Aunt Lu and Wopsie. The colored cook +was the first one to answer. + +"What's the matter?" she called. "What hab happened, Sue?" + +"Oh, it's Bunny! He's gone! He's gone!" sobbed Sue. + +"Gone? Gone where?" Mary asked. + +"Down there!" and Sue pointed to the dumb waiter door. + +Mary ran across the kitchen, and opened the door. She looked down, and +then she turned to Sue and asked: + +"Did he fall down, Sue?" + +"No, he didn't fall down. But he got in the little box, where the ice +was, and told me to shut the door. He was going to have a ride. It was +going to be my turn when he came back. But there was a big bump, and +Bunny hollered, and he didn't come back, and oh dear! I guess he's +losted again!" + +Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu came hurrying into the kitchen. Behind them was +Wopsie, her hair standing up more than ever, for she had just finished +tying it in rags. + +"What's the matter?" asked Mother Brown and Aunt Lu at the same time. + +"Oh, Bunny's gone!" wailed Sue. + +"He's in de dumb waiter," explained Mary. + +"Oh, did he fall?" cried Aunt Lu. + +"No'm, he jest got in to hab a ride, same as dat little boy who used to +lib up stairs," Mary explained. "We'll find him in de cellar all right, +Miss Baker." + +"Find who?" Sue wanted to know. + +"Yo' brudder!" said Mary. "Now don't yo' all git skairt. 'Case little +Massa Bunny am suah gwine t' be all right." + +"I'll go and get him!" cried Aunt Lu. + +"And I'll go with you," said Mother Brown. + +"Oh, I'm coming too!" exclaimed Sue. + +"No, you stay here, dear," said her mother. "You stay here with Mary and +Wopsie." + +Mrs. Brown and her sister, who was the aunt of Bunny and Sue, went down +in the big elevator to the basement or cellar of the apartment house. +And there they saw a strange sight. + +Bunny, whose clothes were all dusty, and whose hair was all topsy-turvy, +was standing in front of the janitor, an iceman and a policeman. These +three men were looking at the little boy who did not seem to know what +to do or say. But he was not crying. He was too brave for that. + +"Oh, Bunny Brown!" cried his mother. "Why did you do it?" + +Bunny did not answer, but the policeman spoke, and said: + +"Is it all right, lady? Does he belong here?" + +"Oh, yes, he's my little boy," explained Mrs. Brown. + +"He rode down in the dumb waiter," Aunt Lu said. "You see he is visiting +me, and he had never seen a dumb waiter before." + +"Well, he came down in one all right," said the iceman. "It was like +this," he explained to Aunt Lu. "After I sent up your piece of ice, Miss +Baker, I stood here talking to the janitor. All at once we heard the +dumb waiter come down with a bang, and then we heard someone in it +yelling. I thought it was a sneak-thief, or a burglar, for you know they +often rob houses by going up in dumb waiters. + +"So I spoke to the janitor about it, and we called in the policeman who +was going past. We thought if it was a burglar we'd sure have him. But +when we opened the door there was only this little chap." + +"I--I didn't mean to do it," said Bunny, as he saw them all looking at +him. "I just wanted to get a ride, and then Sue was going to have one. +But, as soon as I got in, the dumb waiter went down so quick I couldn't +stop." + +"He sure did come down with a bump!" exclaimed the iceman. "I guess he +was a little too heavy for it, or else the rope must have slipped. +Anyhow he's not hurt much, except he's a bit mussed up." + +"Are you hurt, Bunny?" his mother asked him. + +"No'm," he answered. "Just bumped, that's all. I--I won't do it again." + +"No, you'd better not, because you might get hurt," said the policeman. +"Well," he added, "I might as well go along, for you have no burglars +for me to arrest this day," and away he went. + +Then the iceman went off, laughing, and Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu took +Bunny up to their apartment in the elevator. + +"This is nicer than the dumb waiter," Bunny said, as Henry took them up. +"I was all scrunched up in that, and I got a awful hard bump." + +Mrs. Brown sighed. + +"I'm sure I don't know what you will do next," she said. "You and Sue +never do the same thing twice, so there's no use in telling you to be +careful." + +"Oh, I won't get in any more dumb waiters," said Bunny, with a shake of +his head. "They're too small, and they're too bumpy." + +Sue felt much better when she saw that Bunny was all right, and Mary +gave each of the children a piece of cake, after which Wopsie took them +up to the roof, where an awning had been stretched to make shade, and +there, high above the city streets, the two children had a sort of +play-party. + +"I like it in the city; don't you, Bunny?" asked Sue. + +"Yes, I think it's fine at Aunt Lu's house," returned Bunny. "Don't you +like it here, Wopsie?" + +"Yes'm, I suah does. But I wishes as how I could find mah folks. It's +awful nice heah, an' Miss Baker suah does treat me mighty fine, but I'd +like to find mah own aunt." + +"And don't you know where she is?" asked Bunny. + +"No'm, I don't 'member much about it all," said the colored girl, with a +shake of her kinky head. "I lived down Souf, an' I s'pects dey got tired +ob me down dere. Or else maybe dey didn't hab money 'nuff t' keep me. +Colored folks down Souf is terrible poor. They ain't rich, laik yo' Aunt +Lu." + +"Aunt Lu is terrible rich," said Sue. "She's got a diamond ring." + +"I knows dat!" said Wopsie. + +"An' it was losted, like we was," Sue went on, "but Bunny, he found it +in a lobster claw. And we had a Punch and Judy show." + +"I'd laik dat!" exclaimed Wopsie, her eyes sparkling. + +"Maybe we could help you find your folks," said Bunny. "We found Aunt +Lu's diamond ring, and grandpa's horses, that the Gypsies took; so maybe +we could find your folks, Wopsie." + +"I don't believe so," and the little colored girl shook her head. "Yo' +all sees it was dis heah way. Somebody down Souf, what was takin' care +ob me, got tired, and shipped me up Norf here. Dey didn't come wif me +deyse'ves, but dey puts a piece ob paper on me, same laik I was a +trunk, or a satchel. + +"Well, maybe it would a' bin all right, but dat piece ob paper come +unpinned offen me, an' I got losted, same laik you'd lose a trunk. Only +Miss Lu found me, an' she's keepin' me, but she don't know who I belongs +to, nohow." + +"And is your aunt up here?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes'm, she's somewheres in New York," and Wopsie waved her hand over +the big city, down on which Sue and Bunny could look from the roof of +the apartment house. + +"Well, maybe we can find her for you," said Bunny. "We'll try; won't we, +Sue?" + +"Course we will, Bunny Brown." + +Just how he was going to do it Bunny Brown did not know. But he made up +his mind that he would find Wopsie's aunt for her. And two or three +times after that, when he and Sue happened to be out in the street, and +saw any colored women, the children would ask them if they were looking +for a little, lost colored girl named Wopsie. But of course the colored +women knew nothing about the little piccaninny. + +"Well, we'll have to ask somebody else," Bunny would say, after each +time, when he had not found an aunt for Wopsie. "We'll find her yet, +Sue." + +"Yes," Sue would answer, "we will!" + +From the windows of Aunt Lu's house Bunny and Sue could look down on the +street and see many strange sights. Oh! how many automobiles there were +in New York! + +There were big ones, and little ones, but there were more of the small +kind, with little red flags in front, than any other. + +"Those are called taxicabs," Aunt Lu told Bunny. "They are like the old +cabs, drawn by horses. If a person wants to ride in a taxicab he just +waves his hand to the men at the steering wheel." + +"And does he stop?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes," answered Aunt Lu. "The taxicab man stops." + +"And gives 'em a ride?" Sue wanted to know. + +"Yes, he takes them wherever they want to go." + +Bunny and Sue looked at each other. Their eyes sparkled, and it is too +bad Aunt Lu did not see them just then, or she might have said something +that would have saved much trouble. But she was busy sewing, and she did +not notice Bunny and Sue. + +The next day the two children slipped out into the hall, and went down +to the street in the elevator. + +Once out in the street Bunny and Sue watched until they saw, coming +along, one of the little taxicabs, with the red flag up, which meant +that no one was having a ride in it just then. + +"Hi there!" called Bunny, holding up his hand to the man at the steering +wheel. + +"Want a ride?" asked the man, as he swung his taxicab up to the curb. + +"Yes," answered Bunny. "My sister--Sue and I--we want a ride." + +"Where to?" asked the man, as he helped the children up inside the car. + +"Oh, we want a nice, long ride," said Bunny. "A nice, long ride; don't +we, Sue?" + +"Yep," answered the little girl. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +BUNNY ORDERS DINNER + + +You may think it strange that the man on the taxicab automobile would so +quickly help Bunny Brown and his sister up into his machine and give +them a ride. And that, without asking for any money. + +But it was not at all strange in New York. There are many children in +that big city, and often they go about by themselves, some who are no +larger than Bunny and Sue. They get used to looking out for themselves, +learn how to make their way about, and they often go in taxicabs alone. + +So the automobile man thought nothing of it when Bunny said he wanted a +ride. The automobile man just thought the children's father, or mother, +had sent them out to go somewhere. + +"And so you want a long ride," repeated the automobile man, as he +closed the door so Bunny or Sue would not fall out when he started. "How +about Central Park? Do you want to go there?" + +"Do we want to go to Central Park, Sue?" asked Bunny. + +"Is they elephants there, like a circus?" asked the little girl. + +"Is they?" Bunny asked of the automobile man. + +"Yes, there are some animals in the park. Not as many as up in the Bronx +Zoo, but that's a little too far for me to go. I'll take you to Central +Park if you say so." + +"Please do," begged Bunny. "We want to see the animals. We were in a +circus once, Sue and I were. Our dog was a blue striped tiger, and we +had a green painted calf, for a zebra." + +"That must have been some circus!" laughed the automobile man, as he got +up on his seat, and took hold of the steering wheel. "Well, here we go!" + +And away went the automobile, taking Sue and Bunny off to Central Park, +and their mother and Aunt Lu didn't know a thing about it! + +"Isn't this nice, Sue?" asked Bunny, when they had ridden on for a few +blocks. + +"Yes," answered Sue. "I like it. But I wish we had our dog Splash here +with us, Bunny." + +"Yes, it would be fine!" Bunny said. + +Speaking of the circus had made Sue think about Splash, who was far +away, at home in Bellemere. + +The taxicab wound in and out among other cabs, horses and wagons of all +sorts. Now it would have to go slowly, through some crowded street, and +again the children were moving swiftly, when there was room to speed. + +"He's a awful nice man to give us a ride like this," said Bunny to Sue. + +"Yes; isn't he?" answered the little girl. "There's lots of people +getting rides, Bunny; see!" + +Indeed there were many other taxicabs, and other automobiles on the +streets of New York, but Bunny and Sue looked most often at the taxicabs +like their own. + +"There must be a awful lot of nice men, like ours, in New York," Bunny +went on. And, mind you, neither he nor Sue thought they would have to +pay for their automobile ride. They just thought you got in one of the +taxicabs, and rode as far as you liked, for nothing. + +Pretty soon they were at Central Park. + +"Now where shall I take you?" asked the man. + +"Down by a elephant," spoke up Sue. + +"Are you sure your mother will let you go?" asked the taxicab man. He +felt he must, in a way, look after the children. + +"Oh, yes," said Bunny. "Mother would let us. She likes us to see +animals. She lets us have a circus whenever we like." + +Bunny and Sue had on nice clothes, and the chauffeur knew they had come +from a street where many rich persons lived, so he was sure if the +children did not have with them the money to pay him, that their folks +would settle his bill. + +"You can get out here, and walk along that path," he said, stopping his +machine on a roadway. "Then you can see the elephant, the lion and the +tiger. I'll wait for you here." + +Hand in hand, Bunny and Sue went to the place in Central Park where the +animals are kept. It was not far from where the automobile had stopped, +out on Fifth Avenue, New York, and Bunny looked back, several times, as +he and his sister went down the steps, to make sure he would know the +place to find the automobile again, when he wanted to go home. + +"Oh, there's a elephant!" cried Sue, as, walking along, her hand in +Bunny's, she saw one of the big animals, just stuffing some hay into his +mouth with his trunk. It was a warm day, and the elephant was out in the +"back yard" of his cage. In the winter he was kept in the elephant +house, where the people could look at him standing behind the heavy iron +bars, but in summer he was allowed to go out of doors, though his yard +had a fence of big iron bars all around it. + +"I wish we had some peanuts to give him," said Sue. + +"Well, I haven't any money," answered Bunny. "Anyhow, if I had, Sue, +I'd rather buy us each a lollypop. The elephant has hay to eat." + +"Yes, I know," said Sue. "But I like to see him pick up peanuts with his +trunk." + +However, they had no money, so they could not feed peanuts to the +elephant. Some other children, though, had bought bags of the nuts, and +these they tossed in to the big animal. There was a sign on his yard, +which said no one must feed the animals, but no one stopped the +children, so Sue did see, after all, the elephant chewing the roasted +nuts. + +For some time Bunny and Sue watched the elephants. There were two of +them, and, after a while, a keeper came into the yard, and handed a +large mouth organ to the biggest elephant. The wise creature held it in +his trunk, and, to the surprise of Sue and her brother, began to blow on +the mouth organ, making music, though of course the elephant could not +play a regular tune. + +"Oh, isn't he smart, Bunny!" cried Sue. + +"He--he's a regular circus elephant!" Bunny cried. "I like him!" + +The other children, who had come to Central Park, also enjoyed seeing +the big elephant eat peanuts, and play a mouth organ. + +"I'd like to see some monkeys," said Bunny, after a bit, when the +elephant seemed to have gone to sleep standing up, for elephants do +sleep that way. + +"The monkeys are over in that house," a boy told Bunny, pointing to a +brown building not far from the elephant's cage and yard. + +"Oh, let's go!" cried Sue. + +Soon she and her brother were watching the monkeys do funny tricks, +climb up the sides of their cage, eat peanuts and pull each other's +tails and ears. + +Bunny and Sue spent some time in Central Park, looking at the different +animals. There was one, almost as big as an elephant, only not so tall. +He was called a hippopotamus, and he swam in a tank of water, next door +to a pool in which lived some mud turtles and alligators. When the +hippopotamus opened his mouth it looked big enough to hold a washtub. + +"Oh!" cried Sue, as she saw this. "I wouldn't like him to bite me, +would you, Bunny?" + +"No, I guess not!" said the little boy. + +But there was no danger that the hippopotamus would bite anyone, for he +was behind big, strong, iron bars, and could not get out. There was also +a baby hippopotamus, swimming around in a tank with the mother. + +Bunny and Sue saw many other animals in Central Park, and then, as he +was getting hungry, and as he began to think his mother might be +wondering where he was, Bunny said to Sue that they had better go back +home. + +"All right," Sue answered. "I'm tired, too." + +They went back to where they had left the automobile taxicab. + +"Well, did you see enough?" the man asked them. + +"Yes," Bunny answered, "and now we want to go home, if you please." + +"All right," said the man. He knew just where to take Bunny and Sue, for +he remembered where he had found them, right in front of Aunt Lu's +house. So the two children did not get lost this time, though they had +gone a good way from home. + +"Thank you very much," said Bunny as he and Sue got out. + +The automobile man laughed, as Bunny and Sue started up the front steps, +and then he called to them: + +"Wait a minute, little ones, I must have some money for giving you a +ride." + +"Oh!" exclaimed Bunny. "I--I thought you gave folks rides for nothing. +Wopsie said you did." + +"Well, I don't know who Wopsie is," said the cab man, "but I can't +afford to ride anyone around for nothing. You'd better tell your mother +that I must be paid." + +"Oh, I'll tell her," said Sue. "Mother or Aunt Lu will pay you." + +"I'll come up with you I guess," said the automobile man, and he rode up +in the elevator with Bunny and Sue. + +And you can guess how surprised Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu were when the two +children came in. + +"Oh, where have you been?" cried Mother Brown. "We've been looking all +over for you; up on the roof, down in the basement, out in the +street--and Wopsie was just going to ask the policeman on this block if +he had seen you. Where have you been?" + +"Riding," answered Bunny. + +"Up in Central Park, to see a elephant," added Sue. + +"And we had a good time," Bunny went on. + +"And now the automobile man wants some money, and we haven't any so you +must pay him, Mother," said Sue. + +"We--we thought we were riding for nothing," Bunny explained. + +Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu looked at the automobile man, who smiled, and +told how the children had called to him, and asked him to give them a +long ride. + +"Which I did," he said. "I thought their folks had maybe sent them to +get the air, as folks often do here, and--" + +"Oh, it isn't your fault," said Mrs. Brown. "I'll pay you for the +children's ride, of course. But oh, dear! Bunny, you musn't do this +again." + +"No'm, I won't," Bunny said. "But we had a nice ride." + +Mrs. Brown gave the taxicab man some money, and thanked him for having +taken good care of the children. Then Wopsie did not have to go to tell +the policeman, for Bunny and Sue were safe home again. + +"I wonder what they'll do next?" said Mrs. Brown. + +"No one knows," answered Aunt Lu. + +But, for several days after this, Bunny and Sue did nothing to cause any +trouble. They went with their aunt and mother to different places about +New York in Aunt Lu's automobile, Wopsie sometimes going with them. +Several times Bunny or Sue asked colored persons they met if they were +looking for a little lost colored girl, but no one seemed to be. + +"Never mind, Wopsie," Bunny would say. "Some time we'll find your +folks." + +"Yes'm, I wishes as how yo' all would," Wopsie would answer. + +Bunny and Sue liked it very much at Aunt Lu's city home. They had many +good times. And that reminds me; I must tell you about the time Bunny +ordered a queer dinner for himself and Sue. + +The children had been out with Wopsie for a walk, and when they came +back to Aunt Lu's house it was such a nice day that Bunny and Sue did +not want to go in. + +"Let us stay out a while, Wopsie," Bunny begged. + +"Well, don't go 'way from in front, an' yo' all can stay," Wopsie said. +So Bunny and Sue sat on the side of the big stone steps, in front of +Aunt Lu's house. + +They really did not intend to go away, but when they saw a fire engine +dashing down the street, whistling and purring out black smoke, they +just couldn't stand still. + +"Let's go and see the fire!" cried Bunny. + +"Come on!" agreed Sue. + +But it was only a little fire, after all, though quite a crowd gathered. +It was upstairs in a store, and it was soon out. Bunny and Sue started +back, for they had not come far. They were getting so they knew their +way around pretty well now. + +As they passed a restaurant, or place to eat, they saw, in the window, a +man baking griddle cakes on a gas stove. He would let the cakes brown on +one side, toss them up in the air, making them turn a somersault, catch +them on a flat spoon, and then they would brown on the other side. + +"Oh Bunny!" cried Sue. "Wouldn't you like some of those?" + +"I would," said Bunny. "Come on in and we'll have some. I'm hungry!" + +He and Sue went into the restaurant, and sat down at one of the tables. +A girl, with a big white apron on over her black dress, brought them +each a glass of water and a napkin, and said: + +"Well, children, what do you want?" + +"We want dinner," said Bunny. "We're hungry, and we want some of those +cakes the man in the window is baking." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE STRAY DOG + + +The girl waitress in the restaurant smiled at Bunny Brown and his sister +Sue. They seemed too small to be going about, ordering meals for +themselves, but then the girl knew that in New York people do not live +as they do in other cities, or in the country. Many New York persons +never eat a meal at home, nor do their children. They go out to hotels, +restaurants or boarding houses. + +And perhaps this girl thought Bunny and Sue might be the children of +some family who had rooms near the restaurant, and who went out to their +meals. So she just asked them: + +"Are cakes the only things you want?" + +"Oh, no, we'll want more than that," said Bunny. "But we want the cakes +first; don't we, Sue?" + +"Yep," Sue answered. "I like pancakes. And I want some syrup on mine." + +"So do I!" cried Bunny. + +"I'll bring you some maple syrup when I bring you the cakes," the girl +said as, with a smile, she went up to the front of the restaurant to +tell the white-capped cook in the window to bake a plate of cakes for +each of the children. + +Several other persons in the restaurant smiled at Bunny and Sue, as they +sat there waiting for the cakes. They seemed such little tots to be all +alone. But Bunny and Sue knew what they were doing. At least they +thought they did, and they were not at all bashful. + +When the hot cakes were brought to them they spread on some butter, +poured the maple syrup over their plates, out of the little silver +pitchers, and began to eat. + +"They're awful good, aren't they, Bunny?" asked Sue, as she took up the +last piece of her third cake. + +"Yep," he answered. "I like 'em." + +"Let's have some more," Sue said. + +"No, let's have something else," said Bunny. "I'm hot now." + +"Oh, then we ought to have ice-cream," cried Sue. "You know the other +night, when Aunt Lu and mother were so warm, they had ice-cream." + +"Then we'll have some," agreed Bunny. + +"Anything else?" asked the waitress girl, coming up to their table. + +[Illustration: SOON BUNNY AND SUE WERE EATING THE ICE-CREAM + +_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home._ _Page 131._] + +"Ice-cream, please--two plates," ordered Bunny. Soon he and Sue were +eating the cold dessert. As they were taking up the last spoonfuls they +saw the waitress girl, at the next table carrying a large piece of red +watermelon to a man. + +"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue. "I want some of that!" + +"So do I!" exclaimed Bunny. "We'll have some." + +And so, after the ice-cream, they ordered watermelon. + +"Do you think it will be good for you?" asked the waitress girl. + +"Oh, yes, we like it," said Bunny. That was all he thought of--just +then. + +The ice-cream had been cold, and so was the watermelon, for it had been +on the ice, and by the time they had finished that Bunny and Sue were +quite chilled through. + +"Now I'd like to be warm again," said Sue. "Let's have some more hot +cakes, Bunny." + +"All right," agreed her brother. He waved his hand to the waitress girl. + +"Some more hot cakes!" ordered Bunny. + +The girl laughed and said: + +"I guess you tots had better not eat any more. I'll call the manager, +and ask him if he thinks it safe." + +A man, with a black moustache and red cheeks, came up to the table. + +"What is it?" he asked. The waitress girl explained. At the same time +she put down on the table, by Bunny's plate, two little cards, with some +numbers on them, and some round holes punched near the numbers. + +"We want some hot cakes, 'cause the ice-cream and watermelon made us so +cold," Bunny said. + +"How much money have you?" asked the manager, who is the man who sees +that everyone gets enough to eat, and then that they pay for it. + +"Money?" cried Bunny Brown. "Money?" + +"Yes, you must have money to pay for what you eat," the man said. + +"I've five cents," explained Sue. "My mother gave it to me for a toy +balloon, but I didn't spend it yet." + +"I've four cents," said Bunny, reaching into his pocket, and bringing +out four pennies. "I had five cents," he explained, "but I spent a penny +for a lollypop." + +He shoved the four pennies over toward the girl. Sue began looking in +her pocket for her five cent piece. + +"I'm afraid you won't have enough money," the manager said. "But if you +tell me where you live, and give me the name of your father, I'll call +him up on the telephone, and let him know you are here." + +"Oh, our daddy's away off," said Bunny. "But you can talk to Aunt Lu on +the telephone. She's got one. My mother is with her. She'll buy some +cakes for us." + +"What's your aunt's name?" the manager wanted to know. + +"Aunt Lu!" said Sue. + +"Aunt Lu Baker," added Bunny. + +"All right. I'll call her up," said the man, smiling. "And I don't +believe you had better eat any more griddle cakes. You might be made +ill. Give them some dry, sweet crackers, and a glass of milk," he said +to the girl. "That won't hurt them." + +Bunny and Sue liked the crackers very much. They were eating away, +having a fine time, when, all at once, into the restaurant came Mrs. +Brown. + +"Oh, Mother!" cried Bunny, as he saw her. "Are you hungry too? Sit down +by us and eat! We had a fine meal, didn't we, Sue?" + +"Yep," answered the little girl. "The ice-cream and watermelon is awful +good, Mother!" + +"Yes, I suppose it is," and Mrs. Brown could not help smiling. "But you +musn't come in restaurants, and order meals like this, Bunny Brown, +without having money to pay for them. It isn't right!" + +"I--I thought I had money enough," and Bunny looked at his four pennies. + +The manager laughed. He had found Aunt Lu's name in the telephone book, +and had talked to her, telling her about Bunny and Sue. And then, as the +restaurant was just around the corner from Aunt Lu's house, Mrs. Brown +had hurried there to get her children. + +She paid for what they had eaten, and took them back with her. The +waitress girl smiled, so did the manager, and so did many persons in the +restaurant, who had seen Bunny and Sue eating. + +"Don't ever do anything like this again, Bunny," said Mrs. Brown. + +"I won't," Bunny promised. "But we went to the fire, and we were awful +hungry; weren't we, Sue?" + +"Yes, we was. And the hot cakes was good." + +"Oh dear!" sighed Mrs. Brown. "I wonder what it will be next." + +But even Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did not know. + +For several weeks the two children stayed at Aunt Lu's city home. They +had more good times, and often went with their mother or Aunt Lu to the +moving pictures. Then, too, there was much to see on the city streets, +and Bunny and Sue never grew tired of looking at the strange sights. +Daddy Brown wrote letters, saying he was so busy, looking after his boat +business, that he could not come to see them for a long time. + +"Does he say how Splash, our dog, is?" asked Bunny, when part of one of +his father's letters had been read to him and Sue. + +"Yes, Daddy says Splash is all right, but lonesome," Mrs. Brown +answered. + +"I wish we had Splash here with us," sighed Sue. + +"So do I," echoed her brother. + +After that, whenever they saw a dog out in the street, they looked +anxiously at him, especially if he looked like Splash. And one day, when +Bunny and Sue had gone down to the corner of their street, to listen to +another hurdy-gurdy hand-piano, they saw a big yellow dog running about, +sniffing at some muddy water in a puddle in the sidewalk, as though he +wanted a drink. + +"Oh, look at that dog!" cried Bunny to Sue. "He's thirsty!" + +"He looks as nice as Splash, only, of course, it isn't Splash," Sue +said. + +"Maybe we could take him," said Bunny. "Let's try. Then we'll have a +city dog and a country dog, too." + +Sue was willing, and she and Bunny walked up to the stray dog. + +"Come here!" called Bunny, just as he used to call to Splash. + +The dog looked up. He seemed to like children, for he came straight to +Bunny and Sue. + +"Oh, he's got a nice collar on," said Sue. "Let's take him to Aunt Lu's, +Bunny, and give him a nice drink of water." + +"All right," agreed Bunny. "We will." Then, each with a hand on the +dog's collar, Bunny and Sue walked along with the nice animal, whose red +tongue hung out of his mouth, for the dog had been running, and was +quite hot. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE RAGGED MAN + + +"Come on, nice dog!" coaxed Sue, for as the children came nearer to the +house where Aunt Lu lived, the animal seemed to want to turn back and +run away. + +"Yes, don't be afraid," said Bunny. "We'll give you something nice to +eat, and some cold water." + +Whether the dog understood what Bunny and Sue said to him, or whether he +was thirsty and hungry and hoped to get something to eat, I do not know. +Some dogs seem to know everything you say to them, and certainly this +one was very wise. So he walked on willingly with the two children. + +"Do you think we can keep him?" asked Sue. + +"I guess so," answered her brother. "He's my dog, 'cause I saw him +first." + +"Isn't he half mine?" Sue wanted to know. + +"Nope, he's _all_ mine!" and Bunny took a firmer grasp on the dog's +collar. + +"Well, I don't care!" cried Sue, stamping her foot, which she sometimes +did when she was getting angry. "Half of our dog Splash at home is mine, +and I don't see why I can't have half of this one." + +"Nope, you can't!" cried Bunny. He hardly ever acted this way toward his +sister. Generally he gave her half of everything. "I want all this dog," +Bunny said. "I'm going to train him to be a circus animal, and if a girl +owns part of a dog she don't want him to run, or get muddy or anything +like that." + +"Oh, Bunny Brown!" cried Sue. "I don't care if he does get muddy. I want +him to be a circus dog, too. So please can't I have half of him? I'll +take the tail end for my half, or the head end half or down the middle, +just like we do with Splash!" + +"Well," and Bunny seemed to be thinking about it. "Maybe I'll let you +have half of him, Sue. But you've got to let me train your half the same +as mine, to be a circus dog." + +"Yes, Bunny, I will. Oh, isn't he a nice dog!" and she patted him on the +head. The dog wagged his tail and seemed happy. + +Into the apartment house hall walked the children, leading the stray dog +they had found in the street. The elevator was not open, being on one of +the upper floors, and Bunny pushed the button that rang the bell, which +told Henry, the colored elevator boy, that someone was on the lower +floor, waiting to be taken up. + +When Henry came down in the queer iron cage that slid up and down, he +looked first at Bunny, then at Sue, and then at the dog. + +"What yo' all want?" asked the colored boy, smiling and showing his big, +white teeth. + +"We want to ride up to Aunt Lu's house," answered Bunny. + +"We got a new dog, Henry," said Sue. + +Henry shook his head. + +"I'll take you little folks up to yo' aunt's house," he said, "but I +can't take up dat dawg." + +"Why not?" asked Bunny. "Is he too heavy? 'Cause if he is, Henry, we'll +go up with you first, and you can bring the dog up alone. We'll wait +for him up stairs." + +Once more the elevator boy shook his head. + +"No, sah! I can't do it!" he exclaimed. + +"Is you afraid, Henry?" asked Sue, putting her head down on the dog's +back. "Is you afraid he'll bite you, Henry? He won't. He's as nice a dog +as Splash is, the one we have at home. He won't bite, Henry." + +"No, Miss Sue. I ain't askeered ob dat," said Henry, with another smile. +"But yo' all can't bring no dawgs in heah! It ain't allowed, nohow!" + +"You mean we can't bring a dog in the house?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, sah!" Henry exclaimed. "Dat's it. De man what owns dis house done +gib strict orders dat no dogs or cats or parrots can come in, an' I got +t' keep 'em out. Yo' all jest go up an' ast yo' Aunt Lu 'bout it." + +"Shall we?" asked Sue, as she looked down at the dog. + +"Yes," said Bunny. "But, of course, Henry ought to know. But we've got +to give this dog something to eat and drink, Sue, 'cause we promised we +would. So we'll just leave him down here, and go up and tell Aunt Lu. We +can do that; can't we, Henry?" Bunny asked. + +"Oh, yes, Bunny. Yo' all kin do dat I'll jest tie de dawg down here in +de hall, an' yo' all kin go ast yo' Aunt Lu." + +The dog did not seem to mind being tied and left alone. Henry fastened +him with a cord, and the dog lay down on the cool marble floor, while +the colored boy took the two children up in the elevator. + +"Oh, Bunny!" said Sue, in a whisper, as they were waiting for their +aunt's maid, or for Wopsie, to open the door of the hall. "Oh, Bunny, I +know what we could do." + +"What?" Bunny wanted to know. + +Sue looked around, and seeing that Henry had gone down in his elevator, +she said: + +"We could have walked our new dog up the stairs. We didn't need to bring +him up in the elevator. Then Henry wouldn't have seen him." + +"Yes, but he'd hear him when he barks. If they won't let us keep our new +dog here we can take him to Central Park, Sue." + +"What for, Bunny?" + +"To put him in a cage until we go home. Then we can take him with us to +play with Splash." + +"Oh, maybe we could!" cried Sue, clapping her hands. + +By this time Wopsie had opened the door. + +"Well, where yo' chilluns bin?" she asked. "Yo' ma an' yo' aunt Lu am +gettin' worried 'bout yo'." + +"We found a dog!" cried Bunny. "A real dog!" + +"And he's down stairs," said Sue. "Henry won't bring him up on the +elevator, but it isn't 'cause Henry's afraid. They won't let dogs live +in here, he says. Don't they, Aunt Lu?" + +"Don't they what, Sue?" asked Miss Baker, coming into the room just +then. + +"Dogs," answered Bunny. "We found a nice dog, Aunt Lu, and we want to +keep him, but Henry won't let us," and he told all that had happened. + +"No, I am sorry," said Aunt Lu. "They don't allow any dogs, cats or +parrots in this building. You see they think persons who have no pets +would be bothered by those animals of the neighbors. I'm sorry, Bunny +and Sue, but you can't have the dog. One is enough, anyhow, and you have +Splash." + +"Yes, but he's away off home," said Bunny. + +"Never mind, dears. I'm sorry, but I haven't any place for a dog, or a +cat or even a parrot." + +Bunny and Sue thought for a moment Then Bunny asked: + +"Could you keep a monkey, Aunt Lu?" + +"Gracious goodness, no!" cried his aunt. "I should hope not! A monkey +would be worse than a dog, a cat or a parrot. I hope you don't think of +bringing a monkey home, Bunny." + +"Oh, no'm. I was just wondering what we'd do if a hand-organ man gave us +a monkey." + +Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu laughed. + +"Well, I hope a hand-organ man won't give you a monkey," said Bunny's +mother, "but, if one does, you'll have to say that you're much obliged, +but that you can't keep it." + +"Well," broke in Sue, "can we give this dog something to eat and drink, +Aunt Lu? We promised him some." + +"Yes, you can do that. Poor dog, he's probably a stray one, and will be +glad of a meal. Mary will get you some cold meat and a pail of water, +and you can take it down to the poor dog. But don't invite him up here, +Bunny dear." + +The children were sorry they could not keep the dog they had found in +the street, but perhaps it was better not to have him. They gave him the +water and meat, standing with Henry in the lower hall while the animal +ate and drank. Then the elevator boy loosened the string from the dog's +collar. + +"Run along now!" called Henry, and the dog with a bark, and a wag of his +tail, trotted off down the street. + +"He's happy, anyhow," remarked Sue. "Dogs is always happy when they wag +their tails; aren't they Bunny?" + +"I guess so. Well, what will we do next?" + +That question was answered for Bunny and Sue when they went up stairs +again. For Wopsie was waiting to take them to a moving picture show not +far away. There Bunny and Sue had a good time the rest of the afternoon. + +It was two or three days after this that, as Bunny and Sue were walking +up and down on the sidewalk in front of Aunt Lu's house, waiting for +Wopsie to come down and go with them to another moving picture show, the +two children saw, walking along, a very ragged man. And, as they watched +him, they saw the poor man stoop over a can of ashes on the street, and +take from it a piece of dried bread, which he began to eat as though +very hungry indeed. + +"Oh, Bunny! Look at that!" cried Sue. + +"What is it?" asked the little boy. + +"That man! He's so hungry he took bread out of the ash can." + +"He must be terrible hungry," said Bunny. "Oh, Sue, I know what we can +do!" + +"What?" + +"We can get him something to eat," said Bunny. "I heard Aunt Lu say she +didn't know what she was going to do with all the meat left over from +dinner. This man would like it, I'm sure. We can ask him up to Aunt +Lu's rooms. She'll feed him." + +"All right," cried Sue, always ready to do what Bunny did. + +"We'll ask him. But we won't take him up in the elevator, Sue," Bunny +went on. + +"Why not?" + +"'Cause maybe Henry won't let him come up, same as he wouldn't let the +dog we found. We'll walk up the stairs with the man." + +"It--it's awful far," said Sue, with a sigh, as she thought of the ten +flights. Once she and Bunny, just for fun, had walked up them. It took a +long while. + +"Well, I'll walk up with the ragged man," said Bunny. "You can ride up +in the elevator, Sue, and tell Aunt Lu we're coming, so she can have +something to eat all ready." + +"All right," agreed Sue. "That will be nice!" + +Then she and Bunny started toward the ragged man who was poking about in +the ash can with a long stick, as though looking for more pieces of +bread. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +BUNNY GOES FISHING + + +"Are you hungry, Mr. Man?" asked Bunny, standing, with his sister Sue, +behind the ragged man. "Are you hungry?" + +The man turned quickly, and seeing it was only two little children, he +smiled. + +"Yes, I am hungry," he said. "I guess you'd be hungry, too, if you +hadn't had any breakfast, or dinner or supper, except what you picked +out of the ashes." + +"My Aunt Lu will give you something to eat," said Sue. "You're going to +walk up stairs with Bunny, so Henry, the elevator boy, won't see you. +You don't mind walking, do you?" + +"Not if I get something to eat," and the man chewed on a piece of the +dried bread. + +"Oh, Aunt Lu will give you lots!" promised Sue. "She's got plenty of +meat left over from dinner, I heard her say so. But you can't go in the +elevator. Henry wouldn't let us take up a dog we found." + +"Course you're not a dog," Bunny explained quickly, "but they don't let +dogs or cats or parrots, or I guess monkeys, up in this place, so maybe +they wouldn't let you. But I don't know about that. Only I'll walk up +stairs with you, and get you something to eat." + +"And I'll go on ahead and tell Aunt Lu you're coming," said Sue. "Then +Henry won't see you in his elevator. Go on, Bunny." + +"Come along," said the little fellow, holding out his hand to the ragged +man. Even though he was ragged he seemed clean. + +"Oh, I guess I'd better not go up with you, little ones," the man said. +"I'm not dressed nice enough to go in there," and he looked up at the +fine, big apartment house in which lived Aunt Lu. "If there was a back +door I'd go round to that," he said, "but they don't have back doors to +city houses. I'm not used to being a tramp, and begging, either," he +said. "But I've been sick, and I can't get any work, and I don't want to +beg." + +"Aunt Lu likes to help people," said Bunny, "and so does my mother. You +come on up stairs with me and I'll get you something to eat. Sue, you go +in first, and get Henry to take you up in the elevator. Then Henry won't +see me and this man come in, and he can't stop us." + +"All right," agreed Sue. So, while Bunny stayed outside, with the ragged +man, Sue went into the hall, and rang the elevator bell. + +"Hello!" exclaimed Henry, as he opened the sliding door for Sue. +"Where's Bunny?" + +"Oh, he's coming," Sue said. + +"Then I'll wait for him," said Henry. + +"Oh, no! You needn't!" Sue exclaimed. "Maybe he won't be in for a long +time. I want to go up right away, to tell Aunt Lu she's going to have +company." + +"Company!" cried Henry. "If company is comin', I'll wait and take 'em +up." + +"No, please don't!" begged Sue. "Take me up right away, and then you can +come down again." She did not want Henry to wait there in the lower +hall, with his elevator, and see Bunny going up the stairs with the +ragged man. Sue wanted to get Henry safely out of the way. + +"All right. I'll take you up," promised Henry, and, a second later, Sue +was shooting upward in the elevator car. + +"Come on now. We can get in without Henry's seeing us!" called Bunny to +the ragged man. "It's a long walk, but Sue and I did it once." + +"Say, I'm much obliged to you," said the tramp, for that's what he was. +"But maybe I'd better not go in. They might arrest me." + +"No they won't--not while I'm with you," Bunny said. "I'll tell a +policeman you're going up to my Aunt Lu's. She's got lots to eat." + +And so Bunny and the ragged man began the long climb up the stairs, +while Sue rode in the elevator. She, of course, was the first to reach +her aunt's rooms. Wopsie let Sue in. + +"Oh, Aunt Lu!" cried Sue. "The hungry, ragged man's coming. He ate bread +out of the ash can, and he hasn't had any breakfast, dinner or supper. +Bunny's walking up stairs with him, so Henry won't see him, 'cause +Henry, maybe, wouldn't let him ride in the elevator. But he's awful +hungry, so please give him some of that meat!" + +For a moment Aunt Lu stared at Sue, and so did Mrs. Brown. + +"Bless my stars!" cried Aunt Lu, after a bit. "What does the child +mean?" + +"It's the ragged man," Sue explained. "Bunny's bringing him up the +stairs," and then the little girl told her aunt and mother all about it. + +"But, Sue, dear! You musn't bring strange men in the house," said her +mother. + +"Oh, he was so hungry and ragged!" cried the little girl. + +"She meant all right," remarked Aunt Lu. "I dare say it is some poor +tramp. There are many of them in New York. I'll give him something to +eat. Is Bunny bringing him here?" + +"Yes, Aunt Lu. Bunny's walking up the stairs with him, so Henry won't +see him, and put him out, like he did our dog that we found." + +Aunt Lu and Mother Brown laughed at this, but Sue did not mind. Soon +there came a ring at Aunt Lu's hall bell. She opened the door herself, +and saw, standing there, Bunny and the ragged man. + +"Here he is!" Bunny cried. "I got him up stairs all right, but he +slipped on one step. I didn't let him fall, though, and Henry didn't see +us. He's hungry, Aunt Lu." + +The ragged man took off his ragged cap. + +"I'm sorry about this, lady," he said to Aunt Lu. "But the little boy +would have it that I come up with him. He said you'd give me a meal, but +I don't like to trouble you--" + +"Oh, I'm glad to help you," said Aunt Lu. "Wait a minute and I'll hand +you out something to eat." + +"Come on in!" said Bunny, who did not see why the ragged man should be +left standing in the hall. + +"No, little chap, I'll wait here," said the man. A few minutes later he +was drinking a bowl of coffee Mary, the colored cook, brought him, and +he was given a bag of bread and meat, with a piece of cake. + +"It's mighty good of you, lady," said the ragged man, as he started to +walk down the stairs again. + +"You can thank the children," said Aunt Lu with a smile, as she gave the +man some money. "And you needn't walk down. I'll ring for the elevator +for you." + +"Oh, no'm, I'd rather walk. I'm stronger now I've had that coffee. I'll +walk down. The elevator boy wouldn't want me in his car. I'll walk." + +Down he started, not so hungry now, though as ragged as ever. And, too, +Aunt Lu had given him money enough to last him for a few days, until he +could find work to earn money for himself. + +"But, Bunny and Sue, please don't ask any more ragged men up without +first coming to tell me," said Aunt Lu with a smile. "I like to be kind +to all poor persons, but you see I live in a house with many other +families, and some of them might not like to have tramps come up here. +However, you meant all right, only come and tell me or your mother +first, after this." + +"I will," promised Bunny. "But he was awful hungry; wasn't he?" + +"I guess he was, and I'm glad we could help him. But now Wopsie is ready +to take you to the moving pictures. Run along." + +Bunny and Sue had another good time at the pictures. They saw the play +of Cinderella, and liked it very much. After they came out they went to +a drug store, and had ice-cream. + +One day Aunt Lu said to Bunny and Sue: + +"How would you like to go to the aquarium?" + +"What's that?" asked Bunny. "Is it like a moving picture show?" + +"Well, it is moving, and it is a show," answered Aunt Lu, with a smile. +"But it is not exactly pictures. It is a big building down at the end of +New York City, in a place called Battery Park, and in the building are +tanks and pools, where live fish are swimming around. There are also +seals, alligators and turtles. Would you like to go to see that?" + +Bunny and Sue thought they would, very much, and a little later, with +their mother and Aunt Lu, they were in the aquarium. All around the +building, which was in the shape of a circle, were glass tanks, in which +big and little fish could be seen swimming about. In white tile-lined +pools, in the middle of the floor, were larger fish, alligators, turtles +and other things. Bunny was delighted. + +"Oh, if I could only catch some of these big fish," he said to Sue. + +"But you can't!" + +"Maybe I can," he said to her in a whisper. "I brought some pins with +me, and some string. I'm going to try and catch a fish. Come on over +here." + +From his pocket Bunny took a string and a pin. His mother and his aunt +were looking down in the pool where some seals were swimming about. +Bunny, holding Sue's hand, led her over to the other side of the +aquarium where there was a pool containing some large fish, and some big +turtles. + +"I'm going to fish here," said Bunny Brown. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +LOST IN NEW YORK + + +Bunny's sister Sue did not think her brother was doing anything wrong. +She had so often seen him do many things that other boys did not do that +she thought whatever Bunny did was all right. + +"How you going to catch fish?" she asked. + +"I'll show you," Bunny answered. "But don't call mother or Aunt Lu. They +want to stay looking at the seals. I've seen enough of them." + +But I think, though, that the real reason Bunny did not want Sue to call +his mother, or his aunt, was because he was afraid they might stop him +from trying to catch a fish. + +And that was what Bunny Brown was going to try to do. + +While Sue watched, Bunny bent a pin up in the shape of a hook. He and +his sister had often fished with such hooks down in the brook near +their house. Bunny tied the bent pin to the end of a long string, and +then he walked over toward the white, tile-lined pool. + +Just at this time there was no one near this pool, for most of the +visitors in the aquarium were watching the seals, as Mrs. Brown and Aunt +Lu were doing. The seals, of whom there were three or four, seemed to be +having a game of tag. They swam about very swiftly, and leaped half out +of the water, splashing it all about, and even on the persons standing +about the pool. But the men, women and children only laughed, and +crowded up closer to look at the playing seals. + +"I want to see them," said Sue, pointing to where the crowd stood, +laughing. + +"Wait until I catch a fish," pleaded Bunny. "I'll soon have a fish, or a +turtle or an alligator, Sue." + +"I don't want any alligators," said the little girl. "They bite, and so +does a turtle." + +"All right. I won't catch them," promised Bunny. "I'll just catch a +fish. Then we'll go to look at the seals." + +"All right," agreed Sue. She went with her little brother over to the +other pool. They were the only ones there, because everyone else was so +anxious to look at the seals. + +"Now watch me catch a fish," Bunny said. To the bent pin hook, on the +end of the string, he tied a piece of rag. He had brought all these +things with him, hoping he might get a chance to fish in the aquarium. + +"What's that rag?" Sue wanted to know. + +"That's my bait," Bunny answered. "You can't dig any worms in the city, +'cause there's all sidewalk. So I use this rag for bait." + +"I don't like worms, anyhow," said Sue. "They is so--so squiggily. Rags +is nicer for bait. But will the fish eat rags, Bunny?" + +"I guess so." + +The pool that Bunny had picked out to fish in was in two parts. There +was a wire screen across the middle, and on one side were the alligators +and turtles--some large and some small, while on the other side of the +wire were fish. It was these fish--or one of them at least--that Bunny +Brown was going to try to catch. + +Into the water he cast his bent pin hook, with the fluttering rag for +bait. No one saw him, everyone else being at the seal-pool. Sue watched +her brother eagerly. She wanted him to hurry, and catch a fish, so they +could go over where their mother and Aunt Lu were. + +But the fish in the pool did not seem to care for Bunny's rag bait. +Perhaps they knew it was only a piece of cloth, and not a nice worm, or +piece of meat, such as they would like to eat. Anyhow, they just swam +past it in the water. + +"Hurry up, Bunny, and catch a fish!" begged Sue. "I want to go and look +at the seals." + +"All right--I'll have a fish in a minute," Bunny said, hopefully. + +But he did not. The fish would not bite. Bunny wanted to catch +something, and, all at once, he decided that if he could not get a fish +he might get a turtle, or a small alligator. But he did not tell Sue +what he was going to do, for he knew she would not like it. She was +afraid of alligators and turtles. + +Bunny pulled his line from the fish-pool and tossed the pin-hook over +into the turtle-pool. And then something happened, all at once! There +was a rush through the water, as a big turtle saw the fluttering rag, +and the next minute Bunny was nearly pulled over the low railing into +the pool. For the turtle had swallowed his bent pin hook. + +"Oh, Sue! I've got one! I've got one!" cried Bunny, shouting out loud, +he was so excited. + +"Have you got a fish, Bunny?" asked Sue, who had walked a little way +over toward the seal-pool. + +"No, I haven't got a fish, but I've got a turtle. But I won't let him +hurt you, Sue!" he called. "Oh, I've got a big one! Look, Sue!" + +Bunny was holding tightly to the string. He had wound it about his +hands, and as the cord was a strong one, and as the turtle had swallowed +the bent-pin hook on the other end, Bunny was almost being pulled over +into the tank full of water, where the alligators and other turtles were +now swimming about, very much excited, because the turtle which Bunny +had caught was making such a fuss. + +"Oh, I've got him! I've got him!" cried Bunny, eagerly. + +"I rather think he has got _you_!" said a man, rushing up to Bunny just +in time to grab him. The little fellow's feet were being lifted off the +floor and, in another few seconds, he himself was in danger of being +pulled into the pool. For the cord was a strong one, and the turtle was +one of the largest. + +"Let go the string!" called the man who had hold of Bunny. "Let go the +string!" + +Bunny did so, and the turtle swam away with it. + +By this time Mother Brown and Aunt Lu, who had heard Bunny's calls, had +rushed over to him. Others, too, left the seals, to see what was the +excitement at the turtle and alligator pool. + +"Oh, Bunny! What have you done?" cried his mother. + +"I--I was catching a fish," Bunny explained, as the man who had stopped +him from being pulled into the pool, set the little fellow down. "I was +catching a fish and--" + +"But you musn't catch any fish in _here_!" exclaimed one of the men in +uniform, who was on guard in the aquarium. "You're not allowed to catch +fish in here!" + +"It--it wasn't a fish," said Bunny. "It was a turtle. I tried to get a +fish, but I couldn't. But the turtle bit on the rag bait." + +"Yes, turtles will do that," said the guard. "But you must never again +try to fish in here. These fish are to look at, not to catch." + +"Oh, I'm sure he didn't mean to do wrong," said the man who had saved +Bunny from getting wet in the pool. + +"I'll forgive him this time," the guard said, "but he must not do it +again." + +"I won't," Bunny promised. + +The turtle that had taken the pin hook was swimming about with the +string dragging after it. One of the aquarium men, with a net, caught +the turtle, and took the pin and string out of its mouth. + +"Now let's go and look at the seals," said Bunny, when the crowd, +laughing at what the little boy had done, had moved away. + +"But you musn't try to catch any of them," his mother said. + +"I won't," promised Bunny. + +Watching the seals was fun, and Bunny and Sue had a good time there, +until it was time to go out of the aquarium for dinner. The children had +a nice meal, in a restaurant, and Aunt Lu said: + +"I think this afternoon we will take a little ride on the boat to Coney +Island. You children can have an ocean bath there. It is getting on +toward fall, I know, but it is all the nicer down at the beach, and +there won't be such crowds there as in real hot weather." + +"Oh, won't it be fun to paddle in the water again!" cried Sue. + +"That's what it will!" said Bunny Brown. + +The place to take the boat for Coney Island was two or three blocks from +the restaurant where they had eaten lunch. Bunny and Sue walked behind +Mother Brown and Aunt Lu along the street to the boat-dock. + +"This is just like home," said Bunny as he saw the water-front, with +many boats tied up along the docks, just as they were at his father's +pier at home. + +Sue liked it, too. There were many things to see. In one window the +children saw a number of monkeys, and birds with brightly colored +feathers. + +"Oh, let's stop and look at them!" cried Sue. Bunny was willing, so they +stood looking in the window. Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu, thinking the +children were coming right along, walked on. And it was not until they +were ready to cross the street that the mother and aunt missed the +little ones. + +"Why, where can they have gone?" cried Mrs. Brown, looking all around. + +"Oh, they're just walking slowly, behind us," Aunt Lu said. "We'll go +back and find them." + +She and her sister walked back, but they could not see Bunny and Sue. + +"Oh, where are they?" cried Mrs. Brown. "My children are lost! Lost in +New York! Oh dear!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +AT THE POLICE STATION + + +Bunny Brown, and his sister Sue, standing in front of the window where +the monkeys and birds were, in cages, had forgotten all about Mother +Brown and Aunt Lu. All the children thought of was watching the funny +things the monkeys did, for there were three of the long-tailed animals +in one cage, and they seemed to be playing tricks on one another. + +"Oh, Bunny!" said Sue, "this must be where the hand-organ men get their +monkeys." + +"Maybe," Bunny agreed. "But hand-organ monkeys have red caps on, and +wear green coats, and these monkeys haven't anything on." + +"Maybe they make caps and jackets for them from the birds' feathers," +Sue said. + +"Maybe," agreed Bunny. Certainly the feathers of the birds were red and +green, just the colors of the caps and jackets the monkeys wore. + +"I wonder if the man would give us a monkey?" Sue said, as she pressed +her little nose flat against the window glass, so she would miss nothing +of what went on in the store. + +"Maybe he would, or we could save up and buy one," Bunny answered. + +"Monkeys don't cost much I guess. 'Cause hand-organ mens isn't very +rich, and they always have one. I'd like a parrot, too," said Sue. + +"Yes, a parrot is better than a doll, for a parrot can talk." + +"A parrot is not better than a doll!" Sue cried. + +"Yes it is," said Bunny. "It's alive, too, and a doll isn't." + +"Well, I can make believe my doll is alive," said Sue. "Anyhow, Bunny +Brown, you can't have a parrot or a monkey, 'cause Henry, the elevator +boy, won't let 'em come inside Aunt Lu's house." + +"That's so," Bunny agreed. "Well, anyhow, we can go in and ask how much +they cost, and we can save up our money and buy one when we go home. We +aren't always going to stay at Aunt Lu's. And our dog, Splash, would +like a monkey and a parrot." + +"Yes," said Sue, "he would. All right, we'll go in and ask how much they +is." + +Hand in hand, never thinking about their aunt and their mother, Bunny +and Sue went into the animal store, in the window of which were the +monkeys and the parrots. Once inside, the children saw so many other +things--chickens, ducks, goldfish, rabbits, squirrels, pigeons and +dogs--that they were quite delighted. + +"Why--why!" cried Sue, "it's just like Central Park, Bunny!" + +"Almost!" said the little boy. "Oh, Sue. Look at the squirrel on the +merry-go-'round!" + +In a cage on the counter, behind which stood an old man, was a +bushy-tailed squirrel, and he was going around and around in a sort of +wire wheel. It was like a small merry-go-'round, except that it did not +whirl in just the same way. + +"What do you want, children?" asked the old man who kept the animal +store. + +"We--we'd like a monkey, if it doesn't cost too much," said Bunny. + +"And a parrot, too. Don't forget the parrot, Bunny," whispered Sue. "We +want a parrot that can talk." + +"And how much is a parrot, too?" asked Bunny. + +The old man smiled at the children. Then he said: + +"Well, parrots and monkeys cost more than you think. A parrot that can +talk well costs about ten dollars!" + +Bunny looked at Sue and Sue looked at Bunny. They had never thought a +parrot cost as much as that. Bunny had thought about twenty-five cents, +and Sue about ten. + +"Well," said Bunny with a sigh, "I guess we can't get a parrot." + +"Does one that can't talk cost as much as that?" Sue wanted to know. + +"Well, not quite, but almost, for they soon learn to talk, you know," +answered the nice old man. + +"How much are monkeys?" asked Bunny. It was almost as if he had gone +into Mrs. Redden's store at home, and asked how much were lollypops. + +"Well, monkeys cost more than parrots," said the old man. + +"Oh, dear!" sighed Bunny. "I--I guess we can't ever save up enough to +get one." + +"No, I guess not," agreed Sue. + +The old man smiled in such a nice way that Bunny and Sue felt sure he +would be good and kind. He was almost like Uncle Tad. + +"Where did you get all these animals?" asked Bunny, as he and his sister +looked around on the dogs, cats, monkeys, parrots, guinea pigs, pigeons +and goldfish, that were on all sides of the store. + +"Oh, I have had an animal store a long time," said the old man. "I buy +the animals and birds in different places, and sell them to the boys and +girls of New York who want them for pets." + +"We have a pet dog named Splash," said Bunny. "He's bigger than any dogs +you have here." + +"Yes, I don't keep big dogs," said the old man. "They take up too much +room, and they eat too much. Mostly, folks in New York want small dogs, +because they live in small houses, or apartments." + +"My Aunt Lu can't have a dog or a parrot or a monkey in her house," said +Sue. "Henry, the colored elevator boy, won't let her. Bunny and me, we +found a dog, and Henry made us tie him down in the hall to feed him." + +"Yes, I suppose so," said the old man. + +"And we found a ragged man," went on Bunny, "and I had to lead him up +stairs--ten flights--'cause Henry maybe wouldn't let him ride in the +elevator." + +"That was too bad," said the old animal store-keeper. "But where do you +children live? Is your home near here, and do your folks know you are +trying to buy a monkey and a parrot?" + +Then, for the first time since they had looked in the window of the +animal store, Bunny and Sue thought of Mother Brown and Aunt Lu. They +remembered they had started for the seashore. + +"Oh, our mother and aunt are with us," said Bunny. "We had our dinner, +and we're going to Coney Island. I guess we'd better go, too, Sue. Maybe +they're waiting for us." + +Bunny and Sue started out of the animal store, but, just then, one +monkey pulled another monkey's tail, and the second one made such a +chattering noise that the children turned around to see what it was. +Then the monkey whose tail was pulled, reached out his paw, through the +wires of his cage, and caught hold of the tail of a green parrot. +Perhaps he thought the parrot was pulling his tail. + +"Stop it! Stop it!" screamed the parrot. "Polly wants a cracker! Oh, +what a hot day! Have some ice-cream! Stop it! Stop it! Pop goes the +weasel!" + +Bunny and Sue laughed, though they felt sorry that the monkey's and +parrot's tails were being pulled. The animal-store man hurried over to +the cages to stop the trouble, and Bunny and Sue stayed to watch. + +So it happened, when Mother Brown and Aunt Lu turned around, to find the +missing children, Bunny and Sue were not in sight, being inside the +store. So, of course, their mother and their aunt did not see them. + +"Oh, where could they have gone?" cried Mother Brown. + +"Perhaps they are just behind us," said Aunt Lu. "We'll find them all +right." + +"But suppose they are lost?" + +"They can't be lost very long in New York," Aunt Lu said. "The police +will find them. Come, we'll walk back and look for them." + +But though Mother Brown and Aunt Lu walked right past the store, they +never thought that Bunny and Sue were inside. + +"Oh, dear!" cried Aunt Lu, "I don't see where they can be!" + +"Nor I," said Mrs. Brown. "Oh, if my children are lost!" + +"If they are we'll soon find them," asserted Aunt Lu, looking up and +down the street, but not seeing Bunny or Sue. "Here comes a policeman +now," she went on. "We'll ask him." + +But, though the policeman had seen many children on the street, he was +not sure he had seen Bunny and Sue. + +"However," he said, "the police station is not far from here. You had +better go there and ask if they have any lost children. We pick up some +every day, and maybe yours are there. Go to the police station. You'll +find 'em there." + +And to the police station went Mother Brown and Aunt Lu. They walked in +toward a big, long desk, with a brass rail in front. Behind the desk sat +a man dressed like a soldier, with gold braid on his cap. + +"Have you any lost children?" asked Mother Brown. + +"A few," answered the police officer behind the brass rail. "You can +hear 'em crying." + +Aunt Lu and Mother Brown listened. Surely enough, they heard several +little children crying. + +"They're in the back room," said the officer. "I'll take you in, and you +can pick yours out." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +HOME AGAIN + + +Mother Brown and Aunt Lu went into the back room of the police station. +Around the room, at a table, sat many policemen, most of them with their +coats off, for it was rather a warm day. These were the policemen who +were waiting for something to happen--such as a fire, or some other +trouble--before they went out to help boys and girls, or men and women. + +But, besides these policemen, there were some little children, three +little boys, and two little girls, all rather ragged, all quite dirty, +and at least one boy and one girl were crying. + +"Oh, where did you get them all?" asked Mother Brown. + +"They are lost children," said the policeman who looked like a soldier, +with the gold braid on his cap. "Our officers find them on the street, +and bring them here." + +"And how do their fathers and mothers find them?" asked Aunt Lu. + +"Oh, they come here looking for them, the same as you two ladies are +doing. The children are never lost very long. You see they're so little +they can't tell where they live, or we'd send them home ourselves. Are +any of these the lost children you are looking for?" + +"Oh, no! Not one!" exclaimed Mother Brown. It took only one look to show +her and Aunt Lu that Bunny and Sue were not among the lost children then +in the police station. + +"Well, I wish some of these were yours," returned the officer. +"Especially those two crying ones. They've cried ever since they came +here." + +"Boo-hoo!" cried two of the lost children. They seemed to be afraid, +more than were the others. The others rather liked it. One boy was +playing with a policeman's hat, while a little girl was trying to see if +she was as tall as a policeman's long club. + +"Will they stay here long?" asked Aunt Lu. + +"Oh, no, not very long," said the officer. + +"Their mothers will miss them soon, and come to look for them. So none +of these are yours?" he asked. + +"No, but I wish they were," said Mother Brown. "Oh, what has happened to +Bunny and Sue?" she asked, and there were tears in her eyes. + +"They'll be all right," said the officer in the gold-laced cap. "Maybe +they haven't been found yet. As soon as a policeman on the street sees +that your children are lost he'll bring them here. You can sit down and +wait, if you like. Your little ones may be brought in any minute now." + +But Aunt Lu and Mother Brown thought they would rather be out in the +street, looking for Bunny and Sue, instead of staying in the police +station, and waiting. + +"If you leave the names of your children," said the officer to Mother +Brown, "we'll telephone to you as soon as they are found. That is if +they can tell their names." + +"Oh, Bunny and Sue can do that, and they can also tell where they live," +said Aunt Lu. + +"Oh, then they'll be all right," the officer said, with a laugh. "Maybe +they're home by this time. If they told a policeman where they lived he +might even take them home, or send them home in a taxicab. We often do +that," he said, for he could tell by looking at Aunt Lu and Mother Brown +that the two ladies lived in a nice part of New York, maybe a long way +from this police station. + +"Oh, perhaps Bunny and Sue are home now, waiting for us!" said Mother +Brown. "Let's go and see!" + +"And if they're not, and if they are brought here, we'll telephone to +you," the officer said, as he put the names of Bunny and Sue down on a +piece of paper, and also Aunt Lu's telephone number. + +So Mrs. Brown and her sister left the police station, and, after another +look in the street where they last had seen Bunny and Sue, hoping they +might see them (but they did not), off they started for Aunt Lu's house. + +"Maybe they are there now," said Mother Brown. + +But of course Bunny Brown and his sister Sue were not. We know where +they were, though their mother and aunt did not. The children were +still in the animal store, laughing at the funny things the monkeys were +doing. + +After a while, though, one monkey stopped pulling the other monkey's +tail, and the other monkey stopped trying to pull the green feathers out +of the parrot's tail, and it was quiet in the animal store, except for +the cooing of the pigeons and the barking of the dogs. + +"So you don't think you want to buy a monkey or a parrot to-day, +children?" asked the animal-man, with a smile. + +"No, thank you. We haven't the money," said Bunny. "But I would like a +monkey." + +"And I'd like a parrot," added Sue. "But Henry, the elevator boy, +wouldn't let us keep 'em, so maybe it's just as well." + +"We can come down here when we want to see any animals," said Bunny to +his sister. "I like it better than Central Park." + +"So do I," said Sue. + +"Yes, come down as often as you like," the old man invited them. "Are +you going?" he asked, as he saw Bunny and Sue open the door. + +"Yes, we're going to Coney Island with mother and Aunt Lu," Bunny +answered. + +He and Sue stepped out into the street. They had forgotten all about +their mother and their aunt until now, and they thought they would find +them on the sidewalk, waiting. But, of course, we know what Mother Brown +and Aunt Lu had done--gone to the police station, looking for the lost +ones. + +So, when Bunny and Sue looked up and down the street, as they stood in +front of the animal store, they did not see Mrs. Brown or Aunt Lu. + +"I--I wonder where they went?" said Sue. + +"I don't know," answered Bunny. "Maybe they're lost!" + +Sue looked a little frightened at this. The animal-man, seeing the +children did not know what to do, came out to them. + +"Can't you find your mother?" he asked. + +"No," answered Bunny. "She--she's lost!" + +"I guess it's _you_ who are lost," said the animal-man. "But never mind. +Tell me where you live, and I'll have the police take you home." + +Bunny and Sue, when first they came to New York, had been told by their +Aunt Lu that if they ever got lost not to be worried or frightened, for +a policeman would take them home. So now, when they heard the animal-man +speak about the police, they knew what to expect. + +"Where do you live, children?" asked the gray-haired animal-man. "Tell +me where you live." + +But, strange to say, Bunny and Sue had each forgotten. Some days past +their aunt and mother had made them learn, by heart, the number and the +street where Aunt Lu's house stood. But now, try as they did, neither +Bunny nor Sue could remember it. Watching the monkeys and parrots had +made them forget, I suppose. + +"Don't you know where you live?" asked the animal-man. + +Bunny shook his head. So did Sue. + +"Our elevator boy is named Henry," Bunny said. + +The animal-man laughed. + +"I guess there are a good many elevator boys named Henry, in New York," +he said. "I'll just tell the police that I have two lost children here. +They'll come and get you, and take you home. Maybe your aunt and mother +have already been at the police station looking for you." + +It took only a little while for the kind man to telephone to the same +police station where Aunt Lu and Mother Brown had been. Of course they +were not there then. + +But soon a kind policeman came and took Bunny and Sue to the police +station, leading them by the hand. Bunny and Sue thought it was fun, and +persons in the street smiled at the sight. They knew two lost children +had been found. + +"What are your names, little ones?" asked the policeman behind the big +brass railing, when the two tots were led into the station house. + +"I'm Bunny Brown, and this is my sister Sue," spoke up the little boy. +"We're lost, and so is our mother and our Aunt Lu." + +"Well, you won't be lost long," said the officer with a laugh. "Your +mother and aunt have been here looking for you, but they've gone home. +I'll telephone them you are here, and they'll come and get you." + +And that's just what happened. Bunny and Sue sat in the back room, with +the other lost children, though there were not so many now, for two of +them--the crying ones--had been taken away by their mothers. And, pretty +soon, along came Aunt Lu's big automobile, and in that Bunny and Sue +were ready to be taken safely home. + +Then Aunt Lu rode past the kind animal-man's place, and she and Mother +Brown thanked him for his care of the children. + +"We couldn't have a monkey and a parrot, could we, Mother?" asked Bunny, +as they left the animal store. + +"No, dear. I'm afraid not." + +"I didn't think we could," Bunny went on. "But when we get back home, +where Henry, the elevator boy, can't see 'em, Sue and I is going to have +a monkey and a parrot." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +BUNNY FLIES A KITE + + +Mother Brown and Aunt Lu laughed when Bunny said this. Bunny's and Sue's +mother and aunt were glad to have the children safely with them again. +They were soon at Aunt Lu's home. + +"Whatever made you two children go into that animal store?" asked Mrs. +Brown. "Aunt Lu and I thought you were right behind us, going to take +the boat for Coney Island. Now we can't go." + +"We can go some other day," declared Bunny. "You see we just stopped to +look in the animal store window, Mother, and then we thought we'd go in +to see how much a monkey and a parrot cost." + +"But they cost ten dollars," said Sue, "so we didn't get any." + +"I should hope not!" exclaimed Aunt Lu. + +The next day Bunny and Sue went to Coney Island with their aunt and +their mother. This time Aunt Lu and Mother Brown kept close hold of the +children's hands, so they were not lost. They very much enjoyed the sail +down the bay, and they had lots of fun at Coney Island. + +Of course Bunny and Sue were not like some children, who have never seen +the grand, old ocean. Bunny and Sue lived near it at home, and had seen +it ever since they were small children. But, to some, their visit to +Coney Island gives the first sight of the sea, and it is a wonderful +sight, with the big waves breaking on the sandy shore. + +But if Bunny and Sue were not so eager to see the ocean, they were glad +to look at the other things on Coney Island. They rode on a +merry-go-'round, slid down a long wooden hill, in a wooden boat, and +splashed into the water; this was "shooting the chutes," of which you +have heard. + +They even rode on a tame elephant, in a little house on the big animal's +back. Then they had popcorn and candy, and some lemonade, that, if it +was not pink, such as they had at their little circus, was just as good. +In fact Bunny Brown and his sister Sue had a very good time at Coney +Island. + +Coming back on the boat was nice, too. There was a band playing music, +and Bunny and Sue, and some other children, danced around. They reached +home after dark, and Bunny and Sue were glad to go to bed. + +But Bunny was not too sleepy to ask: + +"What are we going to do to-morrow, Mother?" + +"Oh, wait until to-morrow comes and see," she answered. "I hope you +don't get lost again, though." + +But Bunny and Sue were not afraid of getting lost in New York, now. They +knew the police would find them, and be kind to them. + +Their mother and Aunt Lu had made them say, over and over again, the +number of the house, and the name of the street where Aunt Lu lived. The +children also had cards with the address on. But the day they went into +the animal store they had left their cards at home. + +"What shall we do, Bunny?" asked Sue, the day after their trip to Coney +Island. "I want to have some fun." + +"So do I," said Bunny. + +Having fun in the big city of New York was different from playing in the +country, on grandpa's farm, or near the water in Bellemere, as Bunny and +Sue soon found. But they had many good times at Aunt Lu's, though they +were different from those at home. One thing about being in the country, +at grandpa's, or at their own home, was that Bunny and Sue could run out +alone and look for fun. In New York they were only allowed to go on the +street in front of Aunt Lu's house alone. Of course if Aunt Lu, or +Mother Brown, or even Wopsie went with them, the children could go +farther up or down the street. + +"Let's see if we can go out and find Wopsie's aunt to-day," said Bunny +to Sue, after they had eaten breakfast. + +"All right," agreed the little girl. "Where'll we look?" + +"Oh, down in the street," said Bunny. "We'll ask all the colored people +we meet if they have lost a little girl. And we could ask at a police +station, too, if we knew where there was one." + +"Yes," said Sue, "we might ask at the station where we was tooken, after +we saw the monkeys and parrots in the animal store." + +"But we don't know where that police station is," Bunny said. "I guess +we'd just better ask in the street." + +Bunny and Sue were quite in earnest about finding little Wopsie's aunt +for her. For they wanted to make the little colored girl happy. + +And, strange as it may seem, Bunny and Sue had asked many colored +persons they met, if they wanted a little lost colored girl. Bunny and +Sue did not think this was at all strange, for they were used to doing, +and saying, just what they pleased, as long as it was not wrong. + +Of course some colored men and women did not know what to make of the +queer questions Bunny and Sue asked, but others replied to them kindly, +and said they were sorry, but that they had not lost any little colored +girl. + +"But we'll find Wopsie's aunt some time," said Bunny, and Sue thought +they might. So now, having nothing else to do to "have fun," as they +called it, Bunny and Sue started to go down to the street. + +"Don't go away from in front of the house!" their mother called to them. + +"We won't," Bunny promised. + +Henry, the colored elevator boy, took them down in his car. + +"We're going to find Wopsie's aunt," said Bunny. + +"Well, I hopes you do," replied Henry. For, all this while, though Aunt +Lu had tried her best, nothing could be found of any "folks" for the +little colored girl. She still lived with Aunt Lu, helping keep the +apartment in order, and looking after Bunny and Sue. + +Down on the sidewalk went Bunny and his sister. For some time they sat +on the shady front steps, watching for a colored man or woman. But it +was quite long before one came along. Then it was a young colored man. +Up to him ran Bunny. + +"Is you looking for Wopsie?" he asked. For the colored man was looking +up at the numbers on the houses. + +"No, sah, little man. I'se lookin' fo' Henry," was the answer. "He's a +elevator boy, an' he done lib around yeah somewheres." + +"Oh, he lives in here!" cried Sue. "Henry's our elevator boy. We'll show +you!" + +She and Bunny ran into the hall, calling: + +"Henry! Henry! Here's your brother looking for you!" + +And so it was Henry's brother. He worked as an elevator boy in another +apartment house, and, as he had a few hours to spare, he had come to see +Henry. + +The two colored boys talked together, riding up and down in the sliding +car, while Bunny and Sue went back to the street. + +"Well, we didn't find anyone looking for Wopsie," said Bunny, "but we +found someone looking for Henry, and that's pretty near the same." + +"Yes," said Sue. "Maybe we'll find Wopsie's aunt to-morrow." + +But no more colored persons came along, and, after a while, Bunny and +Sue grew tired of waiting. Looking up in the air Bunny suddenly gave +a cry. + +"Oh, Sue! Look!" he shouted. "There's a boy on the roof of that house +across the street, flying a kite. I'm going to get a kite and fly it +from our roof!" + +"Do you think mother will let you?" asked Sue. + +"I'm going to tell her about it!" Bunny exclaimed. + +At first Mrs. Brown would not hear of Bunny's flying a kite from the +roof of the apartment house. But Aunt Lu said: + +"Oh, the boys here often do it. That's the only place they have to fly +kites in New York. There is a good breeze up on our roof, and it's safe. +I don't know anything about a kite though, or how we could get Bunny +one." + +"You can buy 'em in a store," said the little boy. "There's a store just +around the corner, and the kites cost five cents." + +Mrs. Brown, hearing her sister say it was safe, and all right, to fly +kites from the roof, said Bunny might get one. So he and Sue, with +Wopsie, went to the little store around the corner. There Bunny got a +fine red, white and blue kite, with a tail to it. + +"Now we'll take it up on the roof and fly it," he said to his sister and +the little colored girl, after he had tied the end of a ball of string +to his kite. + +There was a good wind up on the roof, and the railing was so high there +was no danger of the children sliding off. Bunny's kite was soon flying +in the air, and he and Sue took turns holding the string, as they sat on +cushions on the roof. Wopsie stood near, looking on. + +[Illustration: "I NEVER FLIED A KITE LIKE THIS BEFORE," LAUGHED +BUNNY--"UP ON A HOUSE ROOF." + +_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home._ _Page 192._] + +"I never flied a kite like this before," laughed Bunny--"up on a house +roof." + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE PLAY PARTY + + +High up in the air flew Bunny Brown's kite. The wind blew very hard on +the high roof of Aunt Lu's house, harder than it blew down in the +street. And, too, on the roof, there were no trees to catch the kite's +tail and pull it. I think a kite doesn't like its tail pulled any more +than a pussy cat, or a puppy dog does. Anyhow, nothing pulled the tail +of Bunny's kite. + +"Doesn't it fly fine!" cried Sue, as Bunny let out more and more of the +ball of cord. + +"Yes," he answered. "I'll let you hold it awhile, Sue, after it gets up +higher." + +"And will you let Wopsie hold it, too?" asked the little girl. + +Sue was very kind hearted, and she always wanted to have the lonely +little colored girl share in the joys and pleasures that Bunny and his +sister so often had. + +"Sure, Wopsie can fly the kite!" Bunny answered. "It's almost up high +enough now. Pretty soon it will be up near the clouds. Then I'll let you +and Wopsie hold it awhile." + +Up and up went the kite, higher and higher. The wind was blowing harder +than ever, sweeping over the roof, and Bunny moved back from the high +rail for fear that, after all, the kite might pull him over. Pretty soon +he had let out all the cord, except what was tied to a clothes pin his +aunt had given him, and Bunny said: + +"Now you can hold the kite, Sue. But keep it tight, so it won't pull +away from you." + +Sue did not come up to take the string, as Bunny thought she would. +Instead, Sue said: + +"I--I guess Wopsie can take my turn, Bunny. I don't want to hold the +kite. Let Wopsie." + +"Why, I thought you wanted to," the little boy said. + +"Well, I--I did, but I don't want to now," and Sue looked at the kite, +high up in the air above the roof. + +"Come on, Wopsie!" called Bunny to the little colored girl. "You can +hold the kite awhile." + +Wopsie shook her kinky, black, curly head. + +"No, sah, Bunny! I don't want t' hold no kite nohow!" she said. + +"Why not?" Bunny wanted to know. + +"Jest 'case as how I don't!" Wopsie explained. + +"Is--is you afraid, same as I am?" asked Sue. + +"Why, Sue!" cried Bunny. "You're not afraid to hold my kite; are you?" + +"Yes I is, Bunny." + +"What for?" + +"'Cause it's so high up," Sue told him. "The wind blows it so hard, and +we're up on such a high roof, and the kite pulls so hard I'm afraid it +might take me up with it." + +"That's jest what I'se skeered ob, too!" cried Wopsie. "I don't want t' +git carried off up to no cloud, no sah! I wants t' find mah aunt 'fore I +goes up to de sky!" + +Bunny Brown laughed. + +"Why this kite wouldn't pull you up!" he said. "It can't pull hard +enough for that. Come on, I'll let both of you hold it together. It +can't pull you both up." + +"Shall we?" asked Sue, looking at Wopsie. + +"Well, I will if yo' will," said the colored girl slowly. + +Slowly and carefully Sue and Wopsie took hold of the kite string. No +sooner did they have it in their hands than there came a sudden puff of +wind, harder than before, and the kite pulled harder than ever. + +"Oh, it's taking us up! It's taking us up!" cried Sue, and she let go +the string. + +"I can't hold it all alone! I can't hold it all alone!" cried Wopsie. "I +don't want to go up to de clouds in de sky!" + +And she, too, let go the cord. As it happened, Bunny did not have hold +of it just then, thinking his sister and Wopsie would hold it, so you +can easily guess what happened. + +The strong wind carried the kite, string and all, away through the air, +the clothes pin, fast to the end of the cord, rattling along over the +roof. + +"Oh, look!" cried Sue. "Your kite is loose, Bunny!" + +"Cotch it! Cotch it!" shouted Wopsie, now that she saw what had +happened. + +Bunny did not say it was the fault of his sister and the little colored +girl that the kite had gone sailing off by itself, though if the two +girls had held to the string it never would have happened. But Bunny was +too eager and anxious to get back his kite to say anything just then. + +With a bound he sprang after the rolling clothes pin. But it kept just +beyond his reach. He could not get his hand on it. Faster and faster the +kite sailed away. Bunny was now running across the roof after the +clothes pin that was tied on the end of his kite cord. + +Then, all of a sudden, the clothes pin was pulled over the edge of the +roof railing. Bunny could not get it. He stopped short at the edge of +the roof, and looked at his kite sailing far away. + +"It--it's gone!" said Sue, in a low voice. + +"It--it suah has!" whispered Wopsie. "Oh, Bunny. I'se so sorry!" + +"So'm I!" added Sue. + +Bunny said nothing. He just looked at his kite, growing smaller and +smaller as it sailed away through the air. It was too bad. + +"Never mind," said Bunny, swallowing the "crying lump" in his throat, as +he called it. "It--it wasn't a very good kite anyhow. I'm going to get a +bigger one." + +"Den we suah will be pulled offen de roof!" said Wopsie, and Bunny and +Sue laughed at the queer way she said it. + +However, nothing could be done now to get the kite. Away it went, +sailing on and on over other roofs. The long string, with the clothes +pin on the end of it, dangled over the courtyard of the apartment house. +Then the wind did not blow quite so hard for a moment, and the kite sank +down. + +"Oh, maybe you can get it!" cried Sue. + +"Let's try!" exclaimed Bunny. "Come on, Wopsie. We'll go down to the +street and run after my kite." + +Down to Aunt Lu's floor went the children. Quickly they told Mother +Brown and Aunt Lu what had happened. + +"We're going to chase after my kite," said Bunny. "That's what we do in +the country when a kite gets loose like mine did." + +"But I'm afraid it won't be so easy to run after a kite in the city as +it is in the country," said Mother Brown. "There are too many houses +here, Bunny. But you may try. Wopsie will go with you, and don't go too +far away." + +Wopsie knew all the streets about Aunt Lu's house, and could not get +lost, so it was safe for Bunny and Sue to go with her. A little later +the three were down on the street, running in the direction they had +last seen the kite. But they could see it no longer. There were too many +houses in the way, and there were no big green fields, as in the +country, across which one could look for ever and ever so far. + +For several blocks, and through a number of streets, Bunny Brown and his +sister Sue, with Wopsie, tried to find the kite. But it was not in +sight. They even asked a kind-looking policeman, but he had not seen it. + +"I guess we'll have to go back without it," said Bunny, sighing. "But +I'll buy another to-morrow." + +The children turned to go back to Aunt Lu's house. Bunny and Sue looked +about them. They had never been on this street before. It was not as +nice as the one where their aunt lived. The houses were just as big, but +they were rather shabby looking--like old and ragged dresses. And the +people in the street, and the children, were not well dressed. Of course +that was not their fault, they were poor, and did not have the money. +Perhaps some of them did not even have money enough to get all they +wanted to eat. + +"I--I don't like it here," whispered Sue to Wopsie. "Let's go home." + +"There's more children here than on our street," said Bunny. "Look at +those boys wading in a mud puddle. I wish I could." + +"Don't you dare do it, Bunny Brown!" cried Sue. "You know we can't go +barefoot in the city. Mother said so." + +"Yes, I know," Bunny answered. + +The three children walked on. As they passed a high stoop they saw a +number of ragged boys and girls sitting around a box, on which were +some old broken dishes and clam shells. One girl, larger than the +others, was saying: + +"Now you has all got to be nice at my party, else you won't git nothin' +to eat. Sammie Cohen, you sit up straight, and don't you grab any of +that chocolate cake until I says you kin have it. Mary Mullaine, you +keep your fingers out of dat lemonade. The party ain't started yet." + +"I--I don't see any party," said Bunny, looking at the empty clam +shells, and the empty pieces of broken dishes on the soap box. + +"Hush!" exclaimed Sue in a whisper. "Can't you see it's a _play_-party, +Bunny Brown. Same as we have!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE REAL PARTY + + +The poor children on the stoop (I call them poor just so you'll know +they didn't have much money) these poor children were pretending so hard +to have a party, that they never noticed Bunny Brown, and his sister +Sue, with Wopsie, watching them. + +"When are we goin' to eat?" asked a ragged little boy, who sat on the +lowest step. + +"When I says to begin, dat's when you eat," said the big, ragged girl, +who seemed to have gotten up the play-party. "And I don't want nobody to +ask for no second piece of cake, 'cause there ain't enough." + +"Is there any pie?" asked a little boy, whose face was quite dirty. +"'Cause if there's pie, I'd just as lief have that as cake." + +"There ain't no pie," said the big girl. "Now we'll begin. Mikie Snell, +you let that ice-cream alone, I tells you!" + +"I--I was jest seein' if it was meltin'," and Mikie drew back a dirty +hand he had reached over toward a big empty clam shell. That shell was +the make-believe dish of ice-cream, you see. + +"Say, dis suah am a funny party," whispered Wopsie to Sue. "I--I don't +see nuffin to eat!" + +"Hush!" whispered Sue. "You never have anything to eat at a +_play_-party; do you, Bunny?" + +"Nope. But when we have one we always go in the house afterward, and +mother gives us something." + +"Let's watch them play," whispered Sue. + +And so, not having found Bunny's kite, he and his sister Sue, and +Wopsie, stood by the stoop, and watched the poor, ragged children at +their play-party. + +It was just like the ones Bunny and Sue sometimes had. There was make +believe pie, cake, lemonade and ice-cream. And the children on the +stoop, in the big, busy street of New York, had just as much fun at +their play-party as Bunny and Sue had at theirs, in the beautiful +country, or by the seashore. + +"Now we're goin' to have the ice-cream," said the big girl, as she +smoothed down her ragged dress. "And don't none of you eat it too fast, +or it'll give you a face-ache, 'cause it's awful cold." + +Then she made believe to dish out the pretend-ice-cream, and the +children made believe to eat it with imaginary spoons. + +"I couldn't have no more, could I?" asked a little girl. + +"Why Lizzie Bloomenstine! I should say not!" cried the big girl. "The +ice-cream is all gone. Hello, what you lookin' at?" she asked quickly as +she saw Bunny, Sue and Wopsie. + +For a moment Bunny did not answer. The big girl frowned, and the others +at the play-party did not seem pleased. + +"Go on away an' let us alone!" the big girl said. "Can't we have a party +without you swells comin' to stare at us?" + +Bunny and Sue really were not staring at the play-party to be impolite. + +"What they want?" asked another of the ragged children. + +"Oh, jest makin' fun at us, 'cause we ain't got nothin' to play real +party with, I s'pose," grumbled the big girl. "Go on away!" she ordered. + +Then Sue had an idea. I have told you of some of the ideas Bunny Brown +had, but this time it was Sue's turn. She was going to do a queer thing. + +"If you please," she said in her most polite voice to the big ragged +girl, "we only stopped to look at your play-party, to see how you did +it." + +"'Cause we have 'em like that ourselves," added Bunny. + +"And they're lots of fun," went on Sue. "We play just like you do, with +empty plates, and tin dishes and all that. Do you ever have cherry pie +at your play parties?" + +The big girl was not scowling now. She had a kinder look on her face. +After all she had found that the "swells," as she called Bunny and Sue, +were just like herself. + +"No, we never have cherry pie," she said, "it costs too much, even at +make-believe parties. But we has frankfurters and rolls." + +"Oh, how nice!" Sue said. "We never have them; do we Bunny?" + +"Nope." + +"But we will, next time we have a play-party," Sue went on. "I think +they must be lovely. How do you cook 'em?" + +"Well, we just frys 'em--make believe," said the big girl, who was +smiling now. "But I can cook real, an' when we has any money at home, +an' me ma buys real sausages, I boils 'em an' we eats 'em wit mustard +on." + +Sue thought the big girl talked in rather a queer way, but of course we +cannot all talk alike. It would be a funny world if we did; wouldn't it? + +"It must be nice to cook real sausages," said Sue. "I wish I could do +it. But will all of you children come to my party to-morrow?" she asked. + +"Are you goin' to have a party?" inquired the big girl. + +"Yes," nodded Sue. "We're going to have a party at our Aunt Lu's house; +aren't we, Bunny? We are, 'cause I'm going to ask her to have one, as +soon as we get back," Sue whispered to her brother. "So you say 'yes.' +We are going to have a party; aren't we, Bunny?" Sue spoke out loud this +time. + +"Yes," answered the little boy. "We're going to have one." + +"A real party?" the big girl wanted to know. + +Bunny looked at Sue. He was going to let her answer. + +"Yes, it will be a real party," said Sue, "and we'll have all real +things to eat. Will you come?" + +"Will we come?" cried the big girl. "Well, I guess we will!" + +"Even a policeman couldn't keep us away!" said the boy who had wanted to +feel the ice-cream, to see if it was melting. + +"Then you can all come to my Aunt Lu's house to-morrow afternoon," Sue +went on. "I'll tell her you're coming." + +"Where is it?" asked the big girl. + +Sue felt in her pocket and brought out one of Aunt Lu's cards, which +Miss Baker had given the little girl in case she became lost. + +"That's our address," said Sue. "You come there to-morrow afternoon, +and we'll have a real party. I'm pleased to have met you," and with a +polite bow, saying what she had often heard her mother say on parting +from a new friend, Sue turned away. + +"Will you an' your brother be there?" the big, ragged girl wanted to +know. + +"Yes," said Bunny. "I'll be there, and so will Wopsie." + +"Is she Wopsie?" asked the big girl, pointing to the colored piccaninny. + +"Dat's who I is!" Wopsie exclaimed. "But dat's only mah make-believe +name. Mah real one am Sallie Jefferson. Dat name was on de card pinned +to me, but de address was tored off." + +"Well, Sallie or Wopsie, it's all de same to me," said the big girl. +"We'll see you at de party!" + +"Yes, please all come," said Sue once more. Then she walked on with +Wopsie and her brother. + +"Say, Miss Sue, is yo' all sartin suah 'bout dis yeah party?" asked +Wopsie, as they turned the corner. + +"Why, of course we're sure about it, Wopsie." + +"Well, yo' auntie don't know nuffin 'bout it." + +"She will, as soon as we get home, for I'll tell her," said Sue. "It +will be fun; won't it, Bunny?" + +"I--I guess so." + +Bunny did not know quite what to make of what Sue had done. Getting up a +real party in such a hurry was a new idea for him. Still it might be all +right. + +"It's a good thing I lost my kite," said Bunny. "'Cause if I hadn't we +couldn't have seen those children to invite to the party." + +"Yes," said Sue, "it was real nice. We'll have lots of fun at the party. +I hope they'll all come." + +"Oh, dey'll _come_ all right!" said Wopsie, shaking her head. "But I +don't jest know what yo' Aunt Lu's gwine t' say." + +"Oh, that will be all right," answered Sue easily. + +When the children reached home, they rode up in the elevator with Henry, +and Sue found her aunt in the library with Mother Brown. + +"Aunt Lu," began Sue, "have you got lots of cake and jam tarts and jelly +tarts in the house?" + +"Why, I think Mary baked a cake to-day," Sue. "What did you ask that +for?" + +"And can you buy real ice-cream at a store near here, or make it?" Sue +wanted to know. + +"Why, yes, child, but what for?" Aunt Lu was puzzled. + +"Then it's all right," Sue went on. "You're going to give a real +play-party to a lot of ragged children here to-morrow afternoon. I +invited them. I gave them your card. And now, please, I want a jam tart, +or a piece of cake, for myself. And then we must tell Henry when the +ragged children come, to let them come up in the elevator. They're +little, just like me, and they never could walk up all the stairs. I +hope your real play-party will be nice, Aunt Lu," and Sue, smoothing out +her dress, sat down in a chair. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +IN THE PARK + + +Aunt Lu looked first at Sue, and then at Bunny Brown. Mother Brown did +the same thing. Then they looked at Wopsie. Finally Aunt Lu, in a sort +of faint, and far-away voice asked: + +"What--what does it all mean, Sue?" + +Sue leaned back in her chair. + +"It's just like I told you," she said. "You know Bunny's kite got away, +and we ran after it. We didn't find it, but we saw some poor children +having a play-party, with broken pieces of dishes on a box, same as me +and Bunny plays sometimes. We watched them, and I guess they thought we +was makin' fun of 'em." + +"Yes," said Bunny, "that's what they did." + +"But we wasn't makin' fun," said Sue. "We just wanted to watch, and when +they saw us I asked them to come here to-morrow to a _real_ party." + +"Oh, Sue, you never did!" cried her mother. + +"Yes'm, I did," returned Sue. "I gave 'em Aunt Lu's card, and they're +coming, and we're going to have _real_ cake and _real_ ice-cream. That +one girl can cook real, or make-believe, sausages, but we don't need to +have _them_, 'less you want to, Aunt Lu! Only I think it would be nice +to have some jam tarts, and I'd like one now, please." + +Aunt Lu and Mrs. Brown again looked at one another. First they smiled, +and then they laughed. + +"Well," said Aunt Lu, after a bit. "I suppose since Sue has invited them +I'll have to give them a party. But I wish you had let me know first, +Sue, before you asked them." + +"Why, I didn't have time, Aunt Lu. I--I just had to get up the real +party right away, you see." + +"Oh, yes, I see." + +So Aunt Lu told Mary, her cook, and her other servants, to get ready for +the party Sue had planned. For it would never do to have the big girl, +and the little boys and girls, come all the way to Aunt Lu's house, and +then not give them something to eat, especially after Sue had promised +it to them. + +Bunny and Sue could hardly wait for the next day to come, so eager were +they to have the party. They were up early in the morning, and they +wanted to help make the jam and jelly tarts, but Aunt Lu said Mary could +better do that alone. Wopsie helped dust the rooms, though, and she +lifted up to the mantel several pretty vases that had stood on low +tables. + +"Dem chilluns might not mean t' do it," said the little colored girl, +"but dey might, accidental like, knock ober some vases an' smash 'em. +Den Miss Lu would feel bad." + +Bunny and Sue spoke to Henry, the elevator boy, about the ragged +children coming to the party. + +"You'll let them ride up with you; won't you, Henry?" asked Sue. + +"Oh, suah I will!" he said, smiling and showing all his white teeth. +"Dey kin ride in mah elevator as well as not." + +And, about two o'clock, which was the hour Sue had told them, the ragged +children came, the big girl marching on ahead with Aunt Lu's card held +in her hand, so she would find the apartment house. But the children +were not so ragged or dirty now. Their faces and hands were quite clean, +and some of them had on better clothes. + +"I made 'em slick up, all I could," said the big girl, who said her name +was Maggie Walsh. "Is the party all ready?" + +"Yes," answered Sue, who with Bunny, had been waiting down in the hall +for the "company." + +Into the elevator the poor children piled, and soon they were up in Aunt +Lu's nice rooms. The place was so nice, with its satin and plush chairs, +that the children were almost afraid to sit down. But Aunt Lu, and Mrs. +Brown soon made them feel at home, and when the cake, ice-cream, and +other good things, were brought in, why, the children acted just like +any others that Bunny and Sue had played with. + +"Say, it's _real_ ice-cream all right!" whispered one boy to Maggie +Walsh. "It's de real stuff!" + +"Course it is!" exclaimed the big girl. "Didn't she say it was goin' to +be real!" and she nodded at Sue. + +"I t'ought maybe it were jest a joke," said the boy. + +Aunt Lu had not had much time to get ready for Sue's sudden little +party, but it was a nice one for all that. There were plenty of good +things to eat, which, after all, does much to make a party nice. Then, +too, there was a little present for each of the children. And as they +went home with their toys, pleased and happy, there was a smile on every +face. + +They had had more good things to eat than they had ever dreamed of, they +had played games and they had had the best time in their lives, so they +said. Over and over again they thanked Sue and her mother and Aunt Lu, +and Bunny--even Henry, the elevator boy. + +"We'll come a'gin whenever you has a party," whispered a little +red-haired girl, to Sue, as she said good-bye. + +"And youse kin come to our make-believe parties whenever you want," said +the big girl. + +"Thanks." Sue waved her hands to the children as they went down the +street. She had given them a happy time. + +For a few days after Sue's party she and Bunny did not do much except +play around Aunt Lu's house, for there came several days of rain. The +weather was getting colder now, for it was fall, and would soon be +winter. + +"But I like winter!" said Bunny. "'Cause we can slide down hill. Are +there any hills around here, Aunt Lu?" + +"Well, not many. Perhaps you might slide in Central Park. We'll see when +snow comes." + +One clear, cool November day Bunny and Sue were taken to Central Park by +Wopsie. They had been promised a ride in a pony cart, and this was the +day they were to have it. + +Not far from where the animals were kept in the park were some ponies +and donkeys. Children could ride on their backs, or sit in a little +cart, and have a pony or donkey pull them. + +"We'll get in a cart," said Bunny. "I'm going to drive." + +"Do you know how?" asked the man, as he lifted Bunny and Sue in. Wopsie +got in herself. + +"I can drive our dog Splash, when he's hitched up to our express wagon," +said Bunny. "I guess I can drive the pony. He isn't much bigger than +Splash." This was so, as the pony was a little one. + +So Bunny took hold of the lines, but the man who owned the pony carts +sent a boy to walk along beside the little horse that was pulling Bunny, +Sue and Wopsie. + +"Giddap!" cried Bunny to the pony. "Go faster!" For the pony was only +walking. Just then a dog ran out of the bushes along the park drive, and +barked at the pony's heels. Before the boy, whom the man had sent out to +take charge of the pony, could stop him, the little horse jumped +forward, and the next minute began trotting down the drive very fast, +pulling after him the cart, with Bunny, Sue and Wopsie in it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +OLD AUNT SALLIE + + +"Bunny! Bunny! Isn't this fun?" cried Sue, as she looked across at her +brother in the other seat of the pony cart. "Don't you like it?" + +"Yes, I do," Bunny answered, as he pulled on the reins. "Do you, +Wopsie?" + +The colored girl looked around without speaking. She looked on the +ground, as though she would like to jump out of the pony cart. But she +did not. The little horse was going faster than ever. + +"Don't you like it, Wopsie?" asked Sue. "It's fun! This pony goes faster +than our dog Splash, and Splash couldn't pull such a nice, big cart as +this; could he, Bunny?" + +"No, I guess not," Bunny answered. He did not turn around to look at Sue +as he spoke. + +For, to tell the truth, Bunny was a little bit worried. The dog that +had jumped out of the bushes, to bark at the pony's heels, was still +running along behind the pony cart, barking and snapping. And, though +Bunny and Sue did not mind their dog Splash's barking, when he pulled +them, this dog was a strange one. + +Then, too, the boy, who had started out with the pony cart, was running +along after it crying: + +"Stop! Stop! Wait a minute. Somebody stop that pony!" + +But there was no one ahead of Bunny, Sue and Wopsie on the Park drive +just then, and no one to stop the pony, which was kicking up his heels, +and going faster and faster all the while. + +"He's running hard; isn't he, Bunny?" asked Sue. + +"Yes, he--he's going fast--very fast!" panted Bunny, in a sort of jerky +way, for the cart rattled over some bumps just then, and if Bunny had +not been careful how he spoke he might have bitten his tongue between +his teeth. + +"Don't--don't you li--like it--Wop--Wopsie?" asked Sue, speaking in the +same jerky way as had her brother. + +Wopsie did not open her mouth. She just held tightly to the edge of the +pony cart, and shook her head from side to side. That meant she did not +like it. Sue and Bunny wondered why. + +True, they were going a bit fast, but then they had often ridden almost +as fast when Splash, their big dog, drew them in the express cart. And +this was much nicer than an express cart, though of course Bunny and Sue +liked Splash better than this pony. But if they had owned the pony they +would have liked him very much, also, I think. + +Now the pony swung around a corner of the drive, and he went so fast, +and turned so quickly, that the cart was nearly upset. + +Sue held tightly to the side of her seat, and called to her brother: + +"Oh, Bunny! Don't make him go so fast! You'll spill me and Wopsie out!" + +"I didn't make him go fast," Bunny answered. "I--I guess he's in a hurry +to get away from that dog." + +"Make the dog go 'way," pleaded Sue. + +Bunny looked back at the barking dog, who was still running after the +pony cart. + +"Go on away!" Bunny cried. "Let us alone--go on away and find a bone to +eat!" + +But the dog either did not understand what Bunny said, or he would +rather race after the pony cart than get himself a bone. At any rate he +still kept running along, barking and growling, and the pony kept +running. + +The boy who had started out with the children, first walking along +beside the pony, was now far behind. He was a small boy, with very short +legs, and, as the pony's legs were quite long, of course the boy could +not run fast enough to keep up. So he was now far behind, but he kept +calling: + +"Stop that pony! Oh, please someone stop that pony!" + +Bunny and Sue heard the boy calling. So did Wopsie, but the colored girl +said nothing. She just sat there, holding to the side of the seat and +looking at Bunny and Sue. + +"I wonder what that boy's hollering that way for?" asked Sue, as the +pony swung around another corner, almost upsetting the cart again. + +"I don't know," said Bunny. "Maybe he likes to holler. I do sometimes, +when I'm out in the country. And this park is like the country, Sue." + +"Yes, I guess it is," said the little girl. "But what's he saying, +Bunny?" + +They listened. Once more the boy, running along, now quite a long way +behind the pony cart, could be heard crying: + +"Stop him! Stop him! He's running away! Stop him!" + +Bunny and Sue looked at one another. Then they looked at Wopsie. The +colored girl opened her mouth, showing her red tongue and her white +teeth. + +"Oh! Oh!" she screamed. "De pony's runnin' away! Dat's what de boy says. +I'se afeered, I is! Oh, let me out! Let me out!" + +Wopsie, who sat near the back of the cart, where there was a little +door, made of wicker-work, like a basket, started to jump out. But +though Bunny Brown was only a little fellow, he knew that Wopsie might +be hurt if she jumped from the cart, which the pony was pulling along +so fast, now. + +"Sit still, Wopsie!" Bunny cried. "Sit still!" + +"But we's bein' runned away wif!" exclaimed Wopsie. "Didn't yo' all done +heah dat boy say so? We's bein' runned away wif! I wants t' git out! I +don't like bein' runned away wif!" + +"It won't hurt you," said Sue. She did not seem at all afraid. "It won't +hurt you, Wopsie," Sue went on. "Me and Bunny has been runned away with +lots of times, with our dog Splash; hasn't we, Bunny?" + +"Yes, we have, Sue. Sit still, Wopsie. I'll stop the pony." + +Bunny began to pull back on the lines, and he called: + +"Whoa! Whoa there! Stop now! Don't run away any more, pony boy!" + +But the pony did not seem to want to stop. Perhaps he thought if he +stopped, now, the barking dog would bite his heels. But the dog had +given up the chase, and was not in sight. Neither was the running boy. + +The boy had found that his short legs were not long enough to keep up +with the longer legs of the pony. Besides, a pony has four legs, and +everybody knows that four legs can go faster than two. So the boy +stopped running. + +"Can you stop the pony?" asked Sue, after Bunny had pulled on the lines +a number of times, and had cried "Whoa!" very often. "Can you stop him?" + +"I--I guess so," answered the little boy. "But maybe you'd better help +me, Sue. You pull on one line, and I'll pull on the other. That will +stop him." + +Bunny passed one of the pony's reins to his sister and held to the +other. The children were sitting in front of the cart, Bunny on one side +and Sue on the other. Both of them began to pull on the lines, but still +the pony did not stop. + +"Pull harder, Bunny! Pull harder!" cried Sue. + +"I am pulling as hard as I can," he said. "You pull harder, Sue." + +But still the pony did not want to stop. If anything, he was going +faster than ever. Yes, he surely was going faster, for it was down hill +now, and you know, as well as I do, that you can go faster down hill, +than you can on the level, or up hill. + +"Oh, I want to git out! I want to git out!" cried Wopsie. "I don't like +bein' runned away wif! Oh, please good, kind, nice, sweet Mr. Policeman, +stop de pony from runnin' away wif us!" + +"Where's a policeman?" asked Sue, turning half way around to look at +Wopsie. "Where's a policeman?" + +"I--I don't see none!" said the colored girl, "but I wish I did! He'd +stop de pony from runnin' away. Maybe if we all yells fo' a policeman +one'll come." + +"Shall we Bunny?" asked Sue. + +"Shall we what?" Bunny wanted to know. He had been so busy trying to get +a better hold on his rein that he had not noticed what Sue and Wopsie +were talking about. + +"Shall we call a policeman?" asked Sue. "Wopsie says one can stop the +pony from running away. And I don't guess _we_ can stop him, Bunny. +We'd better yell for a policeman. Maybe one is around somewhere, but I +can't see any." + +"All right, we'll call one," Bunny agreed. He, too, was beginning to +think that the pony was never going to stop. "But let's try one more +pull on the lines, Sue. Now, pull hard." + +And then something happened. + +Without waiting for Sue to get ready to pull on her line, Bunny gave a +hard pull on his. And I guess you know what happens if you pull too much +on one horse-line. + +Suddenly the pony felt Bunny pulling on the right hand line, and the +pony turned to that side. And he turned so quickly that the harness +broke and the cart was upset. Over it went on its side, and Bunny Brown +and his sister Sue, as well as Wopsie, were thrown out. + +Right out of the cart they flew, and Bunny turned a somersault, head +over heels, before he landed on a soft pile of grass that had been cut +that day. Sue and Wopsie also landed on piles of grass, so they were not +any more hurt than was Bunny. + +The pony, as soon as the cart had turned over, looked back once, and +then he stopped running, and began to nibble the green grass. + +"Well, we aren't being runned away with now," Bunny finally said. + +"No," answered Sue. "We've stopped all right. Wopsie, is you hurted?" + +The colored girl put her hand up to her kinky head. Her hat had fallen +off into her lap. Carefully she felt of her braids. Then she said: + +"I guess I isn't hurted much. But I might 'a' bin! I don't want no mo' +pony cart rides!" + +Before the children and Wopsie could get up they heard a voice calling +to them: + +"Bress der hearts! Po' li'l lambs! Done got frowed out ob de cart, an' +all busted t' pieces mebby. Well, ole Aunt Sallie'll take keer ob 'em! +Po' li'l honey lambs!" + +Glancing up, Bunny and Sue saw a motherly-looking colored woman coming +across the grass toward them. She held out her fat arms to the children +and said: + +"Now don't cry, honey lambs! Ole Aunt Sallie will tuk keer ob yo' all!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +WOPSIE'S FOLKS + + +The nice old colored woman, who called herself Aunt Sallie, bent first +over Sue, helping the little girl stand up. + +"Is yo' all hurted, honey?" asked Aunt Sallie, brushing the pieces of +grass from Sue's dress. + +"Oh, no, I'm not hurt at all, thank you," Sue replied. "It was a soft +place to fall." + +"An' yo', li'l boy; am yo' all hurted?" she asked Bunny. + +"No, thank you, I'm all right. I used to be in a circus, so I know how +to turn somersaults, you see." + +"What's dat! A li'l boy like yo' in a circus?" + +Aunt Sallie seemed very much surprised. + +"Oh, it wasn't a _real_ circus," explained Sue. + +"No, it was only a make-believe one," Bunny said, as he began to brush +the grass off his clothes. "We had one circus in grandpa's barn," he +said, "and another in some tents. Say, Wopsie, is you hurted?" Bunny +asked. + +By this time the colored girl had found out there was nothing the matter +with her. Not even one of her tight, black braids of kinky hair had come +loose. She stood up, smoothed down her dress, and said: + +"No'm, I'se not hurted." + +"Dat's good," said Aunt Sallie. "It's lucky yo' all wasn't muxed up an' +smashed, when dat pony cart upset. Now yo' all jest come ober t' my +place an' I'll let yo' rest. I guess heah comes de boy what belongs t' +de pony." + +The short-legged boy came running across the field. He was very much out +of breath, for he had run a good way. + +"Any--anybody hurt?" he asked. + +"No," said Bunny, "we're all right, and your pony's all right too, I +guess." + +It seemed so, for the pony was eating grass as if he had had nothing to +chew on in a long while. But then perhaps running made him hungry, as it +does some boys and girls. + +The boy, with the help of Aunt Sallie, turned the cart right side up, +fixed the harness, and then got in to drive back to the place where the +other ponies and donkeys were kept. + +"Wait a minute!" cried Wopsie. "I done didn't pay yo' all fo' de +chilluns' ride yet." + +"Oh, never mind," said the boy. "I guess the man won't charge you +anything for this ride, because the pony ran away with you. It wasn't a +regular ride. I won't take your money." + +"Oh, then we can save it for ice-cream cones!" cried Sue, for Wopsie had +been given the money to pay for the children's rides in the pony cart. + +"Ice-cream cones!" cried Bunny. "I guess you can't get any up here!" + +"Oh, yes yo' kin, honey lamb!" exclaimed Aunt Sallie, as she called +herself. "I keeps a li'l candy an' ice-cream stand right ober dere," and +she pointed across the grassy lawn. "I was in my stand when I seed yo' +all bein' runned away wif, so I come ober as soon as I could. I sells +candy an' ice-cream cones, but I won't sell ice-cream much longer, +'cause it'll soon be winter. Den I'll sell hot coffee an' chocolate. +But I got ice-cream now, ef yo' all wants to buy some." + +"Yes, I guess we do," stated Bunny. "Come on, Sue and Wopsie. We'll have +some fun anyhow, even if we did get runned away with." + +"We's mighty lucky!" said Wopsie, as she watched the boy driving back in +the pony cart. The little horse was going slowly now. "I guess we'll +walk back," went on the colored girl. "It isn't so awful far." + +Following Aunt Sallie, who was quite fat, the children and Wopsie walked +across the green, grassy lawn, for it was still green though it was now +late in the fall. Soon the green grass would be covered with snow. + +Just as she had said, Aunt Sallie kept a little fruit, candy and +ice-cream stand in the park. Soon the children and Wopsie were eating +cones. + +"Does yo' chilluns lib 'round yeah?" asked Aunt Sallie, as she stood +back of her little counter, watching Bunny and Sue. + +"We live at Aunt Lu's house--that is we're paying her a visit," said +Bunny. "We live a good way off, and we were on Grandpa Brown's farm all +summer. We're going to stay here in New York over Christmas." + +"Dat's jest fine!" exclaimed Aunt Sallie. "An' I suah hopes dat Santa +Claus'll bring yo' all lots ob presents. Be yo' dere nuss maid?" Aunt +Sallie asked of Wopsie. + +"No, Wopsie's a lost girl," said Bunny. + +"Lost? What yo' all mean?" asked Aunt Sallie. "She don't look laik she's +lost." + +"But I is," Wopsie said. "I'se losted all mah folks. Miss Baker, dat's +de Aunt Lu dey speaks ob, she tuck me in. She's awful good t' me." + +"We all like Wopsie," explained Sue. "She takes care of us." + +"Wopsie!" exclaimed Aunt Sallie. "Dat suah am a funny name. Who gib yo' +all dat name, chile?" + +"Oh, dat's not mah real name," Wopsie explained. "Miss Lu jest calls me +dat fo' short. Mah right name am Sallie Alexander Jefferson!" + +The old colored woman jumped off the chair on which she had been +sitting. She looked closely at Wopsie. + +"Say dat ag'in, chile!" she cried. "Say dat ag'in!" + +"Say what ag'in?" Wopsie asked. + +"Yo' name! Say yo' name ag'in!" + +"Sallie Alexander Jefferson. Dat's mah name." + +To the surprise of Bunny Brown, and his sister Sue, Aunt Sallie threw +her arms around Wopsie. Then the nice old colored woman cried: + +"Bress de deah Lord! I'se done found yo'!" + +She hugged and kissed Wopsie, who did not know what it all meant. She +tried to get away from Aunt Sallie's arms, but the old colored woman +held her tightly. + +"Bress de deah Lord! Bress de deah Lord!" Aunt Sallie cried over and +over again. "I'se done found yo'!" + +Somehow or other Bunny understood. + +"Is you Wopsie's aunt that we've been looking for?" he asked. "She lost +her folks, you know, when she came up from down South. I heard Aunt Lu +say so. Are you her aunt?" + +"I suttinly believe I is, chile! I suttinly believe I is!" cried Aunt +Sally. "Fo' a long time I'se bin 'spectin' de chile ob mah dead sister +t' come t' me. Mah folks down Souf done wrote me dat dey was sendin' +li'l Sallie on, but she neber come, an' I couldn't find her. But bress +de deah Lord, now I has! I suttinly t'inks yo' suah am mah lost honey +lamb! Her name was Sallie Jefferson. Jefferson was de name ob mah sister +what died, an' she say, 'fore she died, dat she'd named her chile after +me. So yo' all mus' be her." + +"Maybe I is! Oh, maybe I is! An' maybe I'se found mah folks at last!" +cried Wopsie, or Sallie, as we must now call her. There were tears of +joy in her eyes, as well as in the eyes of Aunt Sallie. + +"If you ask Aunt Lu maybe she could tell you if Wopsie is the one you're +looking for," said Bunny. + +"Dat's what I'll do, chile! Dat's what I'll do!" cried Aunt Sallie. +"I'll shut up mah stand, an' go see yo' Aunt Lu." + +And, a little later, they were all in Aunt Lu's house. + +"Well, what has happened now?" asked Aunt Lu, as she saw the strange +colored woman with Wopsie and the children. + +"Oh, we was runned away with in the pony cart," explained Sue, "and we +got spilled out, but we fell on some piles of grass and didn't get hurt +a bit. And Aunt Sallie found us, and we bought ice-cream cones of her +and--" + +"And--and she's Wopsie's aunt, what we've been looking for," interrupted +Bunny, fearing Sue would never tell the best part of the news. "This is +Wopsie's aunt," and he waved his hand toward fat Aunt Sallie. "She's +been looking for a lost girl, and her name is Sallie, and--" + +"Dat's it--Sallie Jefferson," broke in the colored woman. "Mah name is +Sallie Lucindy Johnson, an' I had a sister named Dinah Jefferson down +Souf. So if dis girl's name am Sallie Jefferson den she may be mah +sister's chile, an', if she am--" + +"Why, den I'se found mah folks! Dat's what I has!" cried Wopsie, unable +to keep still any longer. "Oh, I do hope I'se found mah folks!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +A HAPPY CHRISTMAS + + +Aunt Lu and Mother Brown were very much surprised when Bunny Brown and +his sister Sue came in with Aunt Sallie; and when they heard the story +told by the nice, old colored woman, they were more surprised than +before. + +"Do you really think she can be Wopsie's aunt?" asked Mrs. Brown. + +"It may be," answered Aunt Lu. "We can find out." + +"Oh, I do hope I'se got some folks at last!" said Wopsie, over and over +again. "I do hope I's gwine t' hab some folks like other people." + +Aunt Lu asked Aunt Sallie many questions, and it did seem certain that +the old colored woman was aunt to some little colored girl who had been +sent up from down South, but who had become lost. + +And if Aunt Sallie had lost a niece, and if Wopsie had lost an aunt, it +might very well be that they belonged to one another. + +"We can find out, if you write to your friends down South," said Aunt Lu +to the old colored woman. + +"An' dat's jest what I'll do," was the answer. + +It took nearly two weeks for the letters to go and come, and all this +while Wopsie was anxiously waiting. So was Aunt Sallie, for Bunny and +Sue learned to call her that. She would come nearly every day to Aunt +Lu's house, to learn if she had received any word about Wopsie. + +And, every day, nearly, Bunny and Sue, with Wopsie, or Sallie, as they +sometimes called her, would go to Central Park. They would walk up to +Aunt Sallie's stand, and talk with her, sometimes buying sticks of +candy. + +For now it was almost too cold for ice-cream. Some days it was so cold +and blowy that Bunny and Sue could not go out. The ponies and donkeys +were no longer kept in the park for children to have rides. It was too +cold for the little animals. They would be kept in the warm stables +until summer came again. + +Wopsie, or Sallie, still stayed at Aunt Lu's house, with Bunny and Sue. +For Aunt Lu did not want to let the little colored girl go to live with +Aunt Sallie, until it was sure she belonged to her. Aunt Sallie had made +money at her little candy stand, which she had kept in the park for a +number of years, and she was well able to take care of Sallie and +herself. + +"As soon as I hear from down South, that Aunt Sallie is your aunt, you +shall go to her, Wopsie," Aunt Lu had said. + +"Well, Miss Baker, I suttinly wants t' hab folks, like other chilluns," +said the little colored girl, "but I suah does hate t' go 'way from yo' +who has bin so good t' me." + +"Well, you have been good, and have helped me very much, also," said +Aunt Lu. + +One day there was a flurry of snow flakes in the air. Bunny and Sue +watched them from the windows. + +"Oh, soon we can ride down hill!" cried Sue. "Won't you be glad, +Bunny?" + +"I sure will!" Bunny said. Then, coming close to Sue he whispered: "Say, +maybe if we went up on the roof now, we could have a slide. Let's go. +The roof is flat, and we can't fall off on account of the railing around +it. Come on and have a slide." + +"I will!" said Sue. + +Putting on their warm, outdoor clothes, the children went up on the flat +roof. There was plenty of snow up there, and soon they were having a +fine slide. It was rather funny to be sliding up on the roof, instead of +down on the ground, as they would have done at home, but, as I have told +you, New York is a queer place, anyhow. + +After a while Bunny and Sue grew tired of sliding. It was snowing harder +now, and they were cold in the sharp wind. + +"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue, "I wonder if Santa Claus can get down this +chimney? It's the only one there is for Aunt Lu's house, and it isn't +very big. Do you think Santa Claus can climb down?" + +"We'll look," Bunny said. + +But the chimney was so high that Bunny and Sue could not look down +inside. They were very much worried as to whether St. Nicholas could get +into Aunt Lu's rooms to leave any Christmas presents. + +"Let's go down and ask her how Santa Claus comes," said Sue. + +"All right," agreed Bunny, and down they went. + +But when they reached Aunt Lu's rooms, Bunny and Sue found so much going +on, that, for a while, they forgot all about Santa Claus. + +For Aunt Lu was reading a letter, and Wopsie was dancing up and down in +the middle of the floor, crying out: + +"Oh, I'se got folks! I'se got folks!" + +"Is Aunt Sallie really your aunt?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes'm! She is. She is! I'se got folks at last!" and up and down danced +Wopsie, clapping her hands, the "pigtails" of kinky hair bobbing up and +down on her head. + +And so it proved. The letters from down South had just come, and they +said that Sallie Lucindy Johnson, or "Aunt Sallie," as the children +called her, was really the aunt to whom Wopsie, or Sallie Jefferson, +had been sent. The card had been torn off her dress, and so Sallie's +aunt's address was lost. But that meeting in the park, after the pony +runaway, had made everything come out all right. + +The letters which Aunt Lu had written before, and the messages she had +sent, had not gone to the right place. For it was from Virginia, that +Wopsie came, not North or South Carolina, as the little colored girl had +said at first. You see she was so worried, over being lost, that she +forgot. But Aunt Sallie knew it was from a little town in Virginia that +her sister's child was to come, and, writing there, she learned the +truth, and found out that Wopsie was the one she had been so long +expecting. So everything came out all right. + +"Oh, but I suah is glad I'se found yo' at last!" said the nice old +colored woman, as she held her niece in her arms. + +"I suppose you are going to take her away from us?" said Aunt Lu. + +"Yaas'm. I'd like t' hab mah Sallie." + +"Well, now she can go. But I want you both to come back for Christmas." + +"We will!" promised Aunt Sallie and little Sallie. + +The word Christmas made Bunny and Sue think of what they were going to +ask their Aunt Lu. + +"Where does Santa Claus come down?" + +"Is that chimney on the roof big enough for him?" asked Sue. "And hasn't +you got an open fireplace, Aunt Lu?" + +"No, we haven't that. But I think Santa Claus will get down the chimney +all right with your presents. If he doesn't come in that way, he'll find +some other way to get in. Don't worry." + +So Bunny Brown and his sister Sue waited patiently for Christmas to +come. Several times, when it was not too cold, or when there was not too +much snow, the children went up on the roof. Once they took up with them +a box, so Bunny could stand on it. He thought perhaps he could look down +the chimney that way. + +But the box was not high enough, and Bunny slipped off and hurt his leg, +so he and Sue gave it up. + +[Illustration: THE CHILDREN SAW MANY WONDERFUL THINGS IN THE STORES. +_Page 243._ + +_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home._] + +Two weeks passed. It would soon be Christmas now. Bunny and Sue were +taken through the New York stores by their mother and aunt, and the +children saw the many wonderful things Santa Claus's workers had made +for boys and girls--dolls, sleds, skates, toy-airships, Teddy bears, +Noah's arks, spinning tops, choo-choo cars, electric trains, dancing +clowns--little make-believe circuses, magic lanterns--so many things +that Bunny and Sue could not remember half of them. + +The children had written their Christmas letters, and put them on the +mantel one night. + +In the morning the letters were gone, so, of course, Santa Claus must +have taken them. + +Then it was the night before Christmas. Oh, how happy Bunny and Sue +felt! They hung up their stockings and went to bed. Their rooms were +next to one another with an open door between. + +"Bunny," whispered Sue, as Mother Brown went out, after turning low the +light; "Bunny, is you asleep?" + +"No, Sue. Are you?" + +"Nope. I don't feel sleepy. But does you think Santa Claus will surely +come down that little chimney, when Aunt Lu hasn't got a fireplace for +him?" + +"I--I guess so, Sue." + +"Come, you children must get quiet and go to sleep!" called Mother +Brown. "It will be Christmas, and Santa Claus will be here all the +quicker, if you go to sleep." + +And at last Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did go to sleep. The sun was +not up when they awoke, but it was Christmas morning. + +"Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" cried Bunny and Sue as they ran to +where they had hung their stockings. + +They found many presents on the chairs, over the backs of which hung +their stockings, which were filled with candy and nuts. + +"Oh, Santa Claus came! Santa Claus came!" cried Sue. + +"Yep! He found the chimney all right!" laughed Bunny. + +And such a Merry Christmas as the children had! There were presents for +Mother Brown, and Aunt Lu, and some for Mary the cook, and Jane, the +housemaid, and later in the day, when Sallie and her aunt came, there +were presents for them, also. + +And when dinner time came, and the big turkey, all nice and brown, was +taken from the oven, and put on the table, Mother Brown said: + +"And now for the best present of all!" + +She opened a door, and out stepped Daddy Brown! + +"Merry Christmas, Bunny! Merry Christmas, Sue!" he cried, as he caught +them up in his arms and hugged and kissed them. + +And a very Merry Christmas it was. Mr. Brown had come to spend the +holidays with his family in New York. And such fun as Bunny and Sue had +telling him all their adventures since coming to Aunt Lu's city home. I +couldn't begin to tell you half! + +"I don't believe we'll ever have such a good time anywhere else," said +Sue, as she hugged her new doll in her arms. + +"Oh, maybe we will," cried Bunny, as he ran his toy locomotive around +the room. + +And whether the children did or not you may learn by reading the next +book of this series, which will be named: "Bunny Brown and His Sister +Sue at Camp Rest-a-While." In that I will tell you all that happened +when the children went out in the woods, to live in a tent, near a +beautiful lake. + +"And so you two found Wopsie's aunt for her, did you?" asked Mr. Brown +as he sat down, after dinner, with Bunny on one knee and Sue on the +other. + +"Well, I guess it was the runaway pony that did it," said Bunny, with a +laugh. And I, myself, think the pony helped; don't you? + +"Oh, Bunny!" whispered Sue that night, as she went to bed, hugging her +new doll. "Hasn't this been a lovely Christmas?" + +"The best ever," said Bunny, sleepily. + +And so, for a little while we will say Merry Christmas, and good-bye, to +Bunny Brown and his sister Sue. + + +THE END + + + + * * * * * + + + +_This Isn't All!_ + +Would you like to know what became of the good friends you have made in +this book? + +Would you like to read other stories continuing their adventures and +experiences, or other books quite as entertaining by the same author? + +On the _reverse side_ of the wrapper which comes with this book, you +will find a wonderful list of stories which you can buy at the same +store where you got this book. + + +_Don't throw away the Wrapper_ + +_Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want some day to have. But +in case you do mislay it, write to the Publishers for a complete +catalog._ + + + + +THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES + +By LAURA LEE HOPE + +Author of the Popular "Bobbsey Twins" Books, Etc. + +Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding. + +Every Volume Complete in Itself. + +These stories are eagerly welcomed by the little folks from about five +to ten years of age. Their eyes fairly dance with delight at the lively +doings of inquisitive little Bunny Brown and his cunning, trustful +sister Sue. + + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP-REST-A-WHILE + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR SHETLAND PONY + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE GIVING A SHOW + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CHRISTMAS TREE COVE + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE SUNNY SOUTH + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE KEEPING STORE + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR TRICK DOG + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT A SUGAR CAMP + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON THE ROLLING OCEAN + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON JACK FROST ISLAND + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK + + + + +THE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS + +For Little Men and Women + +By LAURA LEE HOPE + +Author of "The Bunny Brown Series," Etc. + +Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding. + +Every Volume Complete in Itself. + +These books for boys and girls between the ages of three and ten stands +among children and their parents of this generation where the books of +Louisa May Alcott stood in former days. The haps and mishaps of this +inimitable pair of twins, their many adventures and experiences are a +source of keen delight to imaginative children everywhere. + + THE BOBBSEY TWINS + THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE + THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME + THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY + THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND + THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA + THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE GREAT WEST + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT CEDAR CAMP + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE COUNTY FAIR + THE BOBBSEY TWINS CAMPING OUT + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AND BABY MAY + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK + + + + +SIX LITTLE BUNKERS SERIES + +By LAURA LEE HOPE + +Author of The Bobbsey Twins Books, The Bunny Brown Series, The Blythe +Girls Books, Etc. + +Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding. + +Every Volume Complete in Itself. + +Delightful stories for little boys and girls which sprung into immediate +popularity. To know the six little Bunkers is to take them at once to +your heart, they are so intensely human, so full of fun and cute +sayings. Each story has a little plot of its own--one that can be easily +followed--and all are written in Miss Hope's most entertaining manner. +Clean, wholesome volumes which ought to be on the bookshelf of every +child in the land. + + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT GRANDMA BELL'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT AUNT JO'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT COUSIN TOM'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT GRANDPA FORD'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT UNCLE FRED'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT CAPTAIN BEN'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT COWBOY JACK'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT MAMMY JUNE'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT FARMER JOEL'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT MILLER NED'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT INDIAN JOHN'S + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK + + + + +THE HONEY BUNCH BOOKS + +By HELEN LOUISE THORNDYKE + +Individual Colored Wrappers and Text Illustrations Drawn by + +WALTER S. ROGERS + +Honey Bunch is a dainty, thoughtful little girl, and to know her is to +take her to your heart at once. + +Little girls everywhere will want to discover what interesting +experiences she is having wherever she goes. + + HONEY BUNCH: JUST A LITTLE GIRL + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST VISIT TO THE CITY + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST DAYS ON THE FARM + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST VISIT TO THE SEASHORE + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST LITTLE GARDEN + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST DAYS IN CAMP + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST AUTO TOUR + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST TRIP ON THE OCEAN + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST TRIP WEST + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST SUMMER ON AN ISLAND + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK + + + + +CAROLYN WELLS BOOKS + +Attractively Bound. Illustrated. Colored Wrappers. + +THE MARJORIE BOOKS + +Marjorie is a happy little girl of twelve, up to mischief, but full of +goodness and sincerity. In her and her friends every girl reader will +see much of her own love of fun, play and adventure. + + MARJORIE'S VACATION + MARJORIE'S BUSY DAYS + MARJORIE'S NEW FRIEND + MARJORIE IN COMMAND + MARJORIE'S MAYTIME + MARJORIE AT SEACOTE + +THE TWO LITTLE WOMEN SERIES + +Introducing Dorinda Fayre--a pretty blonde, sweet, serious, timid and a +little slow, and Dorothy Rose--a sparkling brunette, quick, elf-like, +high tempered, full of mischief and always getting into scrapes. + + TWO LITTLE WOMEN + TWO LITTLE WOMEN AND TREASURE HOUSE + TWO LITTLE WOMEN ON A HOLIDAY + +THE DICK AND DOLLY BOOKS + +Dick and Dolly are brother and sister, and their games, their pranks, +their joys and sorrows, are told in a manner which makes the stories +"really true" to young readers. + + DICK AND DOLLY + DICK AND DOLLY'S ADVENTURES + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + Obvious punctuation errors repaired. + + Page 227, "Sallie'l" changed to "Sallie'll". (ole Aunt Sallie'll) + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT +AUNT LU'S CITY HOME*** + + +******* This file should be named 20133-8.txt or 20133-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/1/3/20133 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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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 at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home</p> +<p>Author: Laura Lee Hope</p> +<p>Release Date: December 19, 2006 [eBook #20133]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3>E-text prepared by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, J. P. W. Fraser, Emmy,<br /> + and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> + (http://www.pgdp.net/)</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<div class='bbox'> +<h1>BUNNY BROWN<br />AND HIS SISTER SUE<br />AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME</h1> + +<h3>BY</h3> + +<h2>LAURA LEE HOPE</h2> + +<div class='center'> +AUTHOR OF<br /> +THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES, THE BOBBSEY<br /> +TWINS SERIES, THE OUTDOOR GIRLS<br /> +SERIES ETC.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br />Illustrated by<br /> + +Florence England Nosworthy<br /> +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<br /> +NEW YORK<br /> +GROSSET & DUNLAP<br /> +PUBLISHERS<br /> +</div></div> +<div class='center'><small>Made in the United States of America<br /> +</small><br /></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class='bbox'> +<h2>BOOKS</h2> + +<h3>By LAURA LEE HOPE</h3> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<div class='center'><i>12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.</i></div> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<h3>THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES</h3> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES"> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP REST-A-WHILE</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<h3>THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES</h3> + +<div class='center'>For Little Men and Women</div> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES"> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<h3>THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES</h3> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES"> +<tr><td align='left'>THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT OCEAN VIEW</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE OUTDOOR GIRLS ON PINE ISLAND</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<div class='center'> +GROSSET & DUNLAP<br /> +PUBLISHERS NEW YORK<br /><br /> +</div></div> + +<div class='center'><br /> +Copyright, 1916, by<br /> +GROSSET & DUNLAP<br /> +</div> + +<hr style='width: 15%;' /> + +<div class='center'> +<i><small>Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home.</small></i><br /> +<br /></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 246px;"> +<img src="images/p001.jpg" width="246" height="400" alt=""THIS IS WHERE AUNT LU LIVES"" title=""THIS IS WHERE AUNT LU LIVES"" /> +<span class="caption">"THIS IS WHERE AUNT LU LIVES"</span> +</div> + +<div class='center'><i>Frontispiece</i> (<i><a href='#Page_93'>Page 93.</a></i>)<br /> + +<i>Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home.</i></div> + + + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">chapter</span></td><td align='left'></td><td align='right'><span class="smcap">page</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Midnight Alarm</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_1'>1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Bunny and Sue Go Out</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_14'>14</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Aunt Lu's Invitation</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_23'>23</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>IV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">On the Grocery Wagon</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_33'>33</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>V.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Surprising Old Miss Hollyhock</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_40'>40</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>VI.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Off for New York</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_49'>49</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>VII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">On the Train</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_58'>58</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>VIII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Aunt Lu's Surprise</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_68'>68</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>IX.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Wrong House</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_80'>80</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>X.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">In the Dumb Waiter</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_95'>95</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XI.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Long Ride</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_105'>105</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Bunny Orders Dinner</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_116'>116</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XIII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Stray Dog</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_129'>129</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XIV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Ragged Man</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_138'>138</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Bunny Goes Fishing</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_148'>148</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XVI.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Lost in New York</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_157'>157</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XVII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">At the Police Station</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_166'>166</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XVIII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Home Again</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_175'>175</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XIX.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Bunny Flies a Kite</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_184'>184</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XX.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Play Party</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_193'>193</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XXI.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Real Party</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_202'>202</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XXII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">In the Park</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_211'>211</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XXIII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Old Aunt Sallie</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_218'>218</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XXIV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Wopsie's Folks</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_228'>228</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XXV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Happy Christmas</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_236'>236</a></td></tr> +</table></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>BUNNY BROWN<br />AND HIS SISTER SUE<br />AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>A MIDNIGHT ALARM</h3> + + +<p>"Bunny! Bunny Brown! Sue, dear! Aren't you going to get up?"</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown stood in the hall, calling to her two sleeping children. The +sun was shining brightly out of doors, but the little folks had not yet +gotten out of bed.</p> + +<p>"My! But you are sleeping late this morning!" went on Mrs. Brown. "Come, +Bunny! Sue! It's time for breakfast!"</p> + +<p>There was a patter of bare feet in one room. Then a little voice called.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny! I'm up first. Come on, we'll go and help grandma feed the +chickens!"</p> + +<p>Little Sue Brown tapped on the door of her brother's room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Get up, Bunny!" she cried, laughing. "I'm up first; Let's go and get +the eggs."</p> + +<p>In the room where Bunny Brown slept could be heard a sort of grunting, +stretching, yawning sound. That was the little boy waking up. He heard +what his sister Sue said.</p> + +<p>"Ho! Ho!" he laughed, as he rubbed his sleepy eyes: "Go to get eggs with +grandma! I guess you think we're back on grandpa's farm; don't you Sue?" +and he came to his door to look out into the hall, where his mother +stood smiling at the two children.</p> + +<p>When Bunny said that, Sue looked at him in surprise. She rubbed her hand +across her eyes once or twice, glanced around the hall, back into her +room, and then at her mother. A queer look was on Sue's face.</p> + +<p>"Why—why!" she exclaimed. "Oh, why, Bunny Brown! That's just what I did +think! I thought we were back at grandpa's, and we're not at all—we're +in our home; aren't we?"</p> + +<p>"Of course!" laughed Mrs. Brown. "But you were sleeping so late that I +thought I had better call you. Aren't you ready to get<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> up? The sun came +up long ago, and he's now shining brightly."</p> + +<p>"Did the sun have its breakfast, Mother?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes, little man. He drank a lot of dew, off the flowers. That's all he +ever takes. Now you two get dressed, and come down and have your +breakfast, so we can clear away the dishes. Hurry now!"</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown went down stairs, leaving Bunny and Sue to dress by +themselves, for they were old enough for that now.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny!" exclaimed the little girl, as she went back in her own +room. "I really did think, when I first woke up, that we were back at +Grandpa Brown's, and that we were going out to help grandma feed the +hens."</p> + +<p>"Do you wish we were, Sue?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I don't know, Bunny," said Sue slowly. "I did like it at grandma's, +and we had lots of fun playing circus. But I like it at home here, too."</p> + +<p>"So do I," said Bunny, as he started to get dressed.</p> + +<p>The two children, with their father and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> mother, had come back, only the +day before, from a long visit to Grandpa Brown's, in the country. I'll +tell you about that a little later. So it is no wonder that Sue, +awakening from the first night's sleep in her own house, after the long +stay in the country, should think she was back at grandpa's.</p> + +<p>"Bunny, Bunny!" called Sue, after a bit.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Will you button my dress for me?"</p> + +<p>"Is it one of the kind that buttons up the back, Sue?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. If it buttoned in front I could do it myself. Will you help me, +just as you did once before, 'cause I'm hungry for breakfast!"</p> + +<p>"Yep, I'll help you, Sue. Only I hope your dress isn't got a lot of +buttons on, Sue. I always get mixed up when you make me button that +kind, for I have some buttons, or button-holes, left over every time."</p> + +<p>"This dress only has four buttons on it, Bunny, an' they're big ones."</p> + +<p>"That's good!" cried the little fellow, and he had soon buttoned Sue's +dress for her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> Then the two children went down to breakfast.</p> + +<p>"What can we do now, Bunny?" asked Sue, as they arose from the table. +"We want to have some fun."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Bunny. "We do."</p> + +<p>That was about all he and Sue thought of when they did not have to go to +school. They were always looking for some way to have fun. And they +found it, nearly always.</p> + +<p>For Bunny Brown was a bright, daring little chap, always ready to do +something, and very often he got into mischief when looking for fun. Nor +was that the worst of it, for he took Sue with him wherever he went, so +she fell into mischief too. But she didn't mind. She was always as ready +for fun as was Bunny, and the two had many good times together—"The +Brown twins," some persons called them, though they were not, for Bunny +was a year older than Sue, being six, while she was only a little over +five, about "half-past five," as she used to say, while Bunny was +"growing on seven."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Bunny slowly, as he went out on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> the shady porch with his +sister Sue, "we want to have some fun."</p> + +<p>"Let's go down to the fish dock," said Sue. "We haven't seen the boats +for a long time. We didn't see any while we were at grandpa's."</p> + +<p>"Course not," agreed Bunny. "They don't have boats on a farm. But we had +a nice ride on the duck pond, on the raft, Sue."</p> + +<p>"Yes, we did, Bunny. But we got all wet and muddy." Sue laughed as she +remembered that, and so did Bunny.</p> + +<p>"All right, we'll go down to the fish dock," agreed the little boy.</p> + +<p>Their father, Mr. Walter Brown, was in the boat business at Bellemere, +on Sandport bay, near the ocean. Mr. Brown owned many boats, and +fishermen hired some, to go away out on the ocean, and catch fish and +lobsters. Other men hired sail boats, row boats or gasoline motor boats +to take rides in on the ocean or bay, and often Bunny and Sue would have +boat trips, too.</p> + +<p>The children always liked to go down to the fish dock, and watch the +boats of the fisher<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>men come in, laden with what the men had caught in +their nets. Mr. Brown had an office on the fish dock.</p> + +<p>"Where are you two children going?" called Mrs. Brown after Bunny and +Sue, as they went out the front gate.</p> + +<p>"Down to Daddy's dock," replied Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Well, be careful you don't fall in the water."</p> + +<p>"We won't," promised Sue. "Wait 'til I get my doll, Bunny!" she called +to her brother.</p> + +<p>She ran back into the house, and came out, in a little while, carrying a +big doll.</p> + +<p>"I didn't take you to grandpa's with me," said Sue, talking to the doll +as though it were a real baby, "but I'll take you down to see the fish +now. You like fish, don't you, dollie?"</p> + +<p>"She wouldn't like 'em if they bit her," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"I won't let 'em bite her!" retorted Sue.</p> + +<p>At the fish dock Bunny and Sue saw a tall, good-natured, red-haired boy +coming out of their father's office.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunker Blue!" cried Bunny. "Are any fish boats coming in?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p> + +<p>Bunker Blue was Mr. Brown's helper, and was very fond of Bunny and Sue. +He had been to grandpa's farm, in the country, with them.</p> + +<p>"Yes, one of the fish boats is coming in now," said Bunker. "You can +come with me and watch."</p> + +<p>Bunny took hold of one of Bunker's hands, and Sue the other. They always +did this when they went out on the dock, for the water was very deep on +each side, and though the children could swim a little, they did not +want to fall into such deep water; especially with all their clothes on.</p> + +<p>Soon they were at the end of the dock. Coming up to it was a sailing +boat, that had been out to sea for fish.</p> + +<p>"Did you get many?" called Bunker to the captain.</p> + +<p>"Yes, quite a few fish this time. Want to come and look at them? Bring +the children!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, can we go on the boat?" asked Bunny eagerly.</p> + +<p>"I guess so," said Bunker Blue.</p> + +<p>He led the children carefully to the deck<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> of the fish boat. Bunny and +Sue looked down into a hole, through an opening in the deck. The hole +was filled with fish, some of which were still flapping their tails, for +they had only just been taken out of the nets.</p> + +<p>"Oh-o-o-o! What a lot of fish!" exclaimed Sue. She leaned over to see +better, when, all at once, her doll slipped from her arms, and fell +right down among the flapping fish.</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear!" cried Sue.</p> + +<p>"I'll get her for you!" cried Bunny, and he was just going to jump down +in among the fish, too, but Bunker Blue caught him by the arm.</p> + +<p>"You'll spoil all your clothes if you do that, little man!" Bunker said.</p> + +<p>"But I want to get Sue's doll!"</p> + +<p>Bunny himself did not care anything about dolls; he would not play with +them. But he loved his sister Sue, and he knew that she was very fond of +this doll, so he wanted to get it for her. That was why he was ready to +jump down in the hold (as that part of the ship is called) among the +flapping fish.</p> + +<p>"I'll get her for you," said Bunker. With a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> long pole Bunker fished up +the doll. Her dress was all wet, for there was water on the fish.</p> + +<p>"And oh! dear! She smells just like a fish herself!" cried Sue, +puckering up her nose in a funny way.</p> + +<p>"You can take off her dress and wash it," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Sue, "I can do that, and I will." She took off the doll's +dress, and then looked for some place to wash it.</p> + +<p>"Here, Sue, give it to me," said the captain of the boat, for he knew +Bunny and Sue very well indeed. "I'll soon have the dress clean for +you."</p> + +<p>"How?" asked Sue, as she gave it to Captain Tuttle.</p> + +<p>He tied the dress to a string, and then dipped it in the water, over the +side of the boat. Up and down in the water he lifted the doll's dress, +pulling it up by the string.</p> + +<p>"That's how we sailors wash our clothes when we're in a hurry," said +Captain Tuttle. "Now when your doll's dress is dry, it will be nice and +clean. You can hang it up here to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> dry, while you're watching us take +out the fish."</p> + +<p>He fastened Sue's doll's dress on a line over the cabin, and then he and +his men took the fish out of the boat, and packed them in barrels in ice +to send to the city.</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue looked on, and thought it great fun. Sometimes a big flat +fish, called a flounder, would slip from one of the baskets, in which +the men were putting them, and flop out on deck, almost sliding +overboard.</p> + +<p>Soon all the fish were out, and as Sue's doll's dress was now dry, she +and Bunny started back home.</p> + +<p>"Well, we had fun then, Sue," said the little boy. "Didn't we?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed his sister. "But what can we do this afternoon?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, we'll go down to Charlie Star's house and have some fun. He's got a +new swing and a hammock."</p> + +<p>"Oh, that will be fine!" cried Sue.</p> + +<p>The children had a good time playing with Charlie that afternoon. Others +of their playmates came also, and Bunny and Sue told<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> of the jolly fun +they had had in the country, on grandpa's farm.</p> + +<p>After a while the sun, that had been shining brightly all day, began to +get ready to go to bed, down back of the hills where the clouds would +cover it up until morning. And it was time also, for Bunny Brown and his +sister Sue to go to bed. All the little folk of the town of Bellemere +were getting sleepy.</p> + +<p>How long Bunny and Sue slept they did not know. But Bunny was dreaming +he had turned into a fish, and was going to flop into the water, and Sue +was dreaming that she and her doll were having a fine ride in a motor +boat, when both children were awakened by the loud ringing of a bell.</p> + +<p>"Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" went the bell.</p> + +<p>"Is that our door bell?" asked Sue of Bunny, who slept in the room next +to hers, the door being open between.</p> + +<p>"No, I guess it's a church bell," said Bunny, half awake.</p> + +<p>Then he and his sister heard their father moving around his room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What is it, Walter?" asked Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>"It's a midnight alarm," he answered. "I guess it must be a fire, though +it's the church bell that's ringing. I can't see any blaze from my +window, but it must be a fire, or why would they ring the bell?"</p> + +<p>"And why should they ring the church bell, when we have a fire bell?" +asked Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," answered her husband. "I guess I'd better get up, and +see what it is. I wouldn't want any of my boats to burn up."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>BUNNY AND SUE GO OUT</h3> + + +<p>Bunny Brown, in his little room, and Sue Brown, in hers, jumped out of +bed and ran to the window. They could hear the ringing of the church +bell more plainly now.</p> + +<p>"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" it sounded through the silence of the night. It +was not altogether dark, for there was a big, bright moon in the sky, +and it was almost as light as a cloudy day.</p> + +<p>"Can you see any blaze?" Bunny and Sue heard their mother ask their +father.</p> + +<p>"No, not a thing. But it's funny that that bell should ring. I'm going +out to see what it is."</p> + +<p>"I'll come with you," said Mrs. Brown. "I'll just put on my slippers, a +bath robe and a cloak, and come along. It's so warm that I'll not get +cold."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p> + +<p>"All right, come along," said Mr. Brown. "The children are asleep and +they won't miss us."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue felt like laughing when they heard this. They were not +asleep, but their father and mother did not know they were awake. Pretty +soon Mr. and Mrs. Brown slipped quietly down the stairs and out of the +house—out into the moonlit night. The church bell was still ringing +loudly, and Bunny and Sue could hear the neighbors, in the houses on +either side of them, talking about it. Everyone wondered if there was a +fire.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny!" called Sue in a whisper to her brother, when daddy and +Mother Brown had gone out. "Is you awake, Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"Yep, course I am! Are you?"</p> + +<p>"Yep. Say, Bunny, let's go to the fire; will you?"</p> + +<p>"Yep. I'll just put on my bath robe and slippers."</p> + +<p>"An' I will too. We'll go and see what it is. Daddy and mother won't +care, and we can come home with them."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p> + +<p>Now while Bunny Brown and his sister Sue are getting ready to go out to +see what that midnight alarm means, I'll tell you a little bit about the +children, and the other books, of Which this is one in a series.</p> + +<p>The first book was called "Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue." In that I +told you that Bunny and Sue lived with their father and mother in +Bellemere, near the ocean. Mr. Brown was in the boat business, and he +had a big boy, Bunker Blue, as well as other men and boys, to help him. +But of them all Bunny and Sue liked Bunker Blue best.</p> + +<p>In the first book I told how Bunny's and Sue's Aunt Lu came from the +city of New York to pay them a long visit, how she lost her diamond +ring, and how Bunny found it in the queerest way.</p> + +<p>In the second book, named "Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue on Grandpa's +Farm," I told how the Brown family went on a trip in a big automobile. +It was a regular moving van of an automobile, and so large that Bunny +and Sue, Mr. and Mrs. Brown and Bunker Blue could eat and sleep in it. +They camped<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> out during the two or more days they were making the trip +to grandpa's.</p> + +<p>And what fun the children had in the country! You may read in the book +all about how they saw the Gypsies, how they were frightened by tramps +at the picnic, how they were lost, and what jolly times they had with +their dog Splash.</p> + +<p>Then, too, Bunny and Sue helped find grandpa's horses, that the Gypsies +had taken away. So, altogether, the children had lots of fun on Grandpa +Brown's farm. They even went to a circus, and this brings me to the +third book, which is called: "Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue Playing +Circus."</p> + +<p>And that is just what Bunny and Sue did. They got up a little circus of +their own, and held it in grandpa's barn. Then Bunker Blue, and some of +the larger boys in the country, thought they would get up a show. They +did, and held it in two tents. Of course Bunny and Sue helped.</p> + +<p>A week or so after the circus Bunny and Sue, with Bunker, and their +father and mother (and of course their dog Splash) came<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> back from the +country in the big automobile.</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue had many friends in Bellemere where they lived. Not only +were the boys and girls their friends, but also many grown folk, who +liked the Brown children very much indeed. There was Mrs. Redden, who +kept the village candy store, and there was Uncle Tad, an old soldier, +who lived in the Brown house. Bunny and Sue liked them very much.</p> + +<p>Then there was old Jed Winkler, a sailor, who lived with his sister, +Miss Euphemia Winkler, and a monkey. That's right! Mr. Winkler did have +a pet monkey named Wango, and he was very funny—I mean the monkey was +funny. He was so gentle that Bunny and Sue often petted him, and gave +him candy and peanuts to eat. Wango did many queer tricks.</p> + +<p>But now I think I have told you enough about Bunny and Sue, as well as +about their friends, so we will go back to the children. We left them +getting ready to go out into the moonlight, you know, to see what the +ringing of the church bell meant.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Is you all ready, Bunny?" called Sue when she had put on her bath robe +and slippers.</p> + +<p>"Yep," he answered. "Come on."</p> + +<p>Hand in hand the children went softly down the front stairs, as their +father and mother had done. Mr. and Mrs. Brown were now out in the +street, some distance away from the house. Men and women from several +other houses, near that of the Brown family, were also out, wondering +why the bell was ringing.</p> + +<p>"Don't wake up Uncle Tad!" whispered Bunny to Sue, as they walked along +so softly in their bath slippers.</p> + +<p>"No, I won't," answered the little girl. "And don't wake up Mary, +either. She might not let us go."</p> + +<p>"All right," whispered Bunny.</p> + +<p>Mary was the cook, but, as she slept up on the third floor, she would +hardly hear the children going out.</p> + +<p>"Shut the door easy," said Bunny to Sue, as they reached the front +steps. "Don't let it slam."</p> + +<p>They had found the door open, as Mr. and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> Mrs. Brown had left it, and +the two children, each taking hold of it, closed it softly after them.</p> + +<p>"Now we're all right!" whispered Bunny, as he started down the street on +the run, for the bell was ringing louder than ever now, and Bunny was +anxious to see the fire, if there was one. He hoped it would not be one +of his father's boats, or the office on the fish dock.</p> + +<p>"Wait! Wait for me!" cried Sue to her brother. "I can't run so fast, +Bunny, 'cause I'll stumble over my bath robe. It's awful long!"</p> + +<p>"Hold it up, just as I do," said Bunny, turning around to look at his +sister. "Hold it up, and then your legs won't get tangled in it."</p> + +<p>Sue pulled the robe up to her knees, and held it there. Bunny was doing +the same thing, the bare legs of the children showing white in the +moonlight. Bunny started off again.</p> + +<p>"Wait! Wait!" begged Sue. "Take hold of my hand, Bunny."</p> + +<p>"I can't!" he answered. "I've got to hold up my robe, or I'll tumble and +bump my nose.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> Besides, how can I take hold of your hand when you +haven't got any hand for me to take hold of?"</p> + +<p>That was true enough. Sue was holding up her long robe with both hands.</p> + +<p>"If I had some string I could tie up our robes," said Bunny, looking on +the moonlit sidewalk, hoping he might find a piece. "But I hasn't got +any," he said, "so I can't hold your hand, Sue. But I'll go slow for +you."</p> + +<p>He waited for his sister to catch up to him, and then the two children +hurried on. They could go faster now, for their long bath robes did not +dangle around their feet.</p> + +<p>Down the street they hurried. The bell kept ringing and ringing, and +Bunny and Sue could see and hear many other persons who had gotten up to +see what it all meant, and who were now hurrying down the street.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny!" said Sue. "Isn't it just nice out to-night?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said. The night was warm, and the moon was bright. Bunny Brown +and his sister Sue did not think they were doing wrong to get up at +midnight, and run down the street.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I—I wonder where mother is?" said Sue, as they turned a corner.</p> + +<p>"We don't want to see her, or daddy either," answered Bunny, keeping in +the shadows, out of sight.</p> + +<p>"Why not, Bunny Brown? Why don't we want to see our papa or mamma?"</p> + +<p>"'Cause they'll send us back to bed, and we want to see the fire."</p> + +<p>"Oh! do you think there is a fire, Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"I guess so, or the bell wouldn't ring. But we'll soon see it, Sue, for +we're almost at the church."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>AUNT LU'S INVITATION.</h3> + + +<p>"Ding-dong!" went the bell in the steeple. "Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"</p> + +<p>By this time many persons were out in the street. Mr. Gorden, the +grocery man, who lived next door to the Brown family, saw Bunny and Sue +hurrying along.</p> + +<p>"Hello!" he cried. "What are you two youngsters doing up at this hour of +night?"</p> + +<p>"We—we came to see the fire," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Where is your pa and your ma?" asked Mr. Gordon.</p> + +<p>"They—they went on ahead," explained Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Oh, well, if they're with you I guess it's all right," the grocer said.</p> + +<p>Of course Mr. and Mrs. Brown were not with Bunny and Sue, and their +parents didn't even know that the children were out of their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> beds. But +Mr. Gordon thought Bunny and Sue were all right, for he hurried on, +calling back over his shoulder:</p> + +<p>"I don't know where the fire is. I think it must be a mistake, for I +don't see any bright light. Good-night, Bunny and Sue!"</p> + +<p>"Good-night!" called the children, and they followed on behind Mr. +Gordon.</p> + +<p>Now they were in front of the church. Before it was quite a crowd of +people, but Bunny and Sue seemed to be the only children. At first no +one noticed them. Everyone was anxious to know what the ringing of the +bell meant.</p> + +<p>"Where's the fire?"</p> + +<p>"Who rang the alarm?"</p> + +<p>"Why didn't they ring the fire bell instead of the church bell?"</p> + +<p>"Who's ringing it, anyhow?"</p> + +<p>"And what a funny way to ring it!"</p> + +<p>Those were some of the remarks and questions Bunny and Sue heard, as +they stood in front of the church.</p> + +<p>"Ding-dong!" the bell kept on ringing. "Ding-dong!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Well, there's one thing sure," said Mr. Gordon. "There isn't any fire +around here, or we'd see it."</p> + +<p>"Then someone must be ringing the bell for fun," suggested another +voice.</p> + +<p>"That's daddy," whispered Sue to Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Hush!" Bunny said, as he moved around behind Mr. Gordon. He did not +want his father or his mother to see him just yet—not until he had +found out what made the bell ring.</p> + +<p>"It must be some boys doing it just for fun," said another man.</p> + +<p>"Then we ought to get the police after them!" exclaimed someone else. +"The idea of waking folks up at this hour of the night by ringing a +church bell! They ought to be spanked!"</p> + +<p>"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" went the bell again. Everyone looked up at the +church steeple, trying to see who was ringing the bell. There was no +fire—everyone was sure of that.</p> + +<p>Then, all at once a man cried:</p> + +<p>"There he is! I see him! There's the boy who has been ringing the +bell!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p> + +<p>He pointed up to the steeple. Climbing out of one of the little windows, +near the top, could be seen something small and black.</p> + +<p>"It's a boy—a little boy!" cried Mr. Gordon.</p> + +<p>"Oh, he'll fall!" gasped Mrs. Brown. "The poor little fellow! How will +he ever get down?"</p> + +<p>Indeed he was very high above the ground. But he did not seem to be +afraid.</p> + +<p>"Little tyke!" said a man. "He ought to be spanked for this! I wonder +whose boy he is?"</p> + +<p>"I'm glad it isn't Bunny or Sue," said Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>"Yes, they are safe at home in bed," answered Mr. Brown.</p> + +<p>And, all this while, mind you, Bunny and Sue were right there in the +crowd, where they could hear their father and their mother talking. But +Mr. and Mrs. Brown did not see their children.</p> + +<p>"Who are you, up there on that steeple?" cried Mr. Gordon. "Whose boy +are you, and what are you doing there?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p> + +<p>There was no answer.</p> + +<p>"Maybe it's Ben Hall, the circus boy," said Sue, as she thought of the +strange boy who had come to grandpa's farm.</p> + +<p>"No, it couldn't be!" said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"It might," Sue went on. "Ben was a good climber, you know. He climbed +up high in the barn, and jumped down in the hay, and he turned a +somersault."</p> + +<p>"Yes, but the church steeple is higher than the barn," said Bunny. "That +isn't Ben Hall. It's a little boy—not much bigger than I am."</p> + +<p>Just then the moon, which had been behind a cloud, came out. The church +steeple was well lighted up, and then everyone cried:</p> + +<p>"Why, it isn't a boy at all! It's a monkey!"</p> + +<p>"A monkey has been ringing the bell!"</p> + +<p>"Whose monkey is it?" someone asked.</p> + +<p>"Why it's Wango!" exclaimed Bunny Brown, out loud, before he thought. +"It's Mr. Winkler's monkey, Wango!"</p> + +<p>"And I know how to get him down!" chimed in Sue. "Just give him some +peanuts, and he'll come down!"</p> + +<p>The children's voices rang out clearly in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> silence of the night. +Everyone heard them, Mr. and Mrs. Brown included.</p> + +<p>"Why—why, that sounded just like Bunny!" said Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>"And Sue," added Mr. Brown. "Bunny! Sue!" he called. "Are you here? +Where are you?"</p> + +<p>"We—we're here, Daddy," said Bunny, sliding out from behind Mr. Gordon.</p> + +<p>"And I'm here, too!" said Sue. She let her bath robe fall down over her +bare legs.</p> + +<p>"Well I never!" cried Mrs. Brown. "I thought you were at home in bed!"</p> + +<p>"We—we heard the fire-bell, Mother," said Bunny, "and when you and +daddy got up we got up, too."</p> + +<p>"But we didn't wake Uncle Tad nor Mary," said Sue.</p> + +<p>The crowd laughed, and Mr. and Mrs. Brown had to smile. After all, Bunny +and Sue had done nothing so very wrong. It was a warm, light night, and +they were not far from home. Besides, they were only following their +father and mother, though of course they ought not to have done that.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Well, well!" said Mrs. Brown. "I wonder what you children will do +next?"</p> + +<p>"We—we don't know," answered Sue, and everyone laughed again.</p> + +<p>"As long as there isn't any fire, we'd better get back home," said Mr. +Brown. "Come on, Bunny and Sue."</p> + +<p>"Oh, please let us watch 'em get Wango down," begged Bunny. "Did he +really ring the bell?"</p> + +<p>"I guess he must have," said Mr. Gordon. "He's a great monkey for +getting loose, and doing tricks. I don't see how we're going to get him +down if he doesn't want to come, though. It's too high to climb after +him."</p> + +<p>"If we had some peanuts or lollypops, he'd come down," said Sue. "Once +he was up on a high candy shelf in Mrs. Redden's store, and he came down +for peanuts."</p> + +<p>"Well, we might try that," said the store-keeper. "But here comes Mr. +Winkler himself. I guess he'll know how to manage Wango."</p> + +<p>The old sailor, who had also been awakened by the ringing of the bell, +came slowly down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> the street. He looked toward the church steeple in the +moonlight, and saw his pet.</p> + +<p>"Wango, you bad monkey! Come right down here!" called Mr. Winkler.</p> + +<p>But Wango only chattered, and stayed where he was.</p> + +<p>"How'd he get up there?" someone asked.</p> + +<p>"Oh, he broke loose in the night, when we were all asleep, and jumped +out of an open window," said Mr. Winkler. "I suppose he must have +climbed up inside the church steeple, and, seeing the bell rope hanging +down, he swung himself by it, as he does on a rope I have fixed for him +at home. His swinging back and forth on the rope rang the bell. I don't +really believe he meant to do it."</p> + +<p>And that was how it had happened, and how Wango had made people think +there was a fire in the middle of the night when there wasn't any fire +at all.</p> + +<p>"Wango, come down!" called Mr. Winkler.</p> + +<p>But the monkey would not come.</p> + +<p>"If you had some peanuts he'd come," said Sue.</p> + +<p>"I have some peanuts, little Sue," said Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> Winkler, and he brought out +a handful from his pocket. "Here, Wango, come and get these!" the old +sailor called.</p> + +<p>Wango chattered, and came scrambling down the church steeple. He liked +peanuts very much, and he was soon perched on his master's shoulder +eating the brown kernels, and throwing the shells to one side.</p> + +<p>"Well, now that everything is over all right, we'll go back home," said +Mr. Brown. "But the next time a bell rings at night, I don't want you +children running out," he said.</p> + +<p>"We won't," promised Bunny. "But it was so nice and warm, and moonlight, +that we couldn't stay in, Daddy."</p> + +<p>Daddy Brown laughed, and a little later he and his wife, with Bunny and +Sue, were safe at home. They went in without awakening Uncle Tad or +Mary, the cook. The other people also went home. Mr. Winkler fastened +Wango so he could not get loose, and soon everyone was asleep again, +even the bell-ringing monkey.</p> + +<p>In the morning Bunny and Sue went over to see the old sailor's pet. +Wango jumped<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> around on his perch and chattered, for he liked the +children.</p> + +<p>"I—I wish we'd had him in the circus at grandpa's farm," said Bunny, as +he watched Wango do some of his tricks. "He would have made them all +laugh."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Sue. "Wango is funny!" and she petted the little, brown +animal.</p> + +<p>When Bunny and Sue reached home again, munching on some cookies Miss +Winkler had given them, they found their mother reading a letter.</p> + +<p>"Good news, children!" Mother Brown cried. "Good news!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, are we going back to grandpa's farm?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"No, not this time," said his mother. "This is a letter from Aunt Lu. +She invites us to come to her home, in New York City, to spend the fall +and winter. Oh, it's just a lovely invitation from Aunt Lu!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>ON THE GROCERY WAGON</h3> + + +<p>Bunny Brown and his sister Sue began to dance up and down, and to clap +their fat little hands. They always did this when they were happy over +some pleasure that was coming. And surely it would be a pleasure to go +to Aunt Lu's city home.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Mother, may we go?" cried Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Please say we can!" begged Sue.</p> + +<p>"Why, yes, I think we'll go," smiled Mother Brown. "I have been thinking +for some time of paying Aunt Lu a visit, and, now that she asks us to +come, I think we will go."</p> + +<p>"And will daddy come?" Bunny wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Well, he can't come and stay as long as we shall stay, perhaps," said +Mrs. Brown, "but he may be with us part of the time, as he was at +grandpa's farm."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, goodie! What fun we'll have! Oh, goodie! What fun we'll have!" sang +Sue, dancing around, holding her doll by one arm.</p> + +<p>"And we'll ride in street cars, and on the steam cars," said Bunny, "and +I'll see a policeman and a fireman and the fire engines, and we'll have +ice cream cones, and—and——"</p> + +<p>But that was all the little boy could think of just then, and he had to +stop to catch his breath, which had nearly got away from him, he had +talked so fast.</p> + +<p>"There won't be any horses to ride, and we can't see the ducks and +chickens," said Sue, "like we did on grandpa's farm in the country, +Bunny."</p> + +<p>"No, but we can see lots of other things in the city. I know we'll have +plenty of fun, Sue."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I guess we will. When are we going, Mother?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, in about a week, I think. I'll write and tell Aunt Lu we are +coming."</p> + +<p>"She hasn't lost her diamond ring again; has she?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"No, I guess not. She doesn't say anything<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> about it, if she has," +answered Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>"'Cause if she had lost it we'd help her find it," the little boy went +on. "Oh, Sue! aren't you glad we're going?"</p> + +<p>"Well, I just guess I am!" said Sue, happily, singing again.</p> + +<p>She and Bunny talked of nothing else all that day but of the visit to +Aunt Lu, and at night, when they were going to bed, they made plans of +what they would do when they got to Aunt Lu's city house in New York.</p> + +<p>"You'll come; won't you, Daddy?" asked Bunny, at breakfast the next +morning, just before Mr. Brown was ready to start for his office at the +fish dock.</p> + +<p>"Well, yes, I guess I'll come down when it gets so cold here that the +boats can't go out in the bay on account of the ice," said daddy.</p> + +<p>"Oh, are we going to stay until winter?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"Yes, we shall stay over Christmas," her mother answered.</p> + +<p>"Will there be a place to slide down hill?" Bunny wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid not, in New York City," Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> Brown said. "But you can have +other kinds of fun, Bunny and Sue."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I can hardly wait for the time to come!" cried Sue, as she once +more danced around the room with her doll.</p> + +<p>"Let's go out in the yard and play teeter-tauter," called Bunny. "That +will make the time pass quicker, Sue."</p> + +<p>Bunker Blue had made for the children a seesaw from a long plank put +over a wooden sawhorse. When Bunny sat on one end of the plank, and Sue +on the other, they went first up and then down, "teeter-tauter, bread +and water," as they sang when they played this game.</p> + +<p>Soon the brother and sister were enjoying themselves this way, talking +about what fun they would have at Aunt Lu's city home. Then, all at +once, Bunny jumped off the seesaw, and of course Sue came down with a +bump.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny Brown!" she cried, "what did you do that for? Why didn't you +tell me you were goin' to get off, an' then I could stop myself from +bumpin'."</p> + +<p>"I'm sorry," said Bunny. "I didn't know I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> was going to jump till I did. +Did you get hurted?"</p> + +<p>"No, but I might have. And you knocked my doll out of my lap, and maybe +she's hurted."</p> + +<p>"Oh, you can't hurt a doll!" cried Bunny. "Pooh!"</p> + +<p>"Yes you can, too!"</p> + +<p>"No you can't!"</p> + +<p>The children might have gone on talking in this unpleasant way for some +time, only, just then, up the side drive came Mr. Gordon's grocery +wagon, with Tommie Tobin, the grocery boy, on the seat driving the +horse.</p> + +<p>"Oh, he's got things in for us!" cried Sue. "Let's go an' see what they +is, Bunny. Maybe it's cookies, and we can have one. I'm hungry, and it +isn't near dinner time yet. It's only cookie time."</p> + +<p>The two children went over to the grocery wagon. Tommie Tobin jumped off +the seat, and hurried into the Brown kitchen with a basket of things. He +did not see Bunny and Sue, as they were on the other side of the wagon.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p> + +<p>Just then Bunny had an idea. He often got ideas in his queer little +head.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Sue!" he cried. "I know what let's do!"</p> + +<p>"What?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Let's get in the grocery wagon, and have a ride."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny! All right. Let's!"</p> + +<p>Softly the children drew nearer the wagon. Then Sue thought of +something.</p> + +<p>"But, Bunny," she said, "Tommie won't like it. Maybe he won't let us +ride."</p> + +<p>"Oh, he'll like it all right," said Bunny. "He gave Charlie Star a ride +the other day. Anyhow he won't know it."</p> + +<p>"Who won't know it; Charlie?"</p> + +<p>"No, Tommie. We'll get in the wagon, and hide down between the boxes and +baskets, while he's in our house. Then he won't see us. Come on, Sue."</p> + +<p>"But it's so high up I can't get in, Bunny."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'll help you. Here, we can stand on this box, and then we can easy +get up."</p> + +<p>Bunny found a box beside the drive-way. He put it up near the back of +the grocery<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> wagon, and stood up on it. Then he helped Sue up on the +box.</p> + +<p>"Now you can get in," said the little boy. "I'll boost you, just like +Bunker Blue boosts me when I climb trees. Up you go, Sue!"</p> + +<p>Bunny raised Sue up from the box. She put one leg over the tail-board of +the wagon, and down inside she tumbled in the midst of the grocery +packages, the boxes and baskets.</p> + +<p>"Here I come!" cried Bunny, and in he came tumbling. He fell between Sue +and a bag of potatoes. Just then the children heard a joyous whistle.</p> + +<p>"Now keep still—keep very still," whispered Bunny to Sue. "Here comes +Tommie, and if he doesn't see us he'll drive off and give us a nice +ride. Keep still, Sue."</p> + +<p>Sue kept very still. So did Bunny. Tommie came out whistling. He tossed +the empty basket into the back of the wagon, gave one jump up on to the +seat, and cried:</p> + +<p>"Giddap!"</p> + +<p>Off trotted the horse with the wagon, taking Sue and Bunny for a ride, +along with the groceries.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>SURPRISING OLD MISS HOLLYHOCK</h3> + + +<p>"Aren't we having a fine ride, Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"Hush, Sue! Not so loud! He'll hear us!" whispered the little boy, as he +and his sister cuddled down in among the boxes and baskets in the +grocery wagon.</p> + +<p>"But it is a nice ride; isn't it?"</p> + +<p>"It sure is, Sue." Bunny laughed in a sort of whisper, so Tommie, the +boy who drove the wagon, would not hear him. And, so far, Tommie had no +idea that he was taking with him Bunny and Sue.</p> + +<p>The two children had no idea where they were going. They often did +things like that, without thinking, and sometimes they were sorry +afterward. But it had seemed all right to them to get into the wagon for +a ride.</p> + +<p>"We won't go very far," Bunny went on, in another whisper, after a bit. +"We'll just ride around the block, and then get out."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Will we have to walk home?" Sue asked.</p> + +<p>"Maybe Tommie will drive us back," said Bunny. "He's real good, you +know."</p> + +<p>"I'd rather ride than walk," said Sue.</p> + +<p>Tommie was whistling away as loudly as he could, and this, with the +rattle of the wagon, and the clatter of the horse's hoofs made so much +noise that the whisperings of Bunny and Sue were not heard by the +grocery boy.</p> + +<p>The horse began to trot slowly, and Bunny and Sue, peering out from the +back of the wagon, saw that it was going to stop in front of Charlie +Star's house.</p> + +<p>"What's he stopping for?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"Hush!" whispered Bunny. "I guess Tommie is going to leave some +groceries here."</p> + +<p>Bunny had guessed right. Tommie reached back inside the wagon, and +picked up a basket full of packages and bundles. The delivery boy did +not notice Bunny and Sue, who crouched down low, so as to keep out of +sight. Then, still whistling, Tommie ran up the walk with some groceries +for Mrs. Star.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p> + +<p>In a little while Tommie was back again, and once more the horse trotted +off as the grocery boy called: "Giddap there, Prince!" Prince was the +name of the horse.</p> + +<p>"Oh, this sure is a fine ride!" said Sue, laughing and snuggling close +up to Bunny. "Aren't you glad we came?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," he answered, "but I hope he brings us back. We're a long way from +home now, and it's pretty far to walk."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I guess he'll take us," said Sue. "Anyhow we're having a good time, +and so is my doll," and she looked at her toy which she had brought with +her. The doll was now sound asleep on a pound of butter in one of the +baskets, her feet resting on a bag of sugar, and one arm stretched over +a box of crackers.</p> + +<p>"She won't get hungry, anyhow," said Bunny with a laugh.</p> + +<p>"She doesn't eat when she's asleep," said Sue.</p> + +<p>Tommy stopped his grocery wagon several times, to leave boxes or baskets +of good things at the different houses. Finally he stopped in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> front of +a house where lived Mr. Thompson, and here Tommie had to wait a long +time, for the Thompson family was very large, and they bought a number +of groceries. Tommie used to write down in his book the different things +Mrs. Thompson wanted to order, so he could bring them to her the next +time he drove past.</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue, cuddled down amid the boxes and baskets, did not like to +stay still so long. They wanted to be riding. Finally Sue looked out of +the back of the wagon and said:</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny, look! There's where old Miss Hollyhock lives," and she +pointed to a shabby little house, where lived a poor old woman. +"Hollyhock" was not her name, but everyone called her that because she +had so many of those old-fashioned flowers around her house. She was so +poor that often she did not have much to eat, except what the neighbors +gave her. Mrs. Brown often sent her things, and once Bunny and Sue sold +lemonade, and gave the money they took in to old Miss Hollyhock.</p> + +<p>"Yes, that's where she lives," said Bunny.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> + +<p>"And maybe she's hungry now," Sue went on.</p> + +<p>"Maybe she is," agreed Bunny.</p> + +<p>"We could give her something to eat," suggested Sue, after thinking a +few seconds.</p> + +<p>"How?" Bunny wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Look at all these groceries," Sue said. "There's a lot here that Tommie +don't need. We could get out, and take a basket full in to old Miss +Hollyhock."</p> + +<p>"Oh, so we could!" Bunny cried. "We'll do it. Pick out the biggest +basket you can find, Sue."</p> + +<p>Neither Bunny Brown nor his sister Sue thought it would be wrong to take +a basket of groceries from the wagon for poor old Miss Hollyhock. They +did not stop to think that the groceries belonged to someone else. All +they thought of was that the old lady might be hungry.</p> + +<p>"We'll take this basket," said Sue. "It's got lots in."</p> + +<p>She pointed to one that held some bread, crackers, sugar, butter, +potatoes, tea and coffee. All of these things were done up in pa<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>per +bags, except the potatoes. Bunny and Sue could tell which was tea and +which was coffee by the smell. And they had often gone to the store for +their mother, so they knew how the grocer did up other things good to +eat, in different sized bags or packages.</p> + +<p>"Yes, that will be a nice basket to take to old Miss Hollyhock," agreed +Bunny. "But I don't think I can carry it, Sue."</p> + +<p>"I'll help you," said the little girl. "Anyhow, if we can't carry it all +at once, we can take it in a little at a time."</p> + +<p>"We—we ought to have a box to step on when we get out, same as we had +to get in," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Here's one," and Sue pointed to an empty box in the wagon.</p> + +<p>Bunny dragged it to the back of the wagon. The end, or "tail," board was +down, so there was no trouble in dropping the box out of the wagon to +the ground. Then Bunny could step on it and get out. He also helped Sue +down. But first they pulled the big basket of groceries close to the end +of the wagon, where they could easily reach it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Now we'll surprise old Miss Hollyhock," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Won't it be nice!" exclaimed Sue.</p> + +<p>They did not stop to think that they might also surprise someone else +besides the poor old lady.</p> + +<p>Looking toward the Thompson house, to make sure Tommie was not coming +out, Bunny and Sue filled their little arms with bundles from the +grocery basket, and started toward old Miss Hollyhock's cabin. They did +not want Tommie to see what they were doing.</p> + +<p>"'Cause maybe he wouldn't want to give her so much," said Bunny. "But +mother will pay for it if we ask her to."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Sue.</p> + +<p>Together they went up to old Miss Hollyhock's door. Then Bunny thought +of something else.</p> + +<p>"We'll give her a surprise," he whispered to Sue. "We'll make believe +it's Valentine's Day or Hallowe'en, and we'll leave the things on her +doorstep, and run away."</p> + +<p>"That will be nice," said Sue.</p> + +<p>The children had to make three trips be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>fore they had all the groceries +out of the basket and piled nicely on the front steps of old Miss +Hollyhock's house. But at last it was all done, and Bunny and Sue +climbed back in the wagon again. Bunny even reached down and pulled up +after him the box on which he and his sister had stepped when they got +in and out.</p> + +<p>All this while Tommie had not come out of the Thompson house, so of +course he had not seen what the children had done. Soon after Bunny and +Sue were safely snuggled down amid the boxes and baskets once more, the +grocery boy came down the walk whistling.</p> + +<p>He threw an empty basket into the wagon, put in his pocket the book in +which he had written down the order Mrs. Thompson had given him, and +cried to Prince:</p> + +<p>"Giddap!"</p> + +<p>"And he giddapped as fast as anything!" said Sue, in telling about it +afterward. "He giddapped so fast that I tumbled over backward into a box +of strawberries. But I didn't smash very many, and Bunny and me ate 'em, +so it didn't hurt much."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p> + +<p>On went the grocery horse, and pretty soon Tommie, on the front seat, +cried:</p> + +<p>"Whoa!"</p> + +<p>The horse stopped in front of a big house where lived Mr. Jones. Tommie +looked back into the wagon. He did not see Bunny and Sue, for they had +pulled a horse blanket over themselves to hide, since there were not so +many boxes in the wagon now.</p> + +<p>"Hello!" cried Tommie in surprise. "Where's that big basket of groceries +for Mr. Jones? I surely put it in the wagon, but it's gone! This is +queer!"</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue, hiding under the blanket, wondered what would happen +next.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>OFF FOR NEW YORK</h3> + + +<p>"Where is that basket of groceries for the Jones house? Where can it +have gone to?" asked Tommie aloud, as he looked back into his wagon. +"I'm sure I put it in, and now—"</p> + +<p>He turned around on his seat, and stepped over into the back part of the +wagon, among the boxes and baskets. He looked at them carefully, and +finally he raised the horse blanket that was over Bunny and Sue.</p> + +<p>"Why—why—what—what in the world are you doing here?" cried Tommie, +much surprised to see the two children hiding there.</p> + +<p>"We—we're having a ride," said Sue.</p> + +<p>"Where did you get in?" asked Tommie.</p> + +<p>"When you stopped at our house," answered Bunny. "And we've been riding +with you ever since."</p> + +<p>"Well, well!" cried Tommie. "And to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> think I never knew it! You riding +in with me all the while, and I never knew a thing about it! Well, +well!"</p> + +<p>He laughed, and Bunny and Sue laughed also. It was quite a joke.</p> + +<p>"You don't mind, do you, Tommie?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"No, not a bit. I'm glad to have you."</p> + +<p>"And will you ride us home?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"Sure, yes, of course I will. But I've got to deliver the rest of my +groceries first. And that makes me think—I've lost a big basket full +that ought to go to Mr. Jones. I'm sure I put 'em in the wagon, but +they're not here. You didn't see a big basket of groceries—butter, +bread, tea, coffee and sugar—fall out, while you were riding in there, +did you?"</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue looked at one another. They were both thinking of the same +thing.</p> + +<p>"That must have been the basket," said Bunny slowly.</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed Sue.</p> + +<p>"What basket?" asked Tommie.</p> + +<p>"We—we gave a basket of groceries to old Miss Hollyhock," said Bunny +slowly. "It<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> was while you were in Mr. Thompson's house. You know old +Miss Hollyhock is awful poor, and we gave her the things to eat. We left +'em on her doorstep."</p> + +<p>"For a Hallowe'en surprise," added Sue, "or a Valentine, though it isn't +Valentine's Day yet, either."</p> + +<p>"So that's what happened; eh?" cried the grocery boy. "Old Miss +Hollyhock has the things I ought to leave for Mrs. Jones! Well, well!"</p> + +<p>"Is you mad?" asked Sue, for there was a queer look on Tommie's face.</p> + +<p>"No, not exactly mad, Sue," said Tommie slowly. "But I don't know what +to do. I know you meant to be kind, and good to old Miss Hollyhock; but +what am I to do about the things for Mrs. Jones? I can't very well go +and take them away from old Miss Hollyhock, for she must think that some +of her friends sent them, as they often do. It wouldn't do to take them +away."</p> + +<p>"Oh, no! You musn't take 'em away from her, after we gave 'em to her," +said Bunny. "That would make her feel bad."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p> + +<p>"And she feels bad now, 'cause she's poor," put in Sue. "She's hungry, +too, maybe."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I guess she is," agreed Tommie. "Well, I don't know what to do. If +I go back to the store to get more things for Mrs. Jones, Mr. Gordon +will want to know what became of the basketful I had. And old Miss +Hollyhock has them. Well—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I know what to do!" cried Bunny.</p> + +<p>"What?" asked Tommie.</p> + +<p>"You go to my house," said the little boy, "and my mamma will give you +money to buy more groceries for Mrs. Jones. Then old Miss Hollyhock can +keep the ones Sue and me give her. Won't that be all right?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I s'pose it will if your mother gives me the money," answered +Tommie slowly.</p> + +<p>"She won't have to give you the money," said Sue. "We don't pay money +for groceries anyhow; we charge 'em."</p> + +<p>"Well, it's the same thing in the end," said Tommie with a laugh. "But I +guess the best I can do is to take you two youngsters home, and see what +happens then. I'll tell Mrs. Jones I'll come later with her groceries."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> + +<p>Tommie ran up to the Jones house, and was soon back on the wagon again. +He drove quite fast to the home of Bunny and Sue.</p> + +<p>"Oh, you children!" cried Mrs. Brown, when she heard what had +happened—about Bunny and Sue riding in the grocery wagon, and giving +the things away to old Miss Hollyhock that Mrs. Jones ought to have had.</p> + +<p>"You'll pay for the groceries, won't you, Mother?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes, dear, I suppose so. I know you meant to be kind, but you should +ask me before you do things like that. However, the food will be a great +help to old Miss Hollyhock. I was going to send her some anyhow.</p> + +<p>"Here, Tommie, you give this note to Mr. Gordon, the grocer, and he will +charge the things to me, and give you more for Mrs. Jones. I'm sorry you +had all this trouble."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I don't mind," and Tommie was smiling now. "I'm glad Bunny and Sue +had a nice ride."</p> + +<p>"And it makes you feel good to give things to people," said Bunny. "I +mean it makes you feel good inside."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Like eating bread and jam when you're hungry," observed Sue.</p> + +<p>"No, it isn't like that," said Bunny. "'Cause when your hungry, and you +eat bread and jam it makes you feel good here," and he put his hand on +his stomach. "But when you make somebody, like old Miss Hollyhock, a +present it makes you feel good higher up," and he patted his little +heart.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm glad to know you like to be kind," said Mother Brown. "But +please don't run away and ride in any more grocery wagons, or something +may happen so that you can't go on a visit to Aunt Lu's city home."</p> + +<p>"Oh dear!" cried Sue. "We wouldn't want that to happen! Are we soon +going, Mother?"</p> + +<p>"Pretty soon, I guess. I have some sewing to do first. I must make you +some new dresses."</p> + +<p>The next week was a busy one in the Brown house. There were clothes to +get ready for Bunny and Sue, and as they had just come back from a long +visit to grandpa's, in the country, some of their things needed much<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> +mending. For Bunny and Sue had played in the hay; they had romped around +in the barn, and had run through the woods, and across the fields.</p> + +<p>But the summer vacation had done them good. They were strong and +healthy, and as brown as little Indian children. They could play all day +long, come in, go to bed, and get up early the next morning, ready for +more good times.</p> + +<p>One day the postman brought another letter from Aunt Lu.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"I can hardly wait for Bunny and Sue to come to +see me," said Aunt Lu. "I am sure they will have a +fine time in the city, though it is different from +the seashore where they live. Bunny will not find +any lobster claws here. And my home isn't in the +country, either. There are no green fields to play +in, though we can go to Central Park, or the Bronx +Zoo." </p></div> + +<p>"What's a Zoo?" asked Bunny. "Is it something good to eat?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It's a game, like tag," guessed Sue.</p> + +<p>"No," said Mother Brown. "Aunt Lu means the Bronx Zoölogical Park, and +she calls it Zoo for short. That means a place where animals are kept."</p> + +<p>"Wild animals?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Pooh! I know what a Zoo is—it's a circus!" the little boy exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Well, it's partly like that," said his mother. "But that isn't all of +Aunt Lu's letter."</p> + +<p>"What else does she say?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"Why, she writes that she has a surprise for you."</p> + +<p>"Oh, what is it?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Tell us!" begged Sue.</p> + +<p>"Aunt Lu doesn't say," said Mrs. Brown. "You will have to wait until you +get to Aunt Lu's city home. Then you'll find out what the surprise is."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue tried all that day to guess, but of course they could not +tell whether they had guessed right or not.</p> + +<p>"Oh dear!" sighed Sue. "I wish it was time to go now."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> + +<p>But the days soon passed, and, about a week later, Mrs. Brown, with +Bunny and Sue, were at the railroad station, ready to take the train for +New York. Mr. Brown could not go with them, though he said he would come +later. He went to the station with them, however.</p> + +<p>"Here comes the New York train," said Mr. Brown as a whistle sounded +down the track. "Now you're off for Aunt Lu's!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>ON THE TRAIN</h3> + + +<p>Mr. Brown helped his wife and the two children on to the train. Then he +had to hurry down the steps, for the engine was whistling, which meant +that it was about to start off again.</p> + +<p>"And I don't want to be carried away with it, much as I would like to +go," said Daddy Brown. "But I'll come to Aunt Lu's and see you before +the winter is over, though now I must stay here, and look after my boat +business, with Bunker Blue."</p> + +<p>"Bring Bunker with you when you come to New York," called Bunny to his +father, as the train slowly rolled out of the station.</p> + +<p>"All right, perhaps I will," answered Mr. Brown.</p> + +<p>Bunny Brown and his sister Sue crowded up to the open car window to wave +a last good-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>bye to their father, who stood on the depot platform. At +last they could see him no longer, for the train was soon going fast, +and was quickly far away. Then the children settled down to enjoy their +ride.</p> + +<p>"Mother, can't I sit next to the window?" begged Sue.</p> + +<p>"No, I want to!" cried Bunny.</p> + +<p>The children did not often ride in the steam cars, and of course it was +quite a treat for each of them to sit next to the window, where one +could watch the trees, houses, fences and telegraph poles as they seemed +to fly past. In fact Bunny and Sue both wanted the window so much that +they quite forgot to be polite, as they nearly always were.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to be at the window," said Sue.</p> + +<p>"No, I am!" cried Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Children, children!" said Mrs. Brown softly. "Be nice now. I will let +you each have a seat by yourself, then you may each sit by a window. You +must not be so impatient about it."</p> + +<p>The car was not crowded, and there was plenty of room for Bunny and Sue +to have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> each a seat by a window. Mrs. Brown also sat in a seat by +herself behind the two little ones. She had seen that the windows were +not raised high enough for Bunny or Sue to put out their heads.</p> + +<p>"And you must not put out your arms, or hands, either," she said. "You +might be hit by a post or something, and be hurt. Keep your hands and +arms in."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue were quite happy now, for they loved to travel, as most +children do. Then, too, they were going to Aunt Lu's in the big city of +New York, and would have lots of good times there. They had said +good-bye to all their little friends, and to old Miss Hollyhock. The +poor old lady had found the groceries on her doorstep, and she was very +thankful for them.</p> + +<p>"I hope when you get old, and poor and hungry, you'll have some one to +be kind to you," she had said to Bunny and Sue, when she found out it +was to them she owed the good things.</p> + +<p>"Oh, we're never going to be poor!" Sue had said. "Our papa will buy us +things to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> eat. He buys us ice cream cones; don't he Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, dear, and I hope he will always be with you, to look after you," +said old Miss Hollyhock.</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue had also said good-bye to Uncle Tad, to Mrs. Redden who +kept the candy store, and to Mr. and Miss Winkler. Nor did they forget +to say good-bye to Wango, the monkey.</p> + +<p>"We won't see any monkeys in the city," said Sue.</p> + +<p>"Yes we will," cried Bunny. "We'll see 'em in the Zoo. And they have +hand-organ monkeys in cities, Sue."</p> + +<p>"Maybe they do," she said.</p> + +<p>And now, as the two children were riding in the train, they talked of +what they saw from the windows, and also of the friends they had left +behind in Bellemere, not forgetting Wango, the monkey.</p> + +<p>"Mother, I want a drink of water," said Sue, after a while. "I'm +thirsty."</p> + +<p>"All right, I'll get you a drink," said Mrs. Brown. In her bag she had a +little drinking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> cup, that closed up, "like an accordion," as Bunny +said. And, taking this out, Mrs. Brown walked to the end of the car +where the water was kept in a tank, to get Sue a drink.</p> + +<p>As the little girl was taking some from the cup the train gave a sudden +swing to one side, and, the first thing Sue knew, the water had splashed +up in her face, and down over her dress.</p> + +<p>"Oh—oh, Mother!" gasped Sue. "I—I didn't mean to do that."</p> + +<p>"No, you couldn't help it," said Mrs. Brown. "It was the train that made +you do it. Water won't hurt your dress."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown sat down, after wiping the drops off Sue's skirt and face. +She was beginning to read a book when Bunny, who had been looking out of +his window, called:</p> + +<p>"Mother, I'm thirsty. I want a drink!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny dear! Why didn't you tell me that when I was getting one for +Sue?"</p> + +<p>"'Cause, Mother, I wasn't thirsty then."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown smiled. Then she once more went down to the end of the car +and got Bunny a drink. By this time the train had stopped<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> at a station, +so the car was not "jiggling" as Sue called it. And Bunny did not spill +his cup of water.</p> + +<p>For some time after this the two children sat quietly in their seats.</p> + +<p>"I just saw a cow!" Sue called back to her brother.</p> + +<p>"Pooh!" he answered. "That's nothing. I just saw two horses in a field, +and one was running."</p> + +<p>"Well, a cow's better than a horse," insisted Sue.</p> + +<p>"No it isn't!" Bunny cried. "You can ride a horse, but you can't ride a +cow."</p> + +<p>"Well, a cow gives milk."</p> + +<p>Bunny could not think of any answer for a minute, and then he said:</p> + +<p>"Well, anyhow, two horses is better than one cow."</p> + +<p>Even Sue thought this might be so. She sat looking out of the window, +watching the trees, houses, fences and telegraph poles, as they seemed +to fly past.</p> + +<p>By and by a boy came through the car selling candy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Mother, I'm hungry!" said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"So am I!" added Sue. "I want some candy!"</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown bought them some chocolates, for the ride was a long one, and +they had eaten an early breakfast. The candy kept Bunny and Sue quiet +for a while, and Mrs. Brown was shutting her eyes for a little sleep, +when she heard some one behind her saying:</p> + +<p>"Oh, children, I wouldn't do that!"</p> + +<p>Quickly opening her eyes she saw Bunny and Sue crossing to the other +side of the car, to take some empty seats there. A passenger behind Mrs. +Brown, seeing that she was asleep, had spoken to the children.</p> + +<p>"Oh, you musn't do that," said Mrs. Brown. "Stay in the seats you had +first."</p> + +<p>"We want to see what's on this side," said Bunny. He had already climbed +up into a vacant seat, and was near the window, when, all at once, a +train rushed past on the other track, with a loud whistle, a clanging of +the bell and puffing of the engine, that sent smoke and cinders into +Bunny's face. The little fellow jumped back quickly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p> + +<p>"There!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "You see it is much nicer on the side +where you were first. No trains pass on this side."</p> + +<p>So Bunny and Sue were glad enough to go back to the places they had at +first. For some time they were quiet, looking out at the different +stations as they stopped. At noon their mother gave them some chicken +sandwiches from a basket of lunch she had put up.</p> + +<p>"Why don't we go into the dining car, like we did once?" Bunny wanted to +know.</p> + +<p>"Because there isn't any on this train," said Mrs. Brown. "But we will +soon be at Aunt Lu's. Now sit back in your seats, and rest yourselves."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue did for a while. Then they looked for something else to +do. The train boy came through with some picture books, and Mrs. Brown +bought one each for Bunny and Sue.</p> + +<p>These kept them quiet for a little while, but the books were soon +finished, even when Bunny took Sue's and gave her his, to change about.</p> + +<p>"You come back and sit in my seat, Bunny,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> Sue invited her brother +after a while.</p> + +<p>"No, you come with me," said Bunny. So Sue got in with him, but she +wanted to sit next to the window, and as Bunny wanted that place +himself, they were not satisfied, until Sue went back in her own seat.</p> + +<p>About this time Bunny looked up and saw a long cord stretched overhead +in the car, like a clothes line. It hung down from the car ceiling, and +ran over little brass wheels, or pulleys, like those on Mr. Brown's +boats, only much smaller.</p> + +<p>"Do you see that cord, Sue?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered the little girl. "What's it for?"</p> + +<p>"That's what holds the cars together," Bunny said. "The cars are tied to +the engine with that cord."</p> + +<p>Of course this was not so, for it takes strong iron chains and bars to +hold the railroad cars one to another, and to the engine. But Bunny +thought the cord, that blew a whistle in the engine, kept the train from +coming apart.</p> + +<p>"Is that what it's for?" asked Sue. "It isn't a very big string for to +hold a train."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, it's very strong," Bunny said. "Nobody could break it."</p> + +<p>"I—I guess daddy could break it," Sue suggested.</p> + +<p>"No he couldn't!"</p> + +<p>"Yes he could! Daddy's awful strong!"</p> + +<p>"He couldn't break that cord!" declared Bunny. "Nobody could break it. +If I could pull it down here, you could pull on it and see how strong it +is. No one can break it."</p> + +<p>He reached up toward the whistle cord, but he was too short to get hold +of it.</p> + +<p>"I know how you can get it," said Sue.</p> + +<p>"How can I get it?" Bunny asked.</p> + +<p>"Hook it down with mother's parasol," answered Sue.</p> + +<p>"Oh, so I can!" cried Bunny.</p> + +<p>He went back to the seat where his mother sat. Mrs. Brown had fallen +asleep, and Bunny got her parasol without awakening her.</p> + +<p>The little fellow raised the umbrella, and hooked the crook in the end +of it over the whistle cord. He pulled down hard, and then—well, I +guess I'll tell you in the next chapter what happened.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>AUNT LU'S SURPRISE</h3> + + +<p>When Bunny Brown pulled down on the whistle cord in the railroad car, a +very strange thing happened. All at once there was a loud squeaking, +grinding sound. The car shivered and shook and began to go slowly. It +stopped so suddenly that Bunny slid out of the smooth plush seat down to +the floor. So did his sister Sue.</p> + +<p>Some of the other passengers had hard work to keep from sliding from +their seats, and many of them jumped up and began calling:</p> + +<p>"What's the matter?"</p> + +<p>"What has happened?"</p> + +<p>"Is there an accident?"</p> + +<p>For when a train stops suddenly, you know, if it is going along fast, it +almost always means that something has happened, or that there is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> a +cow, or something else, on the track, and that the engineer wants to +stop, quickly, so as not to hit it. And that's what the other passengers +thought now.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown was suddenly awakened from her sleep. She, too, had almost +slid from her seat when the car stopped so suddenly. For the moment +Bunny pulled down on the cord, it blew a whistle in the cab, or little +house of the engine, where the engineer sits. And when the engineer +heard that whistle he knew it meant for him to stop as soon as he could.</p> + +<p>He could look down the track, and see that there was nothing on the +rails that he could hit, but, hearing the whistle, he thought the +conductor, or one of the brakemen, must have pulled the cord. Perhaps +the engineer thought some one had fallen off the train, as people +sometimes fall off boats, and the engineer wanted to stop quickly so the +passenger could be picked up. At any rate, he stopped very suddenly, and +that was what made all the trouble. Or, rather, Bunny Brown made all the +trouble, though he did not mean to.</p> + +<p>"Why, Bunny!" cried his mother, as she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> straightened up in her seat. +"Where are you? Where is Sue? What has happened?"</p> + +<p>For, you know, Bunny and Sue had slid down to the floor of the car when +the train came to such a sudden stop.</p> + +<p>"Where are you, children?" called Mrs. Brown, anxiously.</p> + +<p>"I—I'm here, Mother!" answered Sue. "Bunny pushed me off my seat!"</p> + +<p>"Oh-o-o-o, Sue Brown! I did not!" cried the little fellow, getting up +with the parasol still in his hand. "I did not!"</p> + +<p>"Well, you made the train stop, and that knocked me out of my seat, and +my doll was knocked down too, so there!" answered Sue, and she seemed +ready to cry.</p> + +<p>"Bunny, what happened? What did you do?" asked his mother. "What are you +doing with my parasol?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"I—I just reached up to pull down that rope with the crooked handle +end," Bunny answered, pointing to the whistle cord. "I wanted to show +Sue how strong it was, so I pulled on it."</p> + +<p>"Oh ho!" exclaimed a fat man, a few seats<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> ahead of Bunny. "So that's +what made the train stop; eh? I thought someone must have pulled the +engineer's whistle cord to make him stop, but I didn't think it was a +little boy like you."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny!" exclaimed his mother, when she saw what had happened. "You +shouldn't have done that. You musn't stop the train that way."</p> + +<p>"I—I didn't want to stop the train, Mother!" the little boy answered. +"I just wanted to show Sue about the cord. I fell out of my seat, too," +he added.</p> + +<p>"Yes, nearly all of us did," said the fat man with a laugh. "Well if you +didn't mean to do it Bunny, we'll forgive you I suppose," and he laughed +in a jolly way.</p> + +<p>Into the car came hurrying the conductor, with the gold bands on his +cap, and the brakeman. They looked all around, and then straight at +Bunny who still held his mother's parasol.</p> + +<p>"Who pulled the whistle cord?" asked the conductor. Years ago there used +to be a bell cord in the train, and a bell rang in the engi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>neer's cab +when the cord was pulled. But now an air whistle blows. "Who pulled the +cord?" asked the conductor.</p> + +<p>Now Bunny Brown was a brave little chap, even when he knew he had done +wrong. So he spoke up and said:</p> + +<p>"I—I pulled it, Mr. Conductor. I pulled the cord."</p> + +<p>"You did eh?" and the conductor smiled a little now. Bunny looked so +funny and so cute standing there, with the parasol, and Sue looked so +pretty, standing near him, holding her doll upside down, that no one +could help at least smiling. Some of the passengers were laughing.</p> + +<p>"And so you stopped my train; did you?" the conductor asked.</p> + +<p>"I—I guess so," Bunny answered. "I was pulling down on the rope, to +show my sister how strong it was."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I see," the conductor went on. "Then you didn't stop my train +because you wanted to get off?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no!" cried Bunny quickly. "I don't want to get off now. I want to +go to New<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> York. We're going to my Aunt Lu's house."</p> + +<p>"Well, New York is quite a way off yet," laughed the conductor, "so I +guess you had better stay with us. But please don't pull on the whistle +cord again."</p> + +<p>"I won't," Bunny promised. "But it is a strong rope, isn't it, Mr. +Conductor? And it does hold the cars together; doesn't it?"</p> + +<p>"Well, no, not exactly," the conductor answered, while the passengers +laughed. "I'll show you what the cord does in a little while. But I'm +glad nothing has happened. I thought there was an accident when the +train stopped so quickly, so I ran through all the cars to find out. Now +we'll go on again."</p> + +<p>He reached up and pulled the car-cord twice. Far up ahead, in the cab of +the locomotive, a little whistle blew twice, and the engineer knew that +meant for him to go ahead. It's just like that on a trolley car. One +bell means to stop, and two bells to go ahead.</p> + +<p>"Oh Bunny! Why did you do it?" asked his mother, as she took the parasol +from him.</p> + +<p>"Why—why, I didn't mean to stop the train," he said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span></p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown thought there was not much need of scolding Bunny, for he had +not meant to do wrong. He promised never again to pull on a whistle cord +in a train.</p> + +<p>Now the cars were rolling on again, and, in a little while the conductor +again came back to where Mrs. Brown was sitting.</p> + +<p>"Now where's the little boy who stopped my train?" he asked with a +smile.</p> + +<p>"I'm here," Bunny answered, "and this is my sister Sue."</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm glad to meet you both again, I'm sure," and the conductor +shook hands with Bunny and kissed Sue. "Now, if you two would like it, +I'll show you where you blew the whistle in the engine."</p> + +<p>"Oh, will you take us in the engine?" asked Bunny, who had always wanted +to go in that funny little house on top of the locomotive's back.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I'll take you in when we make the next stop," the conductor said. +"We have to wait a few minutes to give the engine a drink of water, and +I'll take you and your sister in the engine. That is if you say it's all +right,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> and he turned around to look at Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes," Bunny's mother answered. "They may go with you if they won't +be a bother. I'm sorry my little boy made so much trouble about stopping +the train."</p> + +<p>"Oh, well, he didn't mean to, so we'll forget all about it. I'll come +back and get you when we stop," he said.</p> + +<p>A little later the train slowed up. It did it so easily that no one fell +out of his seat this time, and, pretty soon, back came the conductor to +get Bunny and Sue.</p> + +<p>The engine had stopped near a big wooden tank filled with water, and +some of this water was running through a big pipe into the tender of the +engine. The tender is the place where the coal is kept for the +locomotive fire.</p> + +<p>"Hello, Jim!" called the conductor to the engineer who was leaning out +of the window of his little house. "Here's the boy who stopped the train +so suddenly a while back."</p> + +<p>"Oh ho! Is he?" asked the engineer. "Well, he isn't a very big boy, to +have stopped such a big train."</p> + +<p>"I—I didn't mean to," said Bunny, and he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> and Sue looked back, and saw +that truly it was a long train. And the locomotive pulling it was a very +big one.</p> + +<p>"Well, you didn't do much damage," laughed the engineer.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to bring them up to see you," the conductor said.</p> + +<p>"That's right, let 'em come!"</p> + +<p>The engineer came out of his cab and took first Bunny, and then Sue, +from the conductor, who lifted them up to the iron step near the boiler. +A hot fire was burning under the engine to make steam, and Bunny and Sue +looked at it in wonder.</p> + +<p>Then the engineer took them up in his cab, and showed Bunny where, on +the ceiling, was the little air whistle—the one Bunny had blown when he +pulled the cord with the parasol. Then the engineer showed the children +the shiny handle that he pulled to make the engine go ahead, and another +that made it go backward. Then he showed a little brass handle.</p> + +<p>"This is the one I pulled on in a hurry when I heard you blow the +whistle once," he said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What handle is that?" asked the little boy.</p> + +<p>"That's the handle that puts on the air brakes," said the engineer. "And +over here is the rope the fireman pulls when he wants to ring the bell. +I'll let you ring it."</p> + +<p>"And me, too?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"Yes, you too!" laughed the engineer.</p> + +<p>First Bunny pulled on the rope that was fast to the big bell on the top +of the engine, near the smoke-stack where the puffing noise sounded. +Bunny could hardly make the bell ring, as it was very heavy, but finally +he did make it sound:</p> + +<p>"Ding-dong!"</p> + +<p>"Now it's my turn!" cried Sue.</p> + +<p>She could only make the bell ring once:</p> + +<p>"Ding!"</p> + +<p>But she was just as well pleased.</p> + +<p>By this time the engine had taken enough water for its boiler, to last +until it got to New York, and the conductor took Bunny and Sue back to +their mother. They were quite excited and pleased over their visit to +the locomotive, and told Mrs. Brown all about the strange sights they +had seen.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p> + +<p>"But when will we be at Aunt Lu's?" asked Bunny, as he looked out of the +window.</p> + +<p>"Oh, soon now," his mother answered.</p> + +<p>And, in about an hour, the brakeman put his head in through the door of +their car, and called out:</p> + +<p>"New York! All change!"</p> + +<p>"Change what, Mother?" asked Sue. "Have we got to change our clothes? +Are we going to bed?"</p> + +<p>"No, dear. The man means we must change cars. We are at the end of our +railroad trip."</p> + +<p>"But it's so dark," said Bunny. "I thought it was time to go to bed."</p> + +<p>"It's the station that's dark," said Mrs. Brown. "Part of it is +underground, like a tunnel."</p> + +<p>Indeed it was so dark in the train and the station that the car lamps +were lighted. No wonder Bunny and Sue thought it time to go to bed.</p> + +<p>But when they got outside the sun was shining, though it was afternoon, +and would soon be supper time.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, here you are! Hello, Bunny dear! Hello, Sue dear!" cried a jolly +voice.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Aunt Lu! Oh, Aunt Lu!" cried Bunny and Sue as they clung to their +aunt. "We're so glad to see you!"</p> + +<p>"And I'm glad to see you!" she cried, as she kissed her sister, Mrs. +Brown. "Now come on, and we'll soon be at my house."</p> + +<p>"But where's the surprise?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes, we want to see the surprise," said Sue.</p> + +<p>"It's in my automobile," said Aunt Lu with a laugh. "Come on, I'll show +her to you."</p> + +<p>"Is it—is it a <i>her</i>?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes, my dear. You'll soon see. Come on!"</p> + +<p>Aunt Lu led the way to a fine, large automobile just outside the +station. A man wearing a tall hat opened the door of the car, and +looking inside Bunny and Sue saw a queer little colored girl, her kinky +hair standing up in little pigtails all over her head. She smiled at +Bunny and Sue, showing her white teeth.</p> + +<p>"There!" cried Aunt Lu. "What do you think of my surprise?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>THE WRONG HOUSE</h3> + + +<p>For a second or two Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did not know what to +say. They stood on the sidewalk, at the door of the automobile, which +was one of the closed kind, staring at the little colored girl, with her +kinky wisps of hair.</p> + +<p>"Well, what do you think of Wopsie?" asked Aunt Lu again. "Don't you +like my surprise, Bunny—Sue?"</p> + +<p>"Is—is this the surprise?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes, this is Wopsie. I'll tell you about her in a little while. Get in +now, and we'll soon be at my house."</p> + +<p>Wopsie, the colored girl, smiled to show even more of her white teeth, +and then she asked:</p> + +<p>"Is yo' all de company?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, this is the company I told you about,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> Wopsie," said Miss Baker, +which was Aunt Lu's name. "This is Bunny," and she pointed to the little +boy, "and this little girl is Sue. They are going to be my company for a +long time, I hope."</p> + +<p>Wopsie gave a funny little bow, that sent her black topknots of hair +bobbing all over her head, and said:</p> + +<p>"Pleased to meet yo' all, company! Pleased to meet yo'!"</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue thought Wopsie talked quite funnily, but they were too +polite to say so. They looked at the little colored girl and smiled. And +she smiled back at them.</p> + +<p>"Home, George," said Miss Baker to one of the two men on the front seat +of the automobile. The man touched his cap, and soon Bunny, Sue and +their mother were being driven rapidly through the streets of New York +in Aunt Lu's automobile.</p> + +<p>"It's almost as big as the one we went in to grandpa's, in the country," +said Bunny, as he looked around at the seats, and noticed the little +electric lamp in the roof.</p> + +<p>"But you can't sleep in it or cook in it,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> said Sue. "And there's no +place for Splash or Bunker Blue."</p> + +<p>"No," said Bunny. "That's so."</p> + +<p>The children had had to leave Splash, the dog, home with Daddy Brown, +and of course Bunker Blue did not come to Aunt Lu's.</p> + +<p>"No, we can't sleep in my auto, nor eat, unless it is to eat candy, or +cookies, or something like that," said Aunt Lu. "And I have some sweet +crackers for the children, if you think it's all right for them to eat," +said Aunt Lu to Mother Brown.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes. I guess it will be all right. They must be hungry, though they +ate on the train."</p> + +<p>"And Bunny stopped the train, too!" cried Sue. "He pulled on the whistle +cord, with mother's parasol, and we stopped so quick we slid out of our +seats; didn't we, Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"Yep!"</p> + +<p>"My! That was quite an adventure," said Aunt Lu, laughing.</p> + +<p>"And we went in the choo-choo engine," went on Sue. "I ringed the bell, +I did, and so did Bunny. Was you ever in a train, Wopsie?" Sue asked the +little colored girl.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Yes'm, I was once."</p> + +<p>"Wopsie came all the way up from down South," said Aunt Lu. "She is a +little lost girl."</p> + +<p>"Lost!" cried Bunny and Sue. They did not understand how any one could +be lost when in a nice automobile with Aunt Lu.</p> + +<p>"Yes'm, I'se losted!" said Wopsie, shaking her kinky head, "an' I +suttinly does wish dat I could find mah folks!"</p> + +<p>"I must tell you about her," said Aunt Lu. "Wopsie, which is the name I +call her, though her right name is Sallie Jefferson, was sent up North +to live with her aunt here in New York. Wopsie made the trip all alone. +She was put on the train, at a little town somewhere in North Carolina, +or South Carolina—she doesn't remember which—and sent up here."</p> + +<p>"All alone?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes, all alone. She had a tag, or piece of paper, pinned to her dress, +with the name and house number of her aunt. But the paper was lost."</p> + +<p>"De paper was losted, and now I'se losted," said Wopsie.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'll tell them all about you, Wopsie," said Aunt Lu.</p> + +<p>Then she told Bunny and Sue how the little colored girl had reached New +York all alone, not knowing where to go.</p> + +<p>"A kind lady, in the same station where you children just came in, +looked after Wopsie," said Aunt Lu. "This lady looks after all lost boys +and girls, and she took Wopsie to a nice place to stay all night. In the +morning she tried to find Wopsie's aunt, but could not. Nor could Wopsie +tell her aunt's name, or where she lived. She was lost just as you and +Sue, Bunny, sometimes get lost in the woods."</p> + +<p>"And how did you come to take her?" asked Mother Brown.</p> + +<p>"Well, Wopsie was sent to a society that looks after lost children," +said Aunt Lu. "They tried to find her friends, either up here, in New +York, or down South, but they could not. I belong to this society, and +when I heard of Wopsie I said I would take her and keep her in my house +for a while. I can train her to become a lady's maid while I am waiting +to find her folks."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Are you trying to find them?" asked Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I have written all over, and so has the society. We have asked the +police to let us know if any one is asking for a little lost colored +girl. But I have had her nearly a month now, and no one has claimed +her."</p> + +<p>"Yep. I suah am losted!" said Wopsie, but she laughed as she said it, +and did not seem to mind very much. "It's fun being losted like this," +she said, as she patted the soft cushions of the automobile. "I likes +it!"</p> + +<p>"And are you really going to keep her?" asked Mrs. Brown of her sister.</p> + +<p>"Yes, until she gets a little older, or until I can find her folks. I +think her father and mother must have died some time ago," said Aunt Lu +in a whisper to Mrs. Brown. "She probably didn't have any <i>real</i> folks +down South, so whoever she was with sent her up here."</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm glad you took care of her," said Mrs. Brown. "She looks like +a nice clean little girl."</p> + +<p>"She is; and she is very kind and helpful.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> She is careful, too, and she +will be a help with Bunny and Sue. Wopsie has already learned her way +around that part of New York near my apartment, and I can send her on +errands. She can take Bunny and Sue out."</p> + +<p>While Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu were talking together Wopsie had given +Bunny and Sue some sweet crackers from a box she took out from a pocket +in the side of the automobile. Aunt Lu had told her to do so. So Bunny +and Sue ate the crackers as they rode along, and Wopsie sat near them.</p> + +<p>"Don't you want a cracker?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"No, sah, thank you," answered the little colored girl. "I don't eat +'tween meals. Miss Baker say as how it ain't good for your +intergestion."</p> + +<p>"What's in—indergaston?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"Huh! Dat's a misery on yo' insides—a pain," said Wopsie. "I t'ought +everybody knowed dat!"</p> + +<p>Bunny was silent a minute.</p> + +<p>"Do you know how to stop a train by pulling on the whistle cord?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"No," said Wopsie.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Huh! I thought everybody knew that!" exclaimed Bunny. Then he laughed, +as Wopsie did. It was a little joke on her, when Bunny answered her the +way he did.</p> + +<p>The automobile came to a stop in front of a large building. Bunny and +Sue looked up at it.</p> + +<p>"My! What a big house you live in, Aunt Lu!" said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Oh, this isn't all mine!" laughed Aunt Lu. "There are many others who +live in here. This is what is called an apartment house. I have my +dining room, kitchen, bath room and other rooms, and other families in +this building have the same thing. You see there isn't room in New York +to build separate houses, such as you have in Bellemere, so they make +one big house, and divide it up on the inside, into a number of little +houses, or apartments."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue thought that very strange.</p> + +<p>"But you haven't any yard to play in!" exclaimed Bunny, as he and his +sister got out of the automobile, and found that the front door of Aunt +Lu's apartment was right on the sidewalk.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span></p> + +<p>"No, we don't have yards in the city, Bunny. But we have a roof to go up +on and play."</p> + +<p>"Playing on a roof!" cried Bunny. "I should think you'd fall off!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, it has a high railing all around it. Wopsie may take you up there +after a bit. Then you can see how it seems to play on a roof, instead of +down on the ground. We have to do queer things in big cities."</p> + +<p>Bunny Brown and his sister Sue certainly thought so.</p> + +<p>As they entered the apartment house the children found themselves in a +wide hall, with marble floor and sides. There was a nice carpet over the +marble floor and bright electric lights glowed from the ceiling.</p> + +<p>"Right in here," said Aunt Lu, leading the children toward what seemed +to be a little room with an iron door, like the iron gate to some park. +A colored boy, with many brass buttons on his blue coat, stood at the +door.</p> + +<p>"Jes' yo' all wait an' see what gwine t' happen!" said Wopsie.</p> + +<p>"Why, what is going to happen?" asked Bunny.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, ho! Yo' all jes' wait!" exclaimed Wopsie, laughing at her secret.</p> + +<p>"What is it? I don't want anything to happen!" cried Sue hanging back.</p> + +<p>"Oh, it isn't anything, dear. This is just the elevator," said Aunt Lu. +"Get in and you'll have a nice ride."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I like a ride," Sue said.</p> + +<p>In she stepped with Bunny, her mother, Aunt Lu and Wopsie. The colored +boy, who was also smiling, and showing his white teeth as Wopsie was +doing, closed the iron door. Then, all of a sudden, Bunny and Sue felt +themselves shooting upward.</p> + +<p>"Oh! Oh!" cried Bunny. "We're in a balloon! We're in a balloon! We're +going up!"</p> + +<p>"Just like a skyrocket on the Fourth of July!" added Sue. She was not +afraid now. She was clapping her hands.</p> + +<p>Up and up and up they went!</p> + +<p>"Oh, what makes it?" asked Bunny. "Is it a balloon, Aunt Lu?"</p> + +<p>"No, dear, it's just the elevator. You see this big house is so high +that you would get tired climbing the stairs up to my rooms, so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> we go +up in the elevator. It lifts us up, and in England they call them +'lifts' on this account."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I see!" Bunny cried, as he looked up and saw that he was in a sort +of square steel cage, going up what seemed to be a long tunnel; standing +up instead of lying on the ground as a railroad tunnel lies. "I see! +We're going up, just like a bucket of water comes up out of the well."</p> + +<p>"That's it!" said Aunt Lu. "And when we go down we go down just like the +bucket going down in the well."</p> + +<p>"It's fun! I like it!" and Sue clapped her hands. "I like the elevator!"</p> + +<p>"Yes'm, it sho' am fun!" echoed Wopsie.</p> + +<p>"Wopsie would ride up and down all day if I'd let her," said Aunt Lu. +"But here we are at my floor. Now wasn't that better than climbing up +ten flights of stairs, children?"</p> + +<p>"I guess it was!" cried Bunny. "Do you live up ten flights?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and there are some families who live higher than that."</p> + +<p>They stepped out of the elevator into a lit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>tle hall, and soon they were +in Aunt Lu's nice city apartment, or house, if you like that word +better.</p> + +<p>"Now, Wopsie," said Aunt Lu, "you tell Jane to make Mrs. Brown a nice +cup of tea."</p> + +<p>"And can we go up on the roof?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Not right away—but after a while," said his aunt.</p> + +<p>"Let's go out into the elevator again," suggested Sue.</p> + +<p>"No, dear, not now," said Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue thought they had never been in such a nice place as Aunt +Lu's city home. From the windows they could look down to the street, ten +stories below.</p> + +<p>"It's a good way to fall," said Bunny, in a whisper.</p> + +<p>"But you musn't lean out of the windows, and then you won't fall," his +mother told him.</p> + +<p>The children were given their supper, and then Wopsie took them up on +the roof. This was higher yet. It was a flat roof, with a broad, high +railing all around it so no one could fall off. And from it Bunny and +Sue<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> could look all over New York, and see the twinkling lights far off, +for it was now getting on toward evening, though it was not yet dark.</p> + +<p>A little later Wopsie took them down in the elevator again, to the +street. There they saw other children walking up and down, some of them +playing; some babies being wheeled in carriages, and many men and women +walking past.</p> + +<p>"My! What a lot of people!" cried Bunny. "Is it always this way in a +city, Wopsie?"</p> + +<p>"Yes'm," answered the little colored girl, who seemed to mix up "Yes, +ma'am," and "Yes, sir." But what of it? She meant all right. "It's bin +dis way eber sence I come t' New York," she went on. "Allers a crowd +laik dis. Everybuddy hurryin' an' hurryin'."</p> + +<p>Wopsie stood still a moment to speak to another colored girl, who came +out of the next house, and Bunny and Sue walked on ahead. Before they +knew it they had turned a corner. Down at the end of the street they saw +a man playing a hand-piano, or hurdy-gurdy, as they are called.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue. "Let's go down and listen to the music."</p> + +<p>"All right," Bunny agreed. "And maybe he has a monkey, like Wango."</p> + +<p>Hand in hand the two children ran on. They saw other children about the +hurdy-gurdy. Some of them were dancing. Bunny and Sue danced too. Then +the music-man wheeled his music machine away, and Bunny and Sue turned +to go back. They walked on and on, and finally Bunny, stopping in front +of a big house said:</p> + +<p>"This is where Aunt Lu lives."</p> + +<p>"But where is Wopsie?" asked Sue. "Why isn't she here?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, maybe she went inside," replied Bunny. "Come on, we'll go in the +elevator and have a ride."</p> + +<p>They went into the marble hall. It looked just like the one in Aunt Lu's +apartment. And there was the same colored elevator boy in his queer +little cage. Bunny and Sue went to the entrance.</p> + +<p>"Where yo' want to go?" asked the elevator boy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span></p> + +<p>"To Aunt Lu's," answered Bunny.</p> + +<p>"What floor she done lib on?" the boy asked.</p> + +<p>"I—I don't know," Bunny said. "I—I forgot the number."</p> + +<p>"What's her name?"</p> + +<p>"Aunt Lu," said Sue.</p> + +<p>"No, I mean her last name?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, it's Baker," said Bunny. "Aunt Lu Baker."</p> + +<p>The colored elevator boy shook his head.</p> + +<p>"They don't no Miss Baker lib heah!" he said. "I done guess yo' chilluns +done got in de wrong house!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>IN THE DUMB WAITER</h3> + + +<p>Bunny Brown looked at his sister Sue, and his sister Sue looked at Bunny +Brown. Then they both looked at the colored elevator boy. He was smiling +at them, so Bunny and Sue were not as frightened as they might otherwise +have been.</p> + +<p>"Isn't this where Aunt Lu lives?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Nope. Not if her name's Baker," answered the elevator lad. "We sure +ain't got nobody named Baker in heah!" (He meant "here.")</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue. "Then we're losted again!"</p> + +<p>"Where'd you come from?" asked the colored boy. "Now don't git skeered, +'cause yo' all ain't losted very much I guess. Maybe I kin find where +yo' all belongs. What's de number of, de house where yo' auntie libs?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I—I don't know," said Bunny. He had not thought to ask the number of +his aunt's house, nor had he looked to see what the number was over the +door before he and Sue came out. In the country no one ever had numbers +on their houses, and Bellemere was like the country in this way—no +houses had numbers on them.</p> + +<p>"Well, what street does your aunt done lib on?" asked the colored boy, +in the funny way he talked.</p> + +<p>"I don't know that, either," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Huh! Den yo' suah <i>am</i> lost!" cried the elevator lad. "But don't yo' +all git skeered!" he said quickly, as he saw tears coming in Sue's brown +eyes. "I guess yo' all ain't losted so very much, yet. Maybe I kin find +yo' aunt's house."</p> + +<p>"If you could find Wopsie for us, she could take us there," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Find who?"</p> + +<p>"Wopsie. She's a little girl that lives with my aunt, and—"</p> + +<p>But the elevator boy did not wait for Bunny to finish.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Wopsie!" he cried. "Am she dat queer li'l colored gal, wif her hair all +done up in rags?"</p> + +<p>"Yes!" cried Sue eagerly. "That's Wopsie. We came out to walk with her, +but we heard the hand-piano music, and we got lost."</p> + +<p>"Do you know Wopsie?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"I suah does!" cried the elevator boy. "She's a real nice li'l gal, an' +we all likes her."</p> + +<p>"She's losted too," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I knows about dat!" replied the elevator boy. "We all knows 'bout +Wopsie. Why she's jest down the street, and around the corner a few +houses. Now I know where yo' Aunt Lu libs. If you'd a' done said Wopsie +<i>fust</i>, I'd a knowed den, right off quick!"</p> + +<p>"Can you take us home?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"I suah can!" cried the kind colored boy. "Jes yo' all wait a minute."</p> + +<p>He called to another colored boy to take care of his elevator, and then, +holding one of Bunny's and one of Sue's hands, he went out into the +street. Around the corner he hurried, and, no sooner had he turned it, +than up rushed Wopsie herself. She made a grab for Bunny and Sue.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, mah goodness!" cried the little colored girl. "Oh, mah goodness! +I'se so skeered! I done t'ought I'd losted yo' all!"</p> + +<p>"No, Wopsie," said Bunny. "You didn't lost us. We losted ourselves. We +heard music, and we went to look for a monkey."</p> + +<p>"But there wasn't any monkey," said Sue, "and we got in the wrong house, +where Aunt Lu didn't live."</p> + +<p>"But he brought us back. He knows you, Wopsie," and Bunny nodded toward +the kind elevator boy.</p> + +<p>"I guess everybody around dish yeah place knows Wopsie," said the boy, +smiling. "Will yo' all take dese chilluns home now?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I suah will!" Wopsie said. "Mah goodness! I'se bin lookin' all ober fo' +'em! I didn't know where dey wented. Come along now, an' yo' all musn't +go 'way from Wopsie no mo'!"</p> + +<p>"We won't!" promised Bunny.</p> + +<p>He and Sue were beginning to find out that it was easier to get lost in +the city, even by going just around the corner, than it was in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> the +country, when they went down a long road. For in the city the houses +were so close together, and they all looked so much alike, that it was +hard to tell one from the other.</p> + +<p>"But yo' all am all right now, honey lambs," said Wopsie, who seemed to +be very much older than Bunny and Sue, though really she was no more +than three or four years older.</p> + +<p>"Do we have to go in now?" asked Bunny, as Wopsie led him and Sue down +the street, having said good-bye to the kind elevator boy who had +brought them part way home.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I guess we'd better go in," said the little colored girl. "Yo' ma +might be worried about yo'. We'll go in. It's gittin' dark."</p> + +<p>The elevator quickly carried them up to Aunt Lu's floor.</p> + +<p>"Oh, now I see the number!" cried Bunny. "It's ten—I won't forget any +more."</p> + +<p>"Well, did you have a good time?" asked Mother Brown when Bunny and Sue +came in, followed by Wopsie.</p> + +<p>"We got losted!" exclaimed Sue.</p> + +<p>"What! Lost so soon?" cried Aunt Lu. "Where was it?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p> + +<p>"In a house just like this," broke in Bunny. "And it had a lift elevator +and a colored boy and everything. Only he said you didn't live there, +and you didn't, and I didn't know the number of your floor, or of your +house, and we got losted!"</p> + +<p>"But I found them!" said Wopsie, for she felt it might be a little bit +her fault that Bunny and Sue had gotten away. But of course it was their +own fault for running to hear the music.</p> + +<p>"You must be careful about getting lost," said Aunt Lu. "But of course, +if ever you do, just ask a policeman. I'll give you each one of my +cards, with my name and address on, and you can show that to the +officer. He'll bring, or send, you home."</p> + +<p>Sue and Bunny were each given a card, and they put them away in their +pockets, where they would have them the next time they went out on the +street.</p> + +<p>For the next two or three days Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did not go +far away from Aunt Lu's house. Wopsie took them up and down the block +for a walk, but more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> often they were riding in Aunt Lu's automobile. +And many wonderful sights did the children see in the big city of New +York. They could hardly remember them, there were so many.</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue grew to like Wopsie very much. She was a kind, good girl, +anxious to help, and do all she could, and she just loved the children. +She was almost like a nurse girl for them, and Mrs. Brown did not have +to worry when Bunny and Sue were with Wopsie.</p> + +<p>"Do you think you'll ever find her folks?" asked Mrs. Brown of Aunt Lu, +when they were talking of the colored girl one day.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm sure I hope so," answered Aunt Lu, "though I like the poor +little thing myself very much, and I would like to keep her with me. But +I know she is lonesome for her own aunt whom she has not seen since she +was a little baby. And I think the aunt must be worrying about lost +Wopsie. The police haven't been able to find any one who is looking for +a little colored girl, to come up from down South. Perhaps her aunt has +moved<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> away. Anyhow I'll keep Wopsie until I find her folks."</p> + +<p>Sometimes Bunny and Sue thought that Wopsie looked sad. Perhaps she did, +when she thought of how she was lost. But she had a good home with Aunt +Lu, and after all, Wopsie was quite happy, especially since Bunny and +Sue had come.</p> + +<p>The two Brown children thought riding in the elevator was great fun. +Often they would slip out by themselves and get Henry, the colored boy, +to carry them up and down. And he was very glad to do it, if he was not +busy.</p> + +<p>One day Bunny and Sue went out into Aunt Lu's kitchen, where Mary, the +colored cook, was busy. She often gave the children cookies, or a piece +of cake, just as Mother Brown did at home.</p> + +<p>This day, after they had eaten their cookies, Bunny and Sue heard a +knocking in the kitchen.</p> + +<p>"Somebody's at the door," called Bunny.</p> + +<p>"No, chile! Folks don't knock at de kitchen do' heah," said Mary. "Dey +rings de bell."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p> + +<p>"But somebody's knocking," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes chile. I s'pects dat's de ice man knockin' on de dumb waiter t' +tell me he's put on a piece ob ice," went on the cook.</p> + +<p>She opened a door in the kitchen wall, and Bunny and Sue saw what looked +like a big box, in a sort of closet. In the box was a large piece of +ice.</p> + +<p>"Yep. Dat's what it am. Ice on de dumb waiter," said Mary, as she took +off the cold chunk and put it in the refrigerator. It was an extra piece +gotten that day because she was going to make ice cream for dessert.</p> + +<p>"What's a dumb waiter?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Dis is," said Mary, pointing to the box, back of the door in the wall. +"It waits on me—it brings up de milk and de ice. It's jest a big box, +and it goes up an' down on a rope dat runs ober a wheel."</p> + +<p>"I know—a pulley wheel," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Dat's it!" cried Mary. "De box goes up an' down inside between de +walls, and when de ice man, or de milk man puts anyt'ing on de waiter in +de cellar, dey pulls on de rope and up it comes to me."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What makes them call it a dumb waiter?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"'Cause as how it can't talk, chile. Anyt'ing dat can't talk is dumb, +an' dis waiter, or lifter, can't talk. So it's dumb."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue looked at the dumb waiter for some time. Mary showed them +how it would go up or down on the rope, very easily.</p> + +<p>A little while after that, Mary went to her room to put on a clean +apron; Bunny and Sue were still in the kitchen.</p> + +<p>"Sue," said Bunny. "I know something we can do to have fun."</p> + +<p>"What?" asked the little girl.</p> + +<p>"Play with the dumb waiter. It's just like a little elevator. Now I'll +get in, you close the door, and I'll ride down cellar. Then when I ride +up it will be your turn to ride down."</p> + +<p>"All right!" cried Sue. "I'll do it. You go first, Bunny."</p> + +<p>Standing on a chair, Bunny managed to crawl into the dumb waiter box, +where the piece of ice had been. And then, all at once something +happened.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>A LONG RIDE</h3> + + +<p>"Are you all ready, Bunny?" asked Sue, as she stood on the chair close +to the little door of the dumb waiter, or elevator.</p> + +<p>"Yep," Bunny answered.</p> + +<p>Sue closed the door, and then there was a squeaking sound inside the +little closet where the waiter slid up and down. At the same time +Bunny's voice was heard crying:</p> + +<p>"Oh, Sue! I'm falling! I'm falling down!"</p> + +<p>Sue did not know what to do. She tried to open the door, but it had shut +with a spring catch when she pushed on it, and her small fingers were +not strong enough to open it again.</p> + +<p>"Oh dear!" cried the little girl. "Oh dear! Bunny! Mother! Aunt Lu! +Mary! Wopsie!"</p> + +<p>She called every name she could think of,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> and she would have called for +her father, Grandpa Brown and even Uncle Tad, only she knew they were +far away.</p> + +<p>"Bunny! Bunny!" Sue called. "Is you there? Is you in there?"</p> + +<p>But Bunny did not answer. And now Sue could hear no noise from the dumb +waiter, inside of which she had shut her brother.</p> + +<p>"Bunny! Bunny!" begged Sue. "Speak to me! Where is you?"</p> + +<p>But no answer came. Bunny was far off. I'll tell you, soon, where he +was.</p> + +<p>Sue got down off the chair, on which she stood to push shut the door, +after Bunny crawled inside the dumb waiter. The little girl ran out of +the kitchen, calling to her mother, Aunt Lu and Wopsie. The colored cook +was the first one to answer.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter?" she called. "What hab happened, Sue?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, it's Bunny! He's gone! He's gone!" sobbed Sue.</p> + +<p>"Gone? Gone where?" Mary asked.</p> + +<p>"Down there!" and Sue pointed to the dumb waiter door.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p> + +<p>Mary ran across the kitchen, and opened the door. She looked down, and +then she turned to Sue and asked:</p> + +<p>"Did he fall down, Sue?"</p> + +<p>"No, he didn't fall down. But he got in the little box, where the ice +was, and told me to shut the door. He was going to have a ride. It was +going to be my turn when he came back. But there was a big bump, and +Bunny hollered, and he didn't come back, and oh dear! I guess he's +losted again!"</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu came hurrying into the kitchen. Behind them was +Wopsie, her hair standing up more than ever, for she had just finished +tying it in rags.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter?" asked Mother Brown and Aunt Lu at the same time.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny's gone!" wailed Sue.</p> + +<p>"He's in de dumb waiter," explained Mary.</p> + +<p>"Oh, did he fall?" cried Aunt Lu.</p> + +<p>"No'm, he jest got in to hab a ride, same as dat little boy who used to +lib up stairs," Mary explained. "We'll find him in de cellar all right, +Miss Baker."</p> + +<p>"Find who?" Sue wanted to know.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Yo' brudder!" said Mary. "Now don't yo' all git skairt. 'Case little +Massa Bunny am suah gwine t' be all right."</p> + +<p>"I'll go and get him!" cried Aunt Lu.</p> + +<p>"And I'll go with you," said Mother Brown.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'm coming too!" exclaimed Sue.</p> + +<p>"No, you stay here, dear," said her mother. "You stay here with Mary and +Wopsie."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown and her sister, who was the aunt of Bunny and Sue, went down +in the big elevator to the basement or cellar of the apartment house. +And there they saw a strange sight.</p> + +<p>Bunny, whose clothes were all dusty, and whose hair was all topsy-turvy, +was standing in front of the janitor, an iceman and a policeman. These +three men were looking at the little boy who did not seem to know what +to do or say. But he was not crying. He was too brave for that.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny Brown!" cried his mother. "Why did you do it?"</p> + +<p>Bunny did not answer, but the policeman spoke, and said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Is it all right, lady? Does he belong here?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, he's my little boy," explained Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>"He rode down in the dumb waiter," Aunt Lu said. "You see he is visiting +me, and he had never seen a dumb waiter before."</p> + +<p>"Well, he came down in one all right," said the iceman. "It was like +this," he explained to Aunt Lu. "After I sent up your piece of ice, Miss +Baker, I stood here talking to the janitor. All at once we heard the +dumb waiter come down with a bang, and then we heard someone in it +yelling. I thought it was a sneak-thief, or a burglar, for you know they +often rob houses by going up in dumb waiters.</p> + +<p>"So I spoke to the janitor about it, and we called in the policeman who +was going past. We thought if it was a burglar we'd sure have him. But +when we opened the door there was only this little chap."</p> + +<p>"I—I didn't mean to do it," said Bunny, as he saw them all looking at +him. "I just wanted to get a ride, and then Sue was go<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>ing to have one. +But, as soon as I got in, the dumb waiter went down so quick I couldn't +stop."</p> + +<p>"He sure did come down with a bump!" exclaimed the iceman. "I guess he +was a little too heavy for it, or else the rope must have slipped. +Anyhow he's not hurt much, except he's a bit mussed up."</p> + +<p>"Are you hurt, Bunny?" his mother asked him.</p> + +<p>"No'm," he answered. "Just bumped, that's all. I—I won't do it again."</p> + +<p>"No, you'd better not, because you might get hurt," said the policeman. +"Well," he added, "I might as well go along, for you have no burglars +for me to arrest this day," and away he went.</p> + +<p>Then the iceman went off, laughing, and Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu took +Bunny up to their apartment in the elevator.</p> + +<p>"This is nicer than the dumb waiter," Bunny said, as Henry took them up. +"I was all scrunched up in that, and I got a awful hard bump."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown sighed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'm sure I don't know what you will do next," she said. "You and Sue +never do the same thing twice, so there's no use in telling you to be +careful."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I won't get in any more dumb waiters," said Bunny, with a shake of +his head. "They're too small, and they're too bumpy."</p> + +<p>Sue felt much better when she saw that Bunny was all right, and Mary +gave each of the children a piece of cake, after which Wopsie took them +up to the roof, where an awning had been stretched to make shade, and +there, high above the city streets, the two children had a sort of +play-party.</p> + +<p>"I like it in the city; don't you, Bunny?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I think it's fine at Aunt Lu's house," returned Bunny. "Don't you +like it here, Wopsie?"</p> + +<p>"Yes'm, I suah does. But I wishes as how I could find mah folks. It's +awful nice heah, an' Miss Baker suah does treat me mighty fine, but I'd +like to find mah own aunt."</p> + +<p>"And don't you know where she is?" asked Bunny.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p> + +<p>"No'm, I don't 'member much about it all," said the colored girl, with a +shake of her kinky head. "I lived down Souf, an' I s'pects dey got tired +ob me down dere. Or else maybe dey didn't hab money 'nuff t' keep me. +Colored folks down Souf is terrible poor. They ain't rich, laik yo' Aunt +Lu."</p> + +<p>"Aunt Lu is terrible rich," said Sue. "She's got a diamond ring."</p> + +<p>"I knows dat!" said Wopsie.</p> + +<p>"An' it was losted, like we was," Sue went on, "but Bunny, he found it +in a lobster claw. And we had a Punch and Judy show."</p> + +<p>"I'd laik dat!" exclaimed Wopsie, her eyes sparkling.</p> + +<p>"Maybe we could help you find your folks," said Bunny. "We found Aunt +Lu's diamond ring, and grandpa's horses, that the Gypsies took; so maybe +we could find your folks, Wopsie."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe so," and the little colored girl shook her head. "Yo' +all sees it was dis heah way. Somebody down Souf, what was takin' care +ob me, got tired, and shipped me up Norf here. Dey didn't come wif me +dey<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>se'ves, but dey puts a piece ob paper on me, same laik I was a +trunk, or a satchel.</p> + +<p>"Well, maybe it would a' bin all right, but dat piece ob paper come +unpinned offen me, an' I got losted, same laik you'd lose a trunk. Only +Miss Lu found me, an' she's keepin' me, but she don't know who I belongs +to, nohow."</p> + +<p>"And is your aunt up here?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes'm, she's somewheres in New York," and Wopsie waved her hand over +the big city, down on which Sue and Bunny could look from the roof of +the apartment house.</p> + +<p>"Well, maybe we can find her for you," said Bunny. "We'll try; won't we, +Sue?"</p> + +<p>"Course we will, Bunny Brown."</p> + +<p>Just how he was going to do it Bunny Brown did not know. But he made up +his mind that he would find Wopsie's aunt for her. And two or three +times after that, when he and Sue happened to be out in the street, and +saw any colored women, the children would ask them if they were looking +for a little, lost colored girl named Wopsie. But of course the colored +women knew nothing about the little piccaninny.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Well, we'll have to ask somebody else," Bunny would say, after each +time, when he had not found an aunt for Wopsie. "We'll find her yet, +Sue."</p> + +<p>"Yes," Sue would answer, "we will!"</p> + +<p>From the windows of Aunt Lu's house Bunny and Sue could look down on the +street and see many strange sights. Oh! how many automobiles there were +in New York!</p> + +<p>There were big ones, and little ones, but there were more of the small +kind, with little red flags in front, than any other.</p> + +<p>"Those are called taxicabs," Aunt Lu told Bunny. "They are like the old +cabs, drawn by horses. If a person wants to ride in a taxicab he just +waves his hand to the men at the steering wheel."</p> + +<p>"And does he stop?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered Aunt Lu. "The taxicab man stops."</p> + +<p>"And gives 'em a ride?" Sue wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Yes, he takes them wherever they want to go."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue looked at each other. Their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> eyes sparkled, and it is too +bad Aunt Lu did not see them just then, or she might have said something +that would have saved much trouble. But she was busy sewing, and she did +not notice Bunny and Sue.</p> + +<p>The next day the two children slipped out into the hall, and went down +to the street in the elevator.</p> + +<p>Once out in the street Bunny and Sue watched until they saw, coming +along, one of the little taxicabs, with the red flag up, which meant +that no one was having a ride in it just then.</p> + +<p>"Hi there!" called Bunny, holding up his hand to the man at the steering +wheel.</p> + +<p>"Want a ride?" asked the man, as he swung his taxicab up to the curb.</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered Bunny. "My sister—Sue and I—we want a ride."</p> + +<p>"Where to?" asked the man, as he helped the children up inside the car.</p> + +<p>"Oh, we want a nice, long ride," said Bunny. "A nice, long ride; don't +we, Sue?"</p> + +<p>"Yep," answered the little girl.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>BUNNY ORDERS DINNER</h3> + + +<p>You may think it strange that the man on the taxicab automobile would so +quickly help Bunny Brown and his sister up into his machine and give +them a ride. And that, without asking for any money.</p> + +<p>But it was not at all strange in New York. There are many children in +that big city, and often they go about by themselves, some who are no +larger than Bunny and Sue. They get used to looking out for themselves, +learn how to make their way about, and they often go in taxicabs alone.</p> + +<p>So the automobile man thought nothing of it when Bunny said he wanted a +ride. The automobile man just thought the children's father, or mother, +had sent them out to go somewhere.</p> + +<p>"And so you want a long ride," repeated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> the automobile man, as he +closed the door so Bunny or Sue would not fall out when he started. "How +about Central Park? Do you want to go there?"</p> + +<p>"Do we want to go to Central Park, Sue?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Is they elephants there, like a circus?" asked the little girl.</p> + +<p>"Is they?" Bunny asked of the automobile man.</p> + +<p>"Yes, there are some animals in the park. Not as many as up in the Bronx +Zoo, but that's a little too far for me to go. I'll take you to Central +Park if you say so."</p> + +<p>"Please do," begged Bunny. "We want to see the animals. We were in a +circus once, Sue and I were. Our dog was a blue striped tiger, and we +had a green painted calf, for a zebra."</p> + +<p>"That must have been some circus!" laughed the automobile man, as he got +up on his seat, and took hold of the steering wheel. "Well, here we go!"</p> + +<p>And away went the automobile, taking Sue and Bunny off to Central Park, +and their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> mother and Aunt Lu didn't know a thing about it!</p> + +<p>"Isn't this nice, Sue?" asked Bunny, when they had ridden on for a few +blocks.</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered Sue. "I like it. But I wish we had our dog Splash here +with us, Bunny."</p> + +<p>"Yes, it would be fine!" Bunny said.</p> + +<p>Speaking of the circus had made Sue think about Splash, who was far +away, at home in Bellemere.</p> + +<p>The taxicab wound in and out among other cabs, horses and wagons of all +sorts. Now it would have to go slowly, through some crowded street, and +again the children were moving swiftly, when there was room to speed.</p> + +<p>"He's a awful nice man to give us a ride like this," said Bunny to Sue.</p> + +<p>"Yes; isn't he?" answered the little girl. "There's lots of people +getting rides, Bunny; see!"</p> + +<p>Indeed there were many other taxicabs, and other automobiles on the +streets of New York, but Bunny and Sue looked most often at the taxicabs +like their own.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p> + +<p>"There must be a awful lot of nice men, like ours, in New York," Bunny +went on. And, mind you, neither he nor Sue thought they would have to +pay for their automobile ride. They just thought you got in one of the +taxicabs, and rode as far as you liked, for nothing.</p> + +<p>Pretty soon they were at Central Park.</p> + +<p>"Now where shall I take you?" asked the man.</p> + +<p>"Down by a elephant," spoke up Sue.</p> + +<p>"Are you sure your mother will let you go?" asked the taxicab man. He +felt he must, in a way, look after the children.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes," said Bunny. "Mother would let us. She likes us to see +animals. She lets us have a circus whenever we like."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue had on nice clothes, and the chauffeur knew they had come +from a street where many rich persons lived, so he was sure if the +children did not have with them the money to pay him, that their folks +would settle his bill.</p> + +<p>"You can get out here, and walk along that path," he said, stopping his +machine on a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> roadway. "Then you can see the elephant, the lion and the +tiger. I'll wait for you here."</p> + +<p>Hand in hand, Bunny and Sue went to the place in Central Park where the +animals are kept. It was not far from where the automobile had stopped, +out on Fifth Avenue, New York, and Bunny looked back, several times, as +he and his sister went down the steps, to make sure he would know the +place to find the automobile again, when he wanted to go home.</p> + +<p>"Oh, there's a elephant!" cried Sue, as, walking along, her hand in +Bunny's, she saw one of the big animals, just stuffing some hay into his +mouth with his trunk. It was a warm day, and the elephant was out in the +"back yard" of his cage. In the winter he was kept in the elephant +house, where the people could look at him standing behind the heavy iron +bars, but in summer he was allowed to go out of doors, though his yard +had a fence of big iron bars all around it.</p> + +<p>"I wish we had some peanuts to give him," said Sue.</p> + +<p>"Well, I haven't any money," answered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> Bunny. "Anyhow, if I had, Sue, +I'd rather buy us each a lollypop. The elephant has hay to eat."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I know," said Sue. "But I like to see him pick up peanuts with his +trunk."</p> + +<p>However, they had no money, so they could not feed peanuts to the +elephant. Some other children, though, had bought bags of the nuts, and +these they tossed in to the big animal. There was a sign on his yard, +which said no one must feed the animals, but no one stopped the +children, so Sue did see, after all, the elephant chewing the roasted +nuts.</p> + +<p>For some time Bunny and Sue watched the elephants. There were two of +them, and, after a while, a keeper came into the yard, and handed a +large mouth organ to the biggest elephant. The wise creature held it in +his trunk, and, to the surprise of Sue and her brother, began to blow on +the mouth organ, making music, though of course the elephant could not +play a regular tune.</p> + +<p>"Oh, isn't he smart, Bunny!" cried Sue.</p> + +<p>"He—he's a regular circus elephant!" Bunny cried. "I like him!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> + +<p>The other children, who had come to Central Park, also enjoyed seeing +the big elephant eat peanuts, and play a mouth organ.</p> + +<p>"I'd like to see some monkeys," said Bunny, after a bit, when the +elephant seemed to have gone to sleep standing up, for elephants do +sleep that way.</p> + +<p>"The monkeys are over in that house," a boy told Bunny, pointing to a +brown building not far from the elephant's cage and yard.</p> + +<p>"Oh, let's go!" cried Sue.</p> + +<p>Soon she and her brother were watching the monkeys do funny tricks, +climb up the sides of their cage, eat peanuts and pull each other's +tails and ears.</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue spent some time in Central Park, looking at the different +animals. There was one, almost as big as an elephant, only not so tall. +He was called a hippopotamus, and he swam in a tank of water, next door +to a pool in which lived some mud turtles and alligators. When the +hippopotamus opened his mouth it looked big enough to hold a washtub.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" cried Sue, as she saw this. "I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> wouldn't like him to bite me, +would you, Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"No, I guess not!" said the little boy.</p> + +<p>But there was no danger that the hippopotamus would bite anyone, for he +was behind big, strong, iron bars, and could not get out. There was also +a baby hippopotamus, swimming around in a tank with the mother.</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue saw many other animals in Central Park, and then, as he +was getting hungry, and as he began to think his mother might be +wondering where he was, Bunny said to Sue that they had better go back +home.</p> + +<p>"All right," Sue answered. "I'm tired, too."</p> + +<p>They went back to where they had left the automobile taxicab.</p> + +<p>"Well, did you see enough?" the man asked them.</p> + +<p>"Yes," Bunny answered, "and now we want to go home, if you please."</p> + +<p>"All right," said the man. He knew just where to take Bunny and Sue, for +he remembered where he had found them, right in front of Aunt Lu's +house. So the two chil<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>dren did not get lost this time, though they had +gone a good way from home.</p> + +<p>"Thank you very much," said Bunny as he and Sue got out.</p> + +<p>The automobile man laughed, as Bunny and Sue started up the front steps, +and then he called to them:</p> + +<p>"Wait a minute, little ones, I must have some money for giving you a +ride."</p> + +<p>"Oh!" exclaimed Bunny. "I—I thought you gave folks rides for nothing. +Wopsie said you did."</p> + +<p>"Well, I don't know who Wopsie is," said the cab man, "but I can't +afford to ride anyone around for nothing. You'd better tell your mother +that I must be paid."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'll tell her," said Sue. "Mother or Aunt Lu will pay you."</p> + +<p>"I'll come up with you I guess," said the automobile man, and he rode up +in the elevator with Bunny and Sue.</p> + +<p>And you can guess how surprised Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu were when the two +children came in.</p> + +<p>"Oh, where have you been?" cried Mother<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> Brown. "We've been looking all +over for you; up on the roof, down in the basement, out in the +street—and Wopsie was just going to ask the policeman on this block if +he had seen you. Where have you been?"</p> + +<p>"Riding," answered Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Up in Central Park, to see a elephant," added Sue.</p> + +<p>"And we had a good time," Bunny went on.</p> + +<p>"And now the automobile man wants some money, and we haven't any so you +must pay him, Mother," said Sue.</p> + +<p>"We—we thought we were riding for nothing," Bunny explained.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu looked at the automobile man, who smiled, and +told how the children had called to him, and asked him to give them a +long ride.</p> + +<p>"Which I did," he said. "I thought their folks had maybe sent them to +get the air, as folks often do here, and—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, it isn't your fault," said Mrs. Brown. "I'll pay you for the +children's ride, of course. But oh, dear! Bunny, you musn't do this +again."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p> + +<p>"No'm, I won't," Bunny said. "But we had a nice ride."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown gave the taxicab man some money, and thanked him for having +taken good care of the children. Then Wopsie did not have to go to tell +the policeman, for Bunny and Sue were safe home again.</p> + +<p>"I wonder what they'll do next?" said Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>"No one knows," answered Aunt Lu.</p> + +<p>But, for several days after this, Bunny and Sue did nothing to cause any +trouble. They went with their aunt and mother to different places about +New York in Aunt Lu's automobile, Wopsie sometimes going with them. +Several times Bunny or Sue asked colored persons they met if they were +looking for a little lost colored girl, but no one seemed to be.</p> + +<p>"Never mind, Wopsie," Bunny would say. "Some time we'll find your +folks."</p> + +<p>"Yes'm, I wishes as how yo' all would," Wopsie would answer.</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue liked it very much at Aunt Lu's city home. They had many +good times.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> And that reminds me; I must tell you about the time Bunny +ordered a queer dinner for himself and Sue.</p> + +<p>The children had been out with Wopsie for a walk, and when they came +back to Aunt Lu's house it was such a nice day that Bunny and Sue did +not want to go in.</p> + +<p>"Let us stay out a while, Wopsie," Bunny begged.</p> + +<p>"Well, don't go 'way from in front, an' yo' all can stay," Wopsie said. +So Bunny and Sue sat on the side of the big stone steps, in front of +Aunt Lu's house.</p> + +<p>They really did not intend to go away, but when they saw a fire engine +dashing down the street, whistling and purring out black smoke, they +just couldn't stand still.</p> + +<p>"Let's go and see the fire!" cried Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Come on!" agreed Sue.</p> + +<p>But it was only a little fire, after all, though quite a crowd gathered. +It was upstairs in a store, and it was soon out. Bunny and Sue started +back, for they had not come far. They were getting so they knew their +way around pretty well now.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p> + +<p>As they passed a restaurant, or place to eat, they saw, in the window, a +man baking griddle cakes on a gas stove. He would let the cakes brown on +one side, toss them up in the air, making them turn a somersault, catch +them on a flat spoon, and then they would brown on the other side.</p> + +<p>"Oh Bunny!" cried Sue. "Wouldn't you like some of those?"</p> + +<p>"I would," said Bunny. "Come on in and we'll have some. I'm hungry!"</p> + +<p>He and Sue went into the restaurant, and sat down at one of the tables. +A girl, with a big white apron on over her black dress, brought them +each a glass of water and a napkin, and said:</p> + +<p>"Well, children, what do you want?"</p> + +<p>"We want dinner," said Bunny. "We're hungry, and we want some of those +cakes the man in the window is baking."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3>THE STRAY DOG</h3> + + +<p>The girl waitress in the restaurant smiled at Bunny Brown and his sister +Sue. They seemed too small to be going about, ordering meals for +themselves, but then the girl knew that in New York people do not live +as they do in other cities, or in the country. Many New York persons +never eat a meal at home, nor do their children. They go out to hotels, +restaurants or boarding houses.</p> + +<p>And perhaps this girl thought Bunny and Sue might be the children of +some family who had rooms near the restaurant, and who went out to their +meals. So she just asked them:</p> + +<p>"Are cakes the only things you want?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, we'll want more than that," said Bunny. "But we want the cakes +first; don't we, Sue?"</p> + +<p>"Yep," Sue answered. "I like pancakes. And I want some syrup on mine."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p> + +<p>"So do I!" cried Bunny.</p> + +<p>"I'll bring you some maple syrup when I bring you the cakes," the girl +said as, with a smile, she went up to the front of the restaurant to +tell the white-capped cook in the window to bake a plate of cakes for +each of the children.</p> + +<p>Several other persons in the restaurant smiled at Bunny and Sue, as they +sat there waiting for the cakes. They seemed such little tots to be all +alone. But Bunny and Sue knew what they were doing. At least they +thought they did, and they were not at all bashful.</p> + +<p>When the hot cakes were brought to them they spread on some butter, +poured the maple syrup over their plates, out of the little silver +pitchers, and began to eat.</p> + +<p>"They're awful good, aren't they, Bunny?" asked Sue, as she took up the +last piece of her third cake.</p> + +<p>"Yep," he answered. "I like 'em."</p> + +<p>"Let's have some more," Sue said.</p> + +<p>"No, let's have something else," said Bunny. "I'm hot now."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, then we ought to have ice-cream," cried Sue. "You know the other +night, when Aunt Lu and mother were so warm, they had ice-cream."</p> + +<p>"Then we'll have some," agreed Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Anything else?" asked the waitress girl, coming up to their table.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 248px;"> +<img src="images/p138.jpg" width="248" height="400" alt="SOON BUNNY AND SUE WERE EATING THE ICE-CREAM" title="SOON BUNNY AND SUE WERE EATING THE ICE-CREAM" /> +<span class="caption">SOON BUNNY AND SUE WERE EATING THE ICE-CREAM</span> +</div> + +<div class='center'><i>Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home.</i> <i>Page 131.</i></div> + +<p>"Ice-cream, please—two plates," ordered Bunny. Soon he and Sue were +eating the cold dessert. As they were taking up the last spoonfuls they +saw the waitress girl, at the next table carrying a large piece of red +watermelon to a man.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue. "I want some of that!"</p> + +<p>"So do I!" exclaimed Bunny. "We'll have some."</p> + +<p>And so, after the ice-cream, they ordered watermelon.</p> + +<p>"Do you think it will be good for you?" asked the waitress girl.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, we like it," said Bunny. That was all he thought of—just +then.</p> + +<p>The ice-cream had been cold, and so was the watermelon, for it had been +on the ice,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> and by the time they had finished that Bunny and Sue were +quite chilled through.</p> + +<p>"Now I'd like to be warm again," said Sue. "Let's have some more hot +cakes, Bunny."</p> + +<p>"All right," agreed her brother. He waved his hand to the waitress girl.</p> + +<p>"Some more hot cakes!" ordered Bunny.</p> + +<p>The girl laughed and said:</p> + +<p>"I guess you tots had better not eat any more. I'll call the manager, +and ask him if he thinks it safe."</p> + +<p>A man, with a black moustache and red cheeks, came up to the table.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" he asked. The waitress girl explained. At the same time +she put down on the table, by Bunny's plate, two little cards, with some +numbers on them, and some round holes punched near the numbers.</p> + +<p>"We want some hot cakes, 'cause the ice-cream and watermelon made us so +cold," Bunny said.</p> + +<p>"How much money have you?" asked the manager, who is the man who sees +that everyone gets enough to eat, and then that they pay for it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Money?" cried Bunny Brown. "Money?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, you must have money to pay for what you eat," the man said.</p> + +<p>"I've five cents," explained Sue. "My mother gave it to me for a toy +balloon, but I didn't spend it yet."</p> + +<p>"I've four cents," said Bunny, reaching into his pocket, and bringing +out four pennies. "I had five cents," he explained, "but I spent a penny +for a lollypop."</p> + +<p>He shoved the four pennies over toward the girl. Sue began looking in +her pocket for her five cent piece.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid you won't have enough money," the manager said. "But if you +tell me where you live, and give me the name of your father, I'll call +him up on the telephone, and let him know you are here."</p> + +<p>"Oh, our daddy's away off," said Bunny. "But you can talk to Aunt Lu on +the telephone. She's got one. My mother is with her. She'll buy some +cakes for us."</p> + +<p>"What's your aunt's name?" the manager wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Aunt Lu!" said Sue.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Aunt Lu Baker," added Bunny.</p> + +<p>"All right. I'll call her up," said the man, smiling. "And I don't +believe you had better eat any more griddle cakes. You might be made +ill. Give them some dry, sweet crackers, and a glass of milk," he said +to the girl. "That won't hurt them."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue liked the crackers very much. They were eating away, +having a fine time, when, all at once, into the restaurant came Mrs. +Brown.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Mother!" cried Bunny, as he saw her. "Are you hungry too? Sit down +by us and eat! We had a fine meal, didn't we, Sue?"</p> + +<p>"Yep," answered the little girl. "The ice-cream and watermelon is awful +good, Mother!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I suppose it is," and Mrs. Brown could not help smiling. "But you +musn't come in restaurants, and order meals like this, Bunny Brown, +without having money to pay for them. It isn't right!"</p> + +<p>"I—I thought I had money enough," and Bunny looked at his four pennies.</p> + +<p>The manager laughed. He had found<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> Aunt Lu's name in the telephone book, +and had talked to her, telling her about Bunny and Sue. And then, as the +restaurant was just around the corner from Aunt Lu's house, Mrs. Brown +had hurried there to get her children.</p> + +<p>She paid for what they had eaten, and took them back with her. The +waitress girl smiled, so did the manager, and so did many persons in the +restaurant, who had seen Bunny and Sue eating.</p> + +<p>"Don't ever do anything like this again, Bunny," said Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>"I won't," Bunny promised. "But we went to the fire, and we were awful +hungry; weren't we, Sue?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, we was. And the hot cakes was good."</p> + +<p>"Oh dear!" sighed Mrs. Brown. "I wonder what it will be next."</p> + +<p>But even Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did not know.</p> + +<p>For several weeks the two children stayed at Aunt Lu's city home. They +had more good times, and often went with their mother or Aunt Lu to the +moving pictures. Then, too,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> there was much to see on the city streets, +and Bunny and Sue never grew tired of looking at the strange sights. +Daddy Brown wrote letters, saying he was so busy, looking after his boat +business, that he could not come to see them for a long time.</p> + +<p>"Does he say how Splash, our dog, is?" asked Bunny, when part of one of +his father's letters had been read to him and Sue.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Daddy says Splash is all right, but lonesome," Mrs. Brown +answered.</p> + +<p>"I wish we had Splash here with us," sighed Sue.</p> + +<p>"So do I," echoed her brother.</p> + +<p>After that, whenever they saw a dog out in the street, they looked +anxiously at him, especially if he looked like Splash. And one day, when +Bunny and Sue had gone down to the corner of their street, to listen to +another hurdy-gurdy hand-piano, they saw a big yellow dog running about, +sniffing at some muddy water in a puddle in the sidewalk, as though he +wanted a drink.</p> + +<p>"Oh, look at that dog!" cried Bunny to Sue. "He's thirsty!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span></p> + +<p>"He looks as nice as Splash, only, of course, it isn't Splash," Sue +said.</p> + +<p>"Maybe we could take him," said Bunny. "Let's try. Then we'll have a +city dog and a country dog, too."</p> + +<p>Sue was willing, and she and Bunny walked up to the stray dog.</p> + +<p>"Come here!" called Bunny, just as he used to call to Splash.</p> + +<p>The dog looked up. He seemed to like children, for he came straight to +Bunny and Sue.</p> + +<p>"Oh, he's got a nice collar on," said Sue. "Let's take him to Aunt Lu's, +Bunny, and give him a nice drink of water."</p> + +<p>"All right," agreed Bunny. "We will." Then, each with a hand on the +dog's collar, Bunny and Sue walked along with the nice animal, whose red +tongue hung out of his mouth, for the dog had been running, and was +quite hot.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h3>THE RAGGED MAN</h3> + + +<p>"Come on, nice dog!" coaxed Sue, for as the children came nearer to the +house where Aunt Lu lived, the animal seemed to want to turn back and +run away.</p> + +<p>"Yes, don't be afraid," said Bunny. "We'll give you something nice to +eat, and some cold water."</p> + +<p>Whether the dog understood what Bunny and Sue said to him, or whether he +was thirsty and hungry and hoped to get something to eat, I do not know. +Some dogs seem to know everything you say to them, and certainly this +one was very wise. So he walked on willingly with the two children.</p> + +<p>"Do you think we can keep him?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"I guess so," answered her brother. "He's my dog, 'cause I saw him +first."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Isn't he half mine?" Sue wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Nope, he's <i>all</i> mine!" and Bunny took a firmer grasp on the dog's +collar.</p> + +<p>"Well, I don't care!" cried Sue, stamping her foot, which she sometimes +did when she was getting angry. "Half of our dog Splash at home is mine, +and I don't see why I can't have half of this one."</p> + +<p>"Nope, you can't!" cried Bunny. He hardly ever acted this way toward his +sister. Generally he gave her half of everything. "I want all this dog," +Bunny said. "I'm going to train him to be a circus animal, and if a girl +owns part of a dog she don't want him to run, or get muddy or anything +like that."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny Brown!" cried Sue. "I don't care if he does get muddy. I want +him to be a circus dog, too. So please can't I have half of him? I'll +take the tail end for my half, or the head end half or down the middle, +just like we do with Splash!"</p> + +<p>"Well," and Bunny seemed to be thinking about it. "Maybe I'll let you +have half of him, Sue. But you've got to let me train your half the same +as mine, to be a circus dog."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Yes, Bunny, I will. Oh, isn't he a nice dog!" and she patted him on the +head. The dog wagged his tail and seemed happy.</p> + +<p>Into the apartment house hall walked the children, leading the stray dog +they had found in the street. The elevator was not open, being on one of +the upper floors, and Bunny pushed the button that rang the bell, which +told Henry, the colored elevator boy, that someone was on the lower +floor, waiting to be taken up.</p> + +<p>When Henry came down in the queer iron cage that slid up and down, he +looked first at Bunny, then at Sue, and then at the dog.</p> + +<p>"What yo' all want?" asked the colored boy, smiling and showing his big, +white teeth.</p> + +<p>"We want to ride up to Aunt Lu's house," answered Bunny.</p> + +<p>"We got a new dog, Henry," said Sue.</p> + +<p>Henry shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I'll take you little folks up to yo' aunt's house," he said, "but I +can't take up dat dawg."</p> + +<p>"Why not?" asked Bunny. "Is he too heavy? 'Cause if he is, Henry, we'll +go up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> with you first, and you can bring the dog up alone. We'll wait +for him up stairs."</p> + +<p>Once more the elevator boy shook his head.</p> + +<p>"No, sah! I can't do it!" he exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Is you afraid, Henry?" asked Sue, putting her head down on the dog's +back. "Is you afraid he'll bite you, Henry? He won't. He's as nice a dog +as Splash is, the one we have at home. He won't bite, Henry."</p> + +<p>"No, Miss Sue. I ain't askeered ob dat," said Henry, with another smile. +"But yo' all can't bring no dawgs in heah! It ain't allowed, nohow!"</p> + +<p>"You mean we can't bring a dog in the house?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sah!" Henry exclaimed. "Dat's it. De man what owns dis house done +gib strict orders dat no dogs or cats or parrots can come in, an' I got +t' keep 'em out. Yo' all jest go up an' ast yo' Aunt Lu 'bout it."</p> + +<p>"Shall we?" asked Sue, as she looked down at the dog.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Bunny. "But, of course, Henry ought to know. But we've got +to give this dog something to eat and drink, Sue, 'cause we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> promised we +would. So we'll just leave him down here, and go up and tell Aunt Lu. We +can do that; can't we, Henry?" Bunny asked.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, Bunny. Yo' all kin do dat I'll jest tie de dawg down here in +de hall, an' yo' all kin go ast yo' Aunt Lu."</p> + +<p>The dog did not seem to mind being tied and left alone. Henry fastened +him with a cord, and the dog lay down on the cool marble floor, while +the colored boy took the two children up in the elevator.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny!" said Sue, in a whisper, as they were waiting for their +aunt's maid, or for Wopsie, to open the door of the hall. "Oh, Bunny, I +know what we could do."</p> + +<p>"What?" Bunny wanted to know.</p> + +<p>Sue looked around, and seeing that Henry had gone down in his elevator, +she said:</p> + +<p>"We could have walked our new dog up the stairs. We didn't need to bring +him up in the elevator. Then Henry wouldn't have seen him."</p> + +<p>"Yes, but he'd hear him when he barks. If they won't let us keep our new +dog here we can take him to Central Park, Sue."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What for, Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"To put him in a cage until we go home. Then we can take him with us to +play with Splash."</p> + +<p>"Oh, maybe we could!" cried Sue, clapping her hands.</p> + +<p>By this time Wopsie had opened the door.</p> + +<p>"Well, where yo' chilluns bin?" she asked. "Yo' ma an' yo' aunt Lu am +gettin' worried 'bout yo'."</p> + +<p>"We found a dog!" cried Bunny. "A real dog!"</p> + +<p>"And he's down stairs," said Sue. "Henry won't bring him up on the +elevator, but it isn't 'cause Henry's afraid. They won't let dogs live +in here, he says. Don't they, Aunt Lu?"</p> + +<p>"Don't they what, Sue?" asked Miss Baker, coming into the room just +then.</p> + +<p>"Dogs," answered Bunny. "We found a nice dog, Aunt Lu, and we want to +keep him, but Henry won't let us," and he told all that had happened.</p> + +<p>"No, I am sorry," said Aunt Lu. "They don't allow any dogs, cats or +parrots in this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> building. You see they think persons who have no pets +would be bothered by those animals of the neighbors. I'm sorry, Bunny +and Sue, but you can't have the dog. One is enough, anyhow, and you have +Splash."</p> + +<p>"Yes, but he's away off home," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Never mind, dears. I'm sorry, but I haven't any place for a dog, or a +cat or even a parrot."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue thought for a moment Then Bunny asked:</p> + +<p>"Could you keep a monkey, Aunt Lu?"</p> + +<p>"Gracious goodness, no!" cried his aunt. "I should hope not! A monkey +would be worse than a dog, a cat or a parrot. I hope you don't think of +bringing a monkey home, Bunny."</p> + +<p>"Oh, no'm. I was just wondering what we'd do if a hand-organ man gave us +a monkey."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu laughed.</p> + +<p>"Well, I hope a hand-organ man won't give you a monkey," said Bunny's +mother, "but, if one does, you'll have to say that you're much obliged, +but that you can't keep it."</p> + +<p>"Well," broke in Sue, "can we give this dog<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> something to eat and drink, +Aunt Lu? We promised him some."</p> + +<p>"Yes, you can do that. Poor dog, he's probably a stray one, and will be +glad of a meal. Mary will get you some cold meat and a pail of water, +and you can take it down to the poor dog. But don't invite him up here, +Bunny dear."</p> + +<p>The children were sorry they could not keep the dog they had found in +the street, but perhaps it was better not to have him. They gave him the +water and meat, standing with Henry in the lower hall while the animal +ate and drank. Then the elevator boy loosened the string from the dog's +collar.</p> + +<p>"Run along now!" called Henry, and the dog with a bark, and a wag of his +tail, trotted off down the street.</p> + +<p>"He's happy, anyhow," remarked Sue. "Dogs is always happy when they wag +their tails; aren't they Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"I guess so. Well, what will we do next?"</p> + +<p>That question was answered for Bunny and Sue when they went up stairs +again. For Wopsie was waiting to take them to a mov<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>ing picture show not +far away. There Bunny and Sue had a good time the rest of the afternoon.</p> + +<p>It was two or three days after this that, as Bunny and Sue were walking +up and down on the sidewalk in front of Aunt Lu's house, waiting for +Wopsie to come down and go with them to another moving picture show, the +two children saw, walking along, a very ragged man. And, as they watched +him, they saw the poor man stoop over a can of ashes on the street, and +take from it a piece of dried bread, which he began to eat as though +very hungry indeed.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny! Look at that!" cried Sue.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" asked the little boy.</p> + +<p>"That man! He's so hungry he took bread out of the ash can."</p> + +<p>"He must be terrible hungry," said Bunny. "Oh, Sue, I know what we can +do!"</p> + +<p>"What?"</p> + +<p>"We can get him something to eat," said Bunny. "I heard Aunt Lu say she +didn't know what she was going to do with all the meat left over from +dinner. This man would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> like it, I'm sure. We can ask him up to Aunt +Lu's rooms. She'll feed him."</p> + +<p>"All right," cried Sue, always ready to do what Bunny did.</p> + +<p>"We'll ask him. But we won't take him up in the elevator, Sue," Bunny +went on.</p> + +<p>"Why not?"</p> + +<p>"'Cause maybe Henry won't let him come up, same as he wouldn't let the +dog we found. We'll walk up the stairs with the man."</p> + +<p>"It—it's awful far," said Sue, with a sigh, as she thought of the ten +flights. Once she and Bunny, just for fun, had walked up them. It took a +long while.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'll walk up with the ragged man," said Bunny. "You can ride up +in the elevator, Sue, and tell Aunt Lu we're coming, so she can have +something to eat all ready."</p> + +<p>"All right," agreed Sue. "That will be nice!"</p> + +<p>Then she and Bunny started toward the ragged man who was poking about in +the ash can with a long stick, as though looking for more pieces of +bread.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3>BUNNY GOES FISHING</h3> + + +<p>"Are you hungry, Mr. Man?" asked Bunny, standing, with his sister Sue, +behind the ragged man. "Are you hungry?"</p> + +<p>The man turned quickly, and seeing it was only two little children, he +smiled.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am hungry," he said. "I guess you'd be hungry, too, if you +hadn't had any breakfast, or dinner or supper, except what you picked +out of the ashes."</p> + +<p>"My Aunt Lu will give you something to eat," said Sue. "You're going to +walk up stairs with Bunny, so Henry, the elevator boy, won't see you. +You don't mind walking, do you?"</p> + +<p>"Not if I get something to eat," and the man chewed on a piece of the +dried bread.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Aunt Lu will give you lots!" promised Sue. "She's got plenty of +meat left over<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> from dinner, I heard her say so. But you can't go in the +elevator. Henry wouldn't let us take up a dog we found."</p> + +<p>"Course you're not a dog," Bunny explained quickly, "but they don't let +dogs or cats or parrots, or I guess monkeys, up in this place, so maybe +they wouldn't let you. But I don't know about that. Only I'll walk up +stairs with you, and get you something to eat."</p> + +<p>"And I'll go on ahead and tell Aunt Lu you're coming," said Sue. "Then +Henry won't see you in his elevator. Go on, Bunny."</p> + +<p>"Come along," said the little fellow, holding out his hand to the ragged +man. Even though he was ragged he seemed clean.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I guess I'd better not go up with you, little ones," the man said. +"I'm not dressed nice enough to go in there," and he looked up at the +fine, big apartment house in which lived Aunt Lu. "If there was a back +door I'd go round to that," he said, "but they don't have back doors to +city houses. I'm not used to being a tramp, and begging, either," he +said. "But I've been sick, and I can't get any work, and I don't want to +beg."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Aunt Lu likes to help people," said Bunny, "and so does my mother. You +come on up stairs with me and I'll get you something to eat. Sue, you go +in first, and get Henry to take you up in the elevator. Then Henry won't +see me and this man come in, and he can't stop us."</p> + +<p>"All right," agreed Sue. So, while Bunny stayed outside, with the ragged +man, Sue went into the hall, and rang the elevator bell.</p> + +<p>"Hello!" exclaimed Henry, as he opened the sliding door for Sue. +"Where's Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, he's coming," Sue said.</p> + +<p>"Then I'll wait for him," said Henry.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no! You needn't!" Sue exclaimed. "Maybe he won't be in for a long +time. I want to go up right away, to tell Aunt Lu she's going to have +company."</p> + +<p>"Company!" cried Henry. "If company is comin', I'll wait and take 'em +up."</p> + +<p>"No, please don't!" begged Sue. "Take me up right away, and then you can +come down again." She did not want Henry to wait there in the lower +hall, with his elevator, and see Bunny going up the stairs with the +ragged<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> man. Sue wanted to get Henry safely out of the way.</p> + +<p>"All right. I'll take you up," promised Henry, and, a second later, Sue +was shooting upward in the elevator car.</p> + +<p>"Come on now. We can get in without Henry's seeing us!" called Bunny to +the ragged man. "It's a long walk, but Sue and I did it once."</p> + +<p>"Say, I'm much obliged to you," said the tramp, for that's what he was. +"But maybe I'd better not go in. They might arrest me."</p> + +<p>"No they won't—not while I'm with you," Bunny said. "I'll tell a +policeman you're going up to my Aunt Lu's. She's got lots to eat."</p> + +<p>And so Bunny and the ragged man began the long climb up the stairs, +while Sue rode in the elevator. She, of course, was the first to reach +her aunt's rooms. Wopsie let Sue in.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Aunt Lu!" cried Sue. "The hungry, ragged man's coming. He ate bread +out of the ash can, and he hasn't had any breakfast, dinner or supper. +Bunny's walking up stairs<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> with him, so Henry won't see him, 'cause +Henry, maybe, wouldn't let him ride in the elevator. But he's awful +hungry, so please give him some of that meat!"</p> + +<p>For a moment Aunt Lu stared at Sue, and so did Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>"Bless my stars!" cried Aunt Lu, after a bit. "What does the child +mean?"</p> + +<p>"It's the ragged man," Sue explained. "Bunny's bringing him up the +stairs," and then the little girl told her aunt and mother all about it.</p> + +<p>"But, Sue, dear! You musn't bring strange men in the house," said her +mother.</p> + +<p>"Oh, he was so hungry and ragged!" cried the little girl.</p> + +<p>"She meant all right," remarked Aunt Lu. "I dare say it is some poor +tramp. There are many of them in New York. I'll give him something to +eat. Is Bunny bringing him here?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Aunt Lu. Bunny's walking up the stairs with him, so Henry won't +see him, and put him out, like he did our dog that we found."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span></p> + +<p>Aunt Lu and Mother Brown laughed at this, but Sue did not mind. Soon +there came a ring at Aunt Lu's hall bell. She opened the door herself, +and saw, standing there, Bunny and the ragged man.</p> + +<p>"Here he is!" Bunny cried. "I got him up stairs all right, but he +slipped on one step. I didn't let him fall, though, and Henry didn't see +us. He's hungry, Aunt Lu."</p> + +<p>The ragged man took off his ragged cap.</p> + +<p>"I'm sorry about this, lady," he said to Aunt Lu. "But the little boy +would have it that I come up with him. He said you'd give me a meal, but +I don't like to trouble you—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'm glad to help you," said Aunt Lu. "Wait a minute and I'll hand +you out something to eat."</p> + +<p>"Come on in!" said Bunny, who did not see why the ragged man should be +left standing in the hall.</p> + +<p>"No, little chap, I'll wait here," said the man. A few minutes later he +was drinking a bowl of coffee Mary, the colored cook, brought him, and +he was given a bag of bread and meat, with a piece of cake.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It's mighty good of you, lady," said the ragged man, as he started to +walk down the stairs again.</p> + +<p>"You can thank the children," said Aunt Lu with a smile, as she gave the +man some money. "And you needn't walk down. I'll ring for the elevator +for you."</p> + +<p>"Oh, no'm, I'd rather walk. I'm stronger now I've had that coffee. I'll +walk down. The elevator boy wouldn't want me in his car. I'll walk."</p> + +<p>Down he started, not so hungry now, though as ragged as ever. And, too, +Aunt Lu had given him money enough to last him for a few days, until he +could find work to earn money for himself.</p> + +<p>"But, Bunny and Sue, please don't ask any more ragged men up without +first coming to tell me," said Aunt Lu with a smile. "I like to be kind +to all poor persons, but you see I live in a house with many other +families, and some of them might not like to have tramps come up here. +However, you meant all right, only come and tell me or your mother +first, after this."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I will," promised Bunny. "But he was awful hungry; wasn't he?"</p> + +<p>"I guess he was, and I'm glad we could help him. But now Wopsie is ready +to take you to the moving pictures. Run along."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue had another good time at the pictures. They saw the play +of Cinderella, and liked it very much. After they came out they went to +a drug store, and had ice-cream.</p> + +<p>One day Aunt Lu said to Bunny and Sue:</p> + +<p>"How would you like to go to the aquarium?"</p> + +<p>"What's that?" asked Bunny. "Is it like a moving picture show?"</p> + +<p>"Well, it is moving, and it is a show," answered Aunt Lu, with a smile. +"But it is not exactly pictures. It is a big building down at the end of +New York City, in a place called Battery Park, and in the building are +tanks and pools, where live fish are swimming around. There are also +seals, alligators and turtles. Would you like to go to see that?"</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue thought they would, very much, and a little later, with +their mother<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> and Aunt Lu, they were in the aquarium. All around the +building, which was in the shape of a circle, were glass tanks, in which +big and little fish could be seen swimming about. In white tile-lined +pools, in the middle of the floor, were larger fish, alligators, turtles +and other things. Bunny was delighted.</p> + +<p>"Oh, if I could only catch some of these big fish," he said to Sue.</p> + +<p>"But you can't!"</p> + +<p>"Maybe I can," he said to her in a whisper. "I brought some pins with +me, and some string. I'm going to try and catch a fish. Come on over +here."</p> + +<p>From his pocket Bunny took a string and a pin. His mother and his aunt +were looking down in the pool where some seals were swimming about. +Bunny, holding Sue's hand, led her over to the other side of the +aquarium where there was a pool containing some large fish, and some big +turtles.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to fish here," said Bunny Brown.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h3>LOST IN NEW YORK</h3> + + +<p>Bunny's sister Sue did not think her brother was doing anything wrong. +She had so often seen him do many things that other boys did not do that +she thought whatever Bunny did was all right.</p> + +<p>"How you going to catch fish?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"I'll show you," Bunny answered. "But don't call mother or Aunt Lu. They +want to stay looking at the seals. I've seen enough of them."</p> + +<p>But I think, though, that the real reason Bunny did not want Sue to call +his mother, or his aunt, was because he was afraid they might stop him +from trying to catch a fish.</p> + +<p>And that was what Bunny Brown was going to try to do.</p> + +<p>While Sue watched, Bunny bent a pin up in the shape of a hook. He and +his sister<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> had often fished with such hooks down in the brook near +their house. Bunny tied the bent pin to the end of a long string, and +then he walked over toward the white, tile-lined pool.</p> + +<p>Just at this time there was no one near this pool, for most of the +visitors in the aquarium were watching the seals, as Mrs. Brown and Aunt +Lu were doing. The seals, of whom there were three or four, seemed to be +having a game of tag. They swam about very swiftly, and leaped half out +of the water, splashing it all about, and even on the persons standing +about the pool. But the men, women and children only laughed, and +crowded up closer to look at the playing seals.</p> + +<p>"I want to see them," said Sue, pointing to where the crowd stood, +laughing.</p> + +<p>"Wait until I catch a fish," pleaded Bunny. "I'll soon have a fish, or a +turtle or an alligator, Sue."</p> + +<p>"I don't want any alligators," said the little girl. "They bite, and so +does a turtle."</p> + +<p>"All right. I won't catch them," promised Bunny. "I'll just catch a +fish. Then we'll go to look at the seals."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p> + +<p>"All right," agreed Sue. She went with her little brother over to the +other pool. They were the only ones there, because everyone else was so +anxious to look at the seals.</p> + +<p>"Now watch me catch a fish," Bunny said. To the bent pin hook, on the +end of the string, he tied a piece of rag. He had brought all these +things with him, hoping he might get a chance to fish in the aquarium.</p> + +<p>"What's that rag?" Sue wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"That's my bait," Bunny answered. "You can't dig any worms in the city, +'cause there's all sidewalk. So I use this rag for bait."</p> + +<p>"I don't like worms, anyhow," said Sue. "They is so—so squiggily. Rags +is nicer for bait. But will the fish eat rags, Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"I guess so."</p> + +<p>The pool that Bunny had picked out to fish in was in two parts. There +was a wire screen across the middle, and on one side were the alligators +and turtles—some large and some small, while on the other side of the +wire were fish. It was these fish—or one of them at least—that Bunny +Brown was going to try to catch.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span></p> + +<p>Into the water he cast his bent pin hook, with the fluttering rag for +bait. No one saw him, everyone else being at the seal-pool. Sue watched +her brother eagerly. She wanted him to hurry, and catch a fish, so they +could go over where their mother and Aunt Lu were.</p> + +<p>But the fish in the pool did not seem to care for Bunny's rag bait. +Perhaps they knew it was only a piece of cloth, and not a nice worm, or +piece of meat, such as they would like to eat. Anyhow, they just swam +past it in the water.</p> + +<p>"Hurry up, Bunny, and catch a fish!" begged Sue. "I want to go and look +at the seals."</p> + +<p>"All right—I'll have a fish in a minute," Bunny said, hopefully.</p> + +<p>But he did not. The fish would not bite. Bunny wanted to catch +something, and, all at once, he decided that if he could not get a fish +he might get a turtle, or a small alligator. But he did not tell Sue +what he was going to do, for he knew she would not like it. She was +afraid of alligators and turtles.</p> + +<p>Bunny pulled his line from the fish-pool<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> and tossed the pin-hook over +into the turtle-pool. And then something happened, all at once! There +was a rush through the water, as a big turtle saw the fluttering rag, +and the next minute Bunny was nearly pulled over the low railing into +the pool. For the turtle had swallowed his bent pin hook.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Sue! I've got one! I've got one!" cried Bunny, shouting out loud, +he was so excited.</p> + +<p>"Have you got a fish, Bunny?" asked Sue, who had walked a little way +over toward the seal-pool.</p> + +<p>"No, I haven't got a fish, but I've got a turtle. But I won't let him +hurt you, Sue!" he called. "Oh, I've got a big one! Look, Sue!"</p> + +<p>Bunny was holding tightly to the string. He had wound it about his +hands, and as the cord was a strong one, and as the turtle had swallowed +the bent-pin hook on the other end, Bunny was almost being pulled over +into the tank full of water, where the alligators and other turtles were +now swimming about, very much excited, because the turtle which Bunny +had caught was making such a fuss.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, I've got him! I've got him!" cried Bunny, eagerly.</p> + +<p>"I rather think he has got <i>you</i>!" said a man, rushing up to Bunny just +in time to grab him. The little fellow's feet were being lifted off the +floor and, in another few seconds, he himself was in danger of being +pulled into the pool. For the cord was a strong one, and the turtle was +one of the largest.</p> + +<p>"Let go the string!" called the man who had hold of Bunny. "Let go the +string!"</p> + +<p>Bunny did so, and the turtle swam away with it.</p> + +<p>By this time Mother Brown and Aunt Lu, who had heard Bunny's calls, had +rushed over to him. Others, too, left the seals, to see what was the +excitement at the turtle and alligator pool.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny! What have you done?" cried his mother.</p> + +<p>"I—I was catching a fish," Bunny explained, as the man who had stopped +him from being pulled into the pool, set the little fellow down. "I was +catching a fish and—"</p> + +<p>"But you musn't catch any fish in <i>here</i>!" ex<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>claimed one of the men in +uniform, who was on guard in the aquarium. "You're not allowed to catch +fish in here!"</p> + +<p>"It—it wasn't a fish," said Bunny. "It was a turtle. I tried to get a +fish, but I couldn't. But the turtle bit on the rag bait."</p> + +<p>"Yes, turtles will do that," said the guard. "But you must never again +try to fish in here. These fish are to look at, not to catch."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'm sure he didn't mean to do wrong," said the man who had saved +Bunny from getting wet in the pool.</p> + +<p>"I'll forgive him this time," the guard said, "but he must not do it +again."</p> + +<p>"I won't," Bunny promised.</p> + +<p>The turtle that had taken the pin hook was swimming about with the +string dragging after it. One of the aquarium men, with a net, caught +the turtle, and took the pin and string out of its mouth.</p> + +<p>"Now let's go and look at the seals," said Bunny, when the crowd, +laughing at what the little boy had done, had moved away.</p> + +<p>"But you musn't try to catch any of them," his mother said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I won't," promised Bunny.</p> + +<p>Watching the seals was fun, and Bunny and Sue had a good time there, +until it was time to go out of the aquarium for dinner. The children had +a nice meal, in a restaurant, and Aunt Lu said:</p> + +<p>"I think this afternoon we will take a little ride on the boat to Coney +Island. You children can have an ocean bath there. It is getting on +toward fall, I know, but it is all the nicer down at the beach, and +there won't be such crowds there as in real hot weather."</p> + +<p>"Oh, won't it be fun to paddle in the water again!" cried Sue.</p> + +<p>"That's what it will!" said Bunny Brown.</p> + +<p>The place to take the boat for Coney Island was two or three blocks from +the restaurant where they had eaten lunch. Bunny and Sue walked behind +Mother Brown and Aunt Lu along the street to the boat-dock.</p> + +<p>"This is just like home," said Bunny as he saw the water-front, with +many boats tied up along the docks, just as they were at his father's +pier at home.</p> + +<p>Sue liked it, too. There were many things<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> to see. In one window the +children saw a number of monkeys, and birds with brightly colored +feathers.</p> + +<p>"Oh, let's stop and look at them!" cried Sue. Bunny was willing, so they +stood looking in the window. Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu, thinking the +children were coming right along, walked on. And it was not until they +were ready to cross the street that the mother and aunt missed the +little ones.</p> + +<p>"Why, where can they have gone?" cried Mrs. Brown, looking all around.</p> + +<p>"Oh, they're just walking slowly, behind us," Aunt Lu said. "We'll go +back and find them."</p> + +<p>She and her sister walked back, but they could not see Bunny and Sue.</p> + +<p>"Oh, where are they?" cried Mrs. Brown. "My children are lost! Lost in +New York! Oh dear!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h3>AT THE POLICE STATION</h3> + + +<p>Bunny Brown, and his sister Sue, standing in front of the window where +the monkeys and birds were, in cages, had forgotten all about Mother +Brown and Aunt Lu. All the children thought of was watching the funny +things the monkeys did, for there were three of the long-tailed animals +in one cage, and they seemed to be playing tricks on one another.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny!" said Sue, "this must be where the hand-organ men get their +monkeys."</p> + +<p>"Maybe," Bunny agreed. "But hand-organ monkeys have red caps on, and +wear green coats, and these monkeys haven't anything on."</p> + +<p>"Maybe they make caps and jackets for them from the birds' feathers," +Sue said.</p> + +<p>"Maybe," agreed Bunny. Certainly the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> feathers of the birds were red and +green, just the colors of the caps and jackets the monkeys wore.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if the man would give us a monkey?" Sue said, as she pressed +her little nose flat against the window glass, so she would miss nothing +of what went on in the store.</p> + +<p>"Maybe he would, or we could save up and buy one," Bunny answered.</p> + +<p>"Monkeys don't cost much I guess. 'Cause hand-organ mens isn't very +rich, and they always have one. I'd like a parrot, too," said Sue.</p> + +<p>"Yes, a parrot is better than a doll, for a parrot can talk."</p> + +<p>"A parrot is not better than a doll!" Sue cried.</p> + +<p>"Yes it is," said Bunny. "It's alive, too, and a doll isn't."</p> + +<p>"Well, I can make believe my doll is alive," said Sue. "Anyhow, Bunny +Brown, you can't have a parrot or a monkey, 'cause Henry, the elevator +boy, won't let 'em come inside Aunt Lu's house."</p> + +<p>"That's so," Bunny agreed. "Well, any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>how, we can go in and ask how much +they cost, and we can save up our money and buy one when we go home. We +aren't always going to stay at Aunt Lu's. And our dog, Splash, would +like a monkey and a parrot."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Sue, "he would. All right, we'll go in and ask how much they +is."</p> + +<p>Hand in hand, never thinking about their aunt and their mother, Bunny +and Sue went into the animal store, in the window of which were the +monkeys and the parrots. Once inside, the children saw so many other +things—chickens, ducks, goldfish, rabbits, squirrels, pigeons and +dogs—that they were quite delighted.</p> + +<p>"Why—why!" cried Sue, "it's just like Central Park, Bunny!"</p> + +<p>"Almost!" said the little boy. "Oh, Sue. Look at the squirrel on the +merry-go-'round!"</p> + +<p>In a cage on the counter, behind which stood an old man, was a +bushy-tailed squirrel, and he was going around and around in a sort of +wire wheel. It was like a small merry-go-'round, except that it did not +whirl in just the same way.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What do you want, children?" asked the old man who kept the animal +store.</p> + +<p>"We—we'd like a monkey, if it doesn't cost too much," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"And a parrot, too. Don't forget the parrot, Bunny," whispered Sue. "We +want a parrot that can talk."</p> + +<p>"And how much is a parrot, too?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>The old man smiled at the children. Then he said:</p> + +<p>"Well, parrots and monkeys cost more than you think. A parrot that can +talk well costs about ten dollars!"</p> + +<p>Bunny looked at Sue and Sue looked at Bunny. They had never thought a +parrot cost as much as that. Bunny had thought about twenty-five cents, +and Sue about ten.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Bunny with a sigh, "I guess we can't get a parrot."</p> + +<p>"Does one that can't talk cost as much as that?" Sue wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Well, not quite, but almost, for they soon learn to talk, you know," +answered the nice old man.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span></p> + +<p>"How much are monkeys?" asked Bunny. It was almost as if he had gone +into Mrs. Redden's store at home, and asked how much were lollypops.</p> + +<p>"Well, monkeys cost more than parrots," said the old man.</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear!" sighed Bunny. "I—I guess we can't ever save up enough to +get one."</p> + +<p>"No, I guess not," agreed Sue.</p> + +<p>The old man smiled in such a nice way that Bunny and Sue felt sure he +would be good and kind. He was almost like Uncle Tad.</p> + +<p>"Where did you get all these animals?" asked Bunny, as he and his sister +looked around on the dogs, cats, monkeys, parrots, guinea pigs, pigeons +and goldfish, that were on all sides of the store.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I have had an animal store a long time," said the old man. "I buy +the animals and birds in different places, and sell them to the boys and +girls of New York who want them for pets."</p> + +<p>"We have a pet dog named Splash," said Bunny. "He's bigger than any dogs +you have here."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Yes, I don't keep big dogs," said the old man. "They take up too much +room, and they eat too much. Mostly, folks in New York want small dogs, +because they live in small houses, or apartments."</p> + +<p>"My Aunt Lu can't have a dog or a parrot or a monkey in her house," said +Sue. "Henry, the colored elevator boy, won't let her. Bunny and me, we +found a dog, and Henry made us tie him down in the hall to feed him."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I suppose so," said the old man.</p> + +<p>"And we found a ragged man," went on Bunny, "and I had to lead him up +stairs—ten flights—'cause Henry maybe wouldn't let him ride in the +elevator."</p> + +<p>"That was too bad," said the old animal store-keeper. "But where do you +children live? Is your home near here, and do your folks know you are +trying to buy a monkey and a parrot?"</p> + +<p>Then, for the first time since they had looked in the window of the +animal store, Bunny and Sue thought of Mother Brown and Aunt Lu. They +remembered they had started for the seashore.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, our mother and aunt are with us," said Bunny. "We had our dinner, +and we're going to Coney Island. I guess we'd better go, too, Sue. Maybe +they're waiting for us."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue started out of the animal store, but, just then, one +monkey pulled another monkey's tail, and the second one made such a +chattering noise that the children turned around to see what it was. +Then the monkey whose tail was pulled, reached out his paw, through the +wires of his cage, and caught hold of the tail of a green parrot. +Perhaps he thought the parrot was pulling his tail.</p> + +<p>"Stop it! Stop it!" screamed the parrot. "Polly wants a cracker! Oh, +what a hot day! Have some ice-cream! Stop it! Stop it! Pop goes the +weasel!"</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue laughed, though they felt sorry that the monkey's and +parrot's tails were being pulled. The animal-store man hurried over to +the cages to stop the trouble, and Bunny and Sue stayed to watch.</p> + +<p>So it happened, when Mother Brown and Aunt Lu turned around, to find the +missing children, Bunny and Sue were not in sight,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> being inside the +store. So, of course, their mother and their aunt did not see them.</p> + +<p>"Oh, where could they have gone?" cried Mother Brown.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps they are just behind us," said Aunt Lu. "We'll find them all +right."</p> + +<p>"But suppose they are lost?"</p> + +<p>"They can't be lost very long in New York," Aunt Lu said. "The police +will find them. Come, we'll walk back and look for them."</p> + +<p>But though Mother Brown and Aunt Lu walked right past the store, they +never thought that Bunny and Sue were inside.</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear!" cried Aunt Lu, "I don't see where they can be!"</p> + +<p>"Nor I," said Mrs. Brown. "Oh, if my children are lost!"</p> + +<p>"If they are we'll soon find them," asserted Aunt Lu, looking up and +down the street, but not seeing Bunny or Sue. "Here comes a policeman +now," she went on. "We'll ask him."</p> + +<p>But, though the policeman had seen many children on the street, he was +not sure he had seen Bunny and Sue.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p> + +<p>"However," he said, "the police station is not far from here. You had +better go there and ask if they have any lost children. We pick up some +every day, and maybe yours are there. Go to the police station. You'll +find 'em there."</p> + +<p>And to the police station went Mother Brown and Aunt Lu. They walked in +toward a big, long desk, with a brass rail in front. Behind the desk sat +a man dressed like a soldier, with gold braid on his cap.</p> + +<p>"Have you any lost children?" asked Mother Brown.</p> + +<p>"A few," answered the police officer behind the brass rail. "You can +hear 'em crying."</p> + +<p>Aunt Lu and Mother Brown listened. Surely enough, they heard several +little children crying.</p> + +<p>"They're in the back room," said the officer. "I'll take you in, and you +can pick yours out."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<h3>HOME AGAIN</h3> + + +<p>Mother Brown and Aunt Lu went into the back room of the police station. +Around the room, at a table, sat many policemen, most of them with their +coats off, for it was rather a warm day. These were the policemen who +were waiting for something to happen—such as a fire, or some other +trouble—before they went out to help boys and girls, or men and women.</p> + +<p>But, besides these policemen, there were some little children, three +little boys, and two little girls, all rather ragged, all quite dirty, +and at least one boy and one girl were crying.</p> + +<p>"Oh, where did you get them all?" asked Mother Brown.</p> + +<p>"They are lost children," said the policeman who looked like a soldier, +with the gold braid on his cap. "Our officers find them on the street, +and bring them here."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p> + +<p>"And how do their fathers and mothers find them?" asked Aunt Lu.</p> + +<p>"Oh, they come here looking for them, the same as you two ladies are +doing. The children are never lost very long. You see they're so little +they can't tell where they live, or we'd send them home ourselves. Are +any of these the lost children you are looking for?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no! Not one!" exclaimed Mother Brown. It took only one look to show +her and Aunt Lu that Bunny and Sue were not among the lost children then +in the police station.</p> + +<p>"Well, I wish some of these were yours," returned the officer. +"Especially those two crying ones. They've cried ever since they came +here."</p> + +<p>"Boo-hoo!" cried two of the lost children. They seemed to be afraid, +more than were the others. The others rather liked it. One boy was +playing with a policeman's hat, while a little girl was trying to see if +she was as tall as a policeman's long club.</p> + +<p>"Will they stay here long?" asked Aunt Lu.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, not very long," said the officer.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Their mothers will miss them soon, and come to look for them. So none +of these are yours?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"No, but I wish they were," said Mother Brown. "Oh, what has happened to +Bunny and Sue?" she asked, and there were tears in her eyes.</p> + +<p>"They'll be all right," said the officer in the gold-laced cap. "Maybe +they haven't been found yet. As soon as a policeman on the street sees +that your children are lost he'll bring them here. You can sit down and +wait, if you like. Your little ones may be brought in any minute now."</p> + +<p>But Aunt Lu and Mother Brown thought they would rather be out in the +street, looking for Bunny and Sue, instead of staying in the police +station, and waiting.</p> + +<p>"If you leave the names of your children," said the officer to Mother +Brown, "we'll telephone to you as soon as they are found. That is if +they can tell their names."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny and Sue can do that, and they can also tell where they live," +said Aunt Lu.</p> + +<p>"Oh, then they'll be all right," the officer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> said, with a laugh. "Maybe +they're home by this time. If they told a policeman where they lived he +might even take them home, or send them home in a taxicab. We often do +that," he said, for he could tell by looking at Aunt Lu and Mother Brown +that the two ladies lived in a nice part of New York, maybe a long way +from this police station.</p> + +<p>"Oh, perhaps Bunny and Sue are home now, waiting for us!" said Mother +Brown. "Let's go and see!"</p> + +<p>"And if they're not, and if they are brought here, we'll telephone to +you," the officer said, as he put the names of Bunny and Sue down on a +piece of paper, and also Aunt Lu's telephone number.</p> + +<p>So Mrs. Brown and her sister left the police station, and, after another +look in the street where they last had seen Bunny and Sue, hoping they +might see them (but they did not), off they started for Aunt Lu's house.</p> + +<p>"Maybe they are there now," said Mother Brown.</p> + +<p>But of course Bunny Brown and his sister Sue were not. We know where +they were,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> though their mother and aunt did not. The children were +still in the animal store, laughing at the funny things the monkeys were +doing.</p> + +<p>After a while, though, one monkey stopped pulling the other monkey's +tail, and the other monkey stopped trying to pull the green feathers out +of the parrot's tail, and it was quiet in the animal store, except for +the cooing of the pigeons and the barking of the dogs.</p> + +<p>"So you don't think you want to buy a monkey or a parrot to-day, +children?" asked the animal-man, with a smile.</p> + +<p>"No, thank you. We haven't the money," said Bunny. "But I would like a +monkey."</p> + +<p>"And I'd like a parrot," added Sue. "But Henry, the elevator boy, +wouldn't let us keep 'em, so maybe it's just as well."</p> + +<p>"We can come down here when we want to see any animals," said Bunny to +his sister. "I like it better than Central Park."</p> + +<p>"So do I," said Sue.</p> + +<p>"Yes, come down as often as you like," the old man invited them. "Are +you going?" he asked, as he saw Bunny and Sue open the door.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Yes, we're going to Coney Island with mother and Aunt Lu," Bunny +answered.</p> + +<p>He and Sue stepped out into the street. They had forgotten all about +their mother and their aunt until now, and they thought they would find +them on the sidewalk, waiting. But, of course, we know what Mother Brown +and Aunt Lu had done—gone to the police station, looking for the lost +ones.</p> + +<p>So, when Bunny and Sue looked up and down the street, as they stood in +front of the animal store, they did not see Mrs. Brown or Aunt Lu.</p> + +<p>"I—I wonder where they went?" said Sue.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," answered Bunny. "Maybe they're lost!"</p> + +<p>Sue looked a little frightened at this. The animal-man, seeing the +children did not know what to do, came out to them.</p> + +<p>"Can't you find your mother?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"No," answered Bunny. "She—she's lost!"</p> + +<p>"I guess it's <i>you</i> who are lost," said the animal-man. "But never mind. +Tell me where you live, and I'll have the police take you home."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue, when first they came to New York, had been told by their +Aunt Lu that if they ever got lost not to be worried or frightened, for +a policeman would take them home. So now, when they heard the animal-man +speak about the police, they knew what to expect.</p> + +<p>"Where do you live, children?" asked the gray-haired animal-man. "Tell +me where you live."</p> + +<p>But, strange to say, Bunny and Sue had each forgotten. Some days past +their aunt and mother had made them learn, by heart, the number and the +street where Aunt Lu's house stood. But now, try as they did, neither +Bunny nor Sue could remember it. Watching the monkeys and parrots had +made them forget, I suppose.</p> + +<p>"Don't you know where you live?" asked the animal-man.</p> + +<p>Bunny shook his head. So did Sue.</p> + +<p>"Our elevator boy is named Henry," Bunny said.</p> + +<p>The animal-man laughed.</p> + +<p>"I guess there are a good many elevator<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> boys named Henry, in New York," +he said. "I'll just tell the police that I have two lost children here. +They'll come and get you, and take you home. Maybe your aunt and mother +have already been at the police station looking for you."</p> + +<p>It took only a little while for the kind man to telephone to the same +police station where Aunt Lu and Mother Brown had been. Of course they +were not there then.</p> + +<p>But soon a kind policeman came and took Bunny and Sue to the police +station, leading them by the hand. Bunny and Sue thought it was fun, and +persons in the street smiled at the sight. They knew two lost children +had been found.</p> + +<p>"What are your names, little ones?" asked the policeman behind the big +brass railing, when the two tots were led into the station house.</p> + +<p>"I'm Bunny Brown, and this is my sister Sue," spoke up the little boy. +"We're lost, and so is our mother and our Aunt Lu."</p> + +<p>"Well, you won't be lost long," said the officer with a laugh. "Your +mother and aunt<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> have been here looking for you, but they've gone home. +I'll telephone them you are here, and they'll come and get you."</p> + +<p>And that's just what happened. Bunny and Sue sat in the back room, with +the other lost children, though there were not so many now, for two of +them—the crying ones—had been taken away by their mothers. And, pretty +soon, along came Aunt Lu's big automobile, and in that Bunny and Sue +were ready to be taken safely home.</p> + +<p>Then Aunt Lu rode past the kind animal-man's place, and she and Mother +Brown thanked him for his care of the children.</p> + +<p>"We couldn't have a monkey and a parrot, could we, Mother?" asked Bunny, +as they left the animal store.</p> + +<p>"No, dear. I'm afraid not."</p> + +<p>"I didn't think we could," Bunny went on. "But when we get back home, +where Henry, the elevator boy, can't see 'em, Sue and I is going to have +a monkey and a parrot."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2> + +<h3>BUNNY FLIES A KITE</h3> + + +<p>Mother Brown and Aunt Lu laughed when Bunny said this. Bunny's and Sue's +mother and aunt were glad to have the children safely with them again. +They were soon at Aunt Lu's home.</p> + +<p>"Whatever made you two children go into that animal store?" asked Mrs. +Brown. "Aunt Lu and I thought you were right behind us, going to take +the boat for Coney Island. Now we can't go."</p> + +<p>"We can go some other day," declared Bunny. "You see we just stopped to +look in the animal store window, Mother, and then we thought we'd go in +to see how much a monkey and a parrot cost."</p> + +<p>"But they cost ten dollars," said Sue, "so we didn't get any."</p> + +<p>"I should hope not!" exclaimed Aunt Lu.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span></p> + +<p>The next day Bunny and Sue went to Coney Island with their aunt and +their mother. This time Aunt Lu and Mother Brown kept close hold of the +children's hands, so they were not lost. They very much enjoyed the sail +down the bay, and they had lots of fun at Coney Island.</p> + +<p>Of course Bunny and Sue were not like some children, who have never seen +the grand, old ocean. Bunny and Sue lived near it at home, and had seen +it ever since they were small children. But, to some, their visit to +Coney Island gives the first sight of the sea, and it is a wonderful +sight, with the big waves breaking on the sandy shore.</p> + +<p>But if Bunny and Sue were not so eager to see the ocean, they were glad +to look at the other things on Coney Island. They rode on a +merry-go-'round, slid down a long wooden hill, in a wooden boat, and +splashed into the water; this was "shooting the chutes," of which you +have heard.</p> + +<p>They even rode on a tame elephant, in a little house on the big animal's +back. Then they had popcorn and candy, and some lemon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>ade, that, if it +was not pink, such as they had at their little circus, was just as good. +In fact Bunny Brown and his sister Sue had a very good time at Coney +Island.</p> + +<p>Coming back on the boat was nice, too. There was a band playing music, +and Bunny and Sue, and some other children, danced around. They reached +home after dark, and Bunny and Sue were glad to go to bed.</p> + +<p>But Bunny was not too sleepy to ask:</p> + +<p>"What are we going to do to-morrow, Mother?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, wait until to-morrow comes and see," she answered. "I hope you +don't get lost again, though."</p> + +<p>But Bunny and Sue were not afraid of getting lost in New York, now. They +knew the police would find them, and be kind to them.</p> + +<p>Their mother and Aunt Lu had made them say, over and over again, the +number of the house, and the name of the street where Aunt Lu lived. The +children also had cards with the address on. But the day they went into +the animal store they had left their cards at home.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What shall we do, Bunny?" asked Sue, the day after their trip to Coney +Island. "I want to have some fun."</p> + +<p>"So do I," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>Having fun in the big city of New York was different from playing in the +country, on grandpa's farm, or near the water in Bellemere, as Bunny and +Sue soon found. But they had many good times at Aunt Lu's, though they +were different from those at home. One thing about being in the country, +at grandpa's, or at their own home, was that Bunny and Sue could run out +alone and look for fun. In New York they were only allowed to go on the +street in front of Aunt Lu's house alone. Of course if Aunt Lu, or +Mother Brown, or even Wopsie went with them, the children could go +farther up or down the street.</p> + +<p>"Let's see if we can go out and find Wopsie's aunt to-day," said Bunny +to Sue, after they had eaten breakfast.</p> + +<p>"All right," agreed the little girl. "Where'll we look?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, down in the street," said Bunny. "We'll ask all the colored people +we meet if they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> have lost a little girl. And we could ask at a police +station, too, if we knew where there was one."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Sue, "we might ask at the station where we was tooken, after +we saw the monkeys and parrots in the animal store."</p> + +<p>"But we don't know where that police station is," Bunny said. "I guess +we'd just better ask in the street."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue were quite in earnest about finding little Wopsie's aunt +for her. For they wanted to make the little colored girl happy.</p> + +<p>And, strange as it may seem, Bunny and Sue had asked many colored +persons they met, if they wanted a little lost colored girl. Bunny and +Sue did not think this was at all strange, for they were used to doing, +and saying, just what they pleased, as long as it was not wrong.</p> + +<p>Of course some colored men and women did not know what to make of the +queer questions Bunny and Sue asked, but others replied to them kindly, +and said they were sorry, but that they had not lost any little colored +girl.</p> + +<p>"But we'll find Wopsie's aunt some time,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> said Bunny, and Sue thought +they might. So now, having nothing else to do to "have fun," as they +called it, Bunny and Sue started to go down to the street.</p> + +<p>"Don't go away from in front of the house!" their mother called to them.</p> + +<p>"We won't," Bunny promised.</p> + +<p>Henry, the colored elevator boy, took them down in his car.</p> + +<p>"We're going to find Wopsie's aunt," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Well, I hopes you do," replied Henry. For, all this while, though Aunt +Lu had tried her best, nothing could be found of any "folks" for the +little colored girl. She still lived with Aunt Lu, helping keep the +apartment in order, and looking after Bunny and Sue.</p> + +<p>Down on the sidewalk went Bunny and his sister. For some time they sat +on the shady front steps, watching for a colored man or woman. But it +was quite long before one came along. Then it was a young colored man. +Up to him ran Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Is you looking for Wopsie?" he asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> For the colored man was looking +up at the numbers on the houses.</p> + +<p>"No, sah, little man. I'se lookin' fo' Henry," was the answer. "He's a +elevator boy, an' he done lib around yeah somewheres."</p> + +<p>"Oh, he lives in here!" cried Sue. "Henry's our elevator boy. We'll show +you!"</p> + +<p>She and Bunny ran into the hall, calling:</p> + +<p>"Henry! Henry! Here's your brother looking for you!"</p> + +<p>And so it was Henry's brother. He worked as an elevator boy in another +apartment house, and, as he had a few hours to spare, he had come to see +Henry.</p> + +<p>The two colored boys talked together, riding up and down in the sliding +car, while Bunny and Sue went back to the street.</p> + +<p>"Well, we didn't find anyone looking for Wopsie," said Bunny, "but we +found someone looking for Henry, and that's pretty near the same."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Sue. "Maybe we'll find Wopsie's aunt to-morrow."</p> + +<p>But no more colored persons came along, and, after a while, Bunny and +Sue grew tired<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> of waiting. Looking up in the air Bunny suddenly gave +a cry.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Sue! Look!" he shouted. "There's a boy on the roof of that house +across the street, flying a kite. I'm going to get a kite and fly it +from our roof!"</p> + +<p>"Do you think mother will let you?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to tell her about it!" Bunny exclaimed.</p> + +<p>At first Mrs. Brown would not hear of Bunny's flying a kite from the +roof of the apartment house. But Aunt Lu said:</p> + +<p>"Oh, the boys here often do it. That's the only place they have to fly +kites in New York. There is a good breeze up on our roof, and it's safe. +I don't know anything about a kite though, or how we could get Bunny +one."</p> + +<p>"You can buy 'em in a store," said the little boy. "There's a store just +around the corner, and the kites cost five cents."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brown, hearing her sister say it was safe, and all right, to fly +kites from the roof, said Bunny might get one. So he and Sue, with +Wopsie, went to the little store around the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> corner. There Bunny got a +fine red, white and blue kite, with a tail to it.</p> + +<p>"Now we'll take it up on the roof and fly it," he said to his sister and +the little colored girl, after he had tied the end of a ball of string +to his kite.</p> + +<p>There was a good wind up on the roof, and the railing was so high there +was no danger of the children sliding off. Bunny's kite was soon flying +in the air, and he and Sue took turns holding the string, as they sat on +cushions on the roof. Wopsie stood near, looking on.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 248px;"> +<img src="images/p198.jpg" width="248" height="400" alt=""I NEVER FLIED A KITE LIKE THIS BEFORE," LAUGHED BUNNY—"UP ON A HOUSE ROOF."" title=""I NEVER FLIED A KITE LIKE THIS BEFORE," LAUGHED BUNNY—"UP ON A HOUSE ROOF."" /> +<span class="caption">"I NEVER FLIED A KITE LIKE THIS BEFORE," LAUGHED BUNNY—"UP ON A HOUSE ROOF."</span> +</div> + +<div class='center'><i>Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home.</i> <i>Page 192.</i></div> + + +<p>"I never flied a kite like this before," laughed Bunny—"up on a house +roof."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XX</h2> + +<h3>THE PLAY PARTY</h3> + + +<p>High up in the air flew Bunny Brown's kite. The wind blew very hard on +the high roof of Aunt Lu's house, harder than it blew down in the +street. And, too, on the roof, there were no trees to catch the kite's +tail and pull it. I think a kite doesn't like its tail pulled any more +than a pussy cat, or a puppy dog does. Anyhow, nothing pulled the tail +of Bunny's kite.</p> + +<p>"Doesn't it fly fine!" cried Sue, as Bunny let out more and more of the +ball of cord.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he answered. "I'll let you hold it awhile, Sue, after it gets up +higher."</p> + +<p>"And will you let Wopsie hold it, too?" asked the little girl.</p> + +<p>Sue was very kind hearted, and she always wanted to have the lonely +little colored girl share in the joys and pleasures that Bunny<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> and his +sister so often had.</p> + +<p>"Sure, Wopsie can fly the kite!" Bunny answered. "It's almost up high +enough now. Pretty soon it will be up near the clouds. Then I'll let you +and Wopsie hold it awhile."</p> + +<p>Up and up went the kite, higher and higher. The wind was blowing harder +than ever, sweeping over the roof, and Bunny moved back from the high +rail for fear that, after all, the kite might pull him over. Pretty soon +he had let out all the cord, except what was tied to a clothes pin his +aunt had given him, and Bunny said:</p> + +<p>"Now you can hold the kite, Sue. But keep it tight, so it won't pull +away from you."</p> + +<p>Sue did not come up to take the string, as Bunny thought she would. +Instead, Sue said:</p> + +<p>"I—I guess Wopsie can take my turn, Bunny. I don't want to hold the +kite. Let Wopsie."</p> + +<p>"Why, I thought you wanted to," the little boy said.</p> + +<p>"Well, I—I did, but I don't want to now," and Sue looked at the kite, +high up in the air above the roof.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Come on, Wopsie!" called Bunny to the little colored girl. "You can +hold the kite awhile."</p> + +<p>Wopsie shook her kinky, black, curly head.</p> + +<p>"No, sah, Bunny! I don't want t' hold no kite nohow!" she said.</p> + +<p>"Why not?" Bunny wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Jest 'case as how I don't!" Wopsie explained.</p> + +<p>"Is—is you afraid, same as I am?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"Why, Sue!" cried Bunny. "You're not afraid to hold my kite; are you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes I is, Bunny."</p> + +<p>"What for?"</p> + +<p>"'Cause it's so high up," Sue told him. "The wind blows it so hard, and +we're up on such a high roof, and the kite pulls so hard I'm afraid it +might take me up with it."</p> + +<p>"That's jest what I'se skeered ob, too!" cried Wopsie. "I don't want t' +git carried off up to no cloud, no sah! I wants t' find mah aunt 'fore I +goes up to de sky!"</p> + +<p>Bunny Brown laughed.</p> + +<p>"Why this kite wouldn't pull you up!" he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> said. "It can't pull hard +enough for that. Come on, I'll let both of you hold it together. It +can't pull you both up."</p> + +<p>"Shall we?" asked Sue, looking at Wopsie.</p> + +<p>"Well, I will if yo' will," said the colored girl slowly.</p> + +<p>Slowly and carefully Sue and Wopsie took hold of the kite string. No +sooner did they have it in their hands than there came a sudden puff of +wind, harder than before, and the kite pulled harder than ever.</p> + +<p>"Oh, it's taking us up! It's taking us up!" cried Sue, and she let go +the string.</p> + +<p>"I can't hold it all alone! I can't hold it all alone!" cried Wopsie. "I +don't want to go up to de clouds in de sky!"</p> + +<p>And she, too, let go the cord. As it happened, Bunny did not have hold +of it just then, thinking his sister and Wopsie would hold it, so you +can easily guess what happened.</p> + +<p>The strong wind carried the kite, string and all, away through the air, +the clothes pin, fast to the end of the cord, rattling along over the +roof.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, look!" cried Sue. "Your kite is loose, Bunny!"</p> + +<p>"Cotch it! Cotch it!" shouted Wopsie, now that she saw what had +happened.</p> + +<p>Bunny did not say it was the fault of his sister and the little colored +girl that the kite had gone sailing off by itself, though if the two +girls had held to the string it never would have happened. But Bunny was +too eager and anxious to get back his kite to say anything just then.</p> + +<p>With a bound he sprang after the rolling clothes pin. But it kept just +beyond his reach. He could not get his hand on it. Faster and faster the +kite sailed away. Bunny was now running across the roof after the +clothes pin that was tied on the end of his kite cord.</p> + +<p>Then, all of a sudden, the clothes pin was pulled over the edge of the +roof railing. Bunny could not get it. He stopped short at the edge of +the roof, and looked at his kite sailing far away.</p> + +<p>"It—it's gone!" said Sue, in a low voice.</p> + +<p>"It—it suah has!" whispered Wopsie. "Oh, Bunny. I'se so sorry!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p> + +<p>"So'm I!" added Sue.</p> + +<p>Bunny said nothing. He just looked at his kite, growing smaller and +smaller as it sailed away through the air. It was too bad.</p> + +<p>"Never mind," said Bunny, swallowing the "crying lump" in his throat, as +he called it. "It—it wasn't a very good kite anyhow. I'm going to get a +bigger one."</p> + +<p>"Den we suah will be pulled offen de roof!" said Wopsie, and Bunny and +Sue laughed at the queer way she said it.</p> + +<p>However, nothing could be done now to get the kite. Away it went, +sailing on and on over other roofs. The long string, with the clothes +pin on the end of it, dangled over the courtyard of the apartment house. +Then the wind did not blow quite so hard for a moment, and the kite sank +down.</p> + +<p>"Oh, maybe you can get it!" cried Sue.</p> + +<p>"Let's try!" exclaimed Bunny. "Come on, Wopsie. We'll go down to the +street and run after my kite."</p> + +<p>Down to Aunt Lu's floor went the children. Quickly they told Mother +Brown and Aunt Lu what had happened.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p> + +<p>"We're going to chase after my kite," said Bunny. "That's what we do in +the country when a kite gets loose like mine did."</p> + +<p>"But I'm afraid it won't be so easy to run after a kite in the city as +it is in the country," said Mother Brown. "There are too many houses +here, Bunny. But you may try. Wopsie will go with you, and don't go too +far away."</p> + +<p>Wopsie knew all the streets about Aunt Lu's house, and could not get +lost, so it was safe for Bunny and Sue to go with her. A little later +the three were down on the street, running in the direction they had +last seen the kite. But they could see it no longer. There were too many +houses in the way, and there were no big green fields, as in the +country, across which one could look for ever and ever so far.</p> + +<p>For several blocks, and through a number of streets, Bunny Brown and his +sister Sue, with Wopsie, tried to find the kite. But it was not in +sight. They even asked a kind-looking policeman, but he had not seen it.</p> + +<p>"I guess we'll have to go back without it,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> said Bunny, sighing. "But +I'll buy another to-morrow."</p> + +<p>The children turned to go back to Aunt Lu's house. Bunny and Sue looked +about them. They had never been on this street before. It was not as +nice as the one where their aunt lived. The houses were just as big, but +they were rather shabby looking—like old and ragged dresses. And the +people in the street, and the children, were not well dressed. Of course +that was not their fault, they were poor, and did not have the money. +Perhaps some of them did not even have money enough to get all they +wanted to eat.</p> + +<p>"I—I don't like it here," whispered Sue to Wopsie. "Let's go home."</p> + +<p>"There's more children here than on our street," said Bunny. "Look at +those boys wading in a mud puddle. I wish I could."</p> + +<p>"Don't you dare do it, Bunny Brown!" cried Sue. "You know we can't go +barefoot in the city. Mother said so."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I know," Bunny answered.</p> + +<p>The three children walked on. As they passed a high stoop they saw a +number of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> ragged boys and girls sitting around a box, on which were +some old broken dishes and clam shells. One girl, larger than the +others, was saying:</p> + +<p>"Now you has all got to be nice at my party, else you won't git nothin' +to eat. Sammie Cohen, you sit up straight, and don't you grab any of +that chocolate cake until I says you kin have it. Mary Mullaine, you +keep your fingers out of dat lemonade. The party ain't started yet."</p> + +<p>"I—I don't see any party," said Bunny, looking at the empty clam +shells, and the empty pieces of broken dishes on the soap box.</p> + +<p>"Hush!" exclaimed Sue in a whisper. "Can't you see it's a <i>play</i>-party, +Bunny Brown. Same as we have!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXI</h2> + +<h3>THE REAL PARTY</h3> + + +<p>The poor children on the stoop (I call them poor just so you'll know +they didn't have much money) these poor children were pretending so hard +to have a party, that they never noticed Bunny Brown, and his sister +Sue, with Wopsie, watching them.</p> + +<p>"When are we goin' to eat?" asked a ragged little boy, who sat on the +lowest step.</p> + +<p>"When I says to begin, dat's when you eat," said the big, ragged girl, +who seemed to have gotten up the play-party. "And I don't want nobody to +ask for no second piece of cake, 'cause there ain't enough."</p> + +<p>"Is there any pie?" asked a little boy, whose face was quite dirty. +"'Cause if there's pie, I'd just as lief have that as cake."</p> + +<p>"There ain't no pie," said the big girl. "Now we'll begin. Mikie Snell, +you let that ice-cream alone, I tells you!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I—I was jest seein' if it was meltin'," and Mikie drew back a dirty +hand he had reached over toward a big empty clam shell. That shell was +the make-believe dish of ice-cream, you see.</p> + +<p>"Say, dis suah am a funny party," whispered Wopsie to Sue. "I—I don't +see nuffin to eat!"</p> + +<p>"Hush!" whispered Sue. "You never have anything to eat at a +<i>play</i>-party; do you, Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"Nope. But when we have one we always go in the house afterward, and +mother gives us something."</p> + +<p>"Let's watch them play," whispered Sue.</p> + +<p>And so, not having found Bunny's kite, he and his sister Sue, and +Wopsie, stood by the stoop, and watched the poor, ragged children at +their play-party.</p> + +<p>It was just like the ones Bunny and Sue sometimes had. There was make +believe pie, cake, lemonade and ice-cream. And the children on the +stoop, in the big, busy street of New York, had just as much fun at +their play-party as Bunny and Sue had at theirs,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> in the beautiful +country, or by the seashore.</p> + +<p>"Now we're goin' to have the ice-cream," said the big girl, as she +smoothed down her ragged dress. "And don't none of you eat it too fast, +or it'll give you a face-ache, 'cause it's awful cold."</p> + +<p>Then she made believe to dish out the pretend-ice-cream, and the +children made believe to eat it with imaginary spoons.</p> + +<p>"I couldn't have no more, could I?" asked a little girl.</p> + +<p>"Why Lizzie Bloomenstine! I should say not!" cried the big girl. "The +ice-cream is all gone. Hello, what you lookin' at?" she asked quickly as +she saw Bunny, Sue and Wopsie.</p> + +<p>For a moment Bunny did not answer. The big girl frowned, and the others +at the play-party did not seem pleased.</p> + +<p>"Go on away an' let us alone!" the big girl said. "Can't we have a party +without you swells comin' to stare at us?"</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue really were not staring at the play-party to be impolite.</p> + +<p>"What they want?" asked another of the ragged children.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, jest makin' fun at us, 'cause we ain't got nothin' to play real +party with, I s'pose," grumbled the big girl. "Go on away!" she ordered.</p> + +<p>Then Sue had an idea. I have told you of some of the ideas Bunny Brown +had, but this time it was Sue's turn. She was going to do a queer thing.</p> + +<p>"If you please," she said in her most polite voice to the big ragged +girl, "we only stopped to look at your play-party, to see how you did +it."</p> + +<p>"'Cause we have 'em like that ourselves," added Bunny.</p> + +<p>"And they're lots of fun," went on Sue. "We play just like you do, with +empty plates, and tin dishes and all that. Do you ever have cherry pie +at your play parties?"</p> + +<p>The big girl was not scowling now. She had a kinder look on her face. +After all she had found that the "swells," as she called Bunny and Sue, +were just like herself.</p> + +<p>"No, we never have cherry pie," she said, "it costs too much, even at +make-believe parties. But we has frankfurters and rolls."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, how nice!" Sue said. "We never have them; do we Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"Nope."</p> + +<p>"But we will, next time we have a play-party," Sue went on. "I think +they must be lovely. How do you cook 'em?"</p> + +<p>"Well, we just frys 'em—make believe," said the big girl, who was +smiling now. "But I can cook real, an' when we has any money at home, +an' me ma buys real sausages, I boils 'em an' we eats 'em wit mustard +on."</p> + +<p>Sue thought the big girl talked in rather a queer way, but of course we +cannot all talk alike. It would be a funny world if we did; wouldn't it?</p> + +<p>"It must be nice to cook real sausages," said Sue. "I wish I could do +it. But will all of you children come to my party to-morrow?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Are you goin' to have a party?" inquired the big girl.</p> + +<p>"Yes," nodded Sue. "We're going to have a party at our Aunt Lu's house; +aren't we, Bunny? We are, 'cause I'm going to ask her to have one, as +soon as we get back," Sue<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> whispered to her brother. "So you say 'yes.' +We are going to have a party; aren't we, Bunny?" Sue spoke out loud this +time.</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered the little boy. "We're going to have one."</p> + +<p>"A real party?" the big girl wanted to know.</p> + +<p>Bunny looked at Sue. He was going to let her answer.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it will be a real party," said Sue, "and we'll have all real +things to eat. Will you come?"</p> + +<p>"Will we come?" cried the big girl. "Well, I guess we will!"</p> + +<p>"Even a policeman couldn't keep us away!" said the boy who had wanted to +feel the ice-cream, to see if it was melting.</p> + +<p>"Then you can all come to my Aunt Lu's house to-morrow afternoon," Sue +went on. "I'll tell her you're coming."</p> + +<p>"Where is it?" asked the big girl.</p> + +<p>Sue felt in her pocket and brought out one of Aunt Lu's cards, which +Miss Baker had given the little girl in case she became lost.</p> + +<p>"That's our address," said Sue. "You come<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> there to-morrow afternoon, +and we'll have a real party. I'm pleased to have met you," and with a +polite bow, saying what she had often heard her mother say on parting +from a new friend, Sue turned away.</p> + +<p>"Will you an' your brother be there?" the big, ragged girl wanted to +know.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Bunny. "I'll be there, and so will Wopsie."</p> + +<p>"Is she Wopsie?" asked the big girl, pointing to the colored piccaninny.</p> + +<p>"Dat's who I is!" Wopsie exclaimed. "But dat's only mah make-believe +name. Mah real one am Sallie Jefferson. Dat name was on de card pinned +to me, but de address was tored off."</p> + +<p>"Well, Sallie or Wopsie, it's all de same to me," said the big girl. +"We'll see you at de party!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, please all come," said Sue once more. Then she walked on with +Wopsie and her brother.</p> + +<p>"Say, Miss Sue, is yo' all sartin suah 'bout dis yeah party?" asked +Wopsie, as they turned the corner.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Why, of course we're sure about it, Wopsie."</p> + +<p>"Well, yo' auntie don't know nuffin 'bout it."</p> + +<p>"She will, as soon as we get home, for I'll tell her," said Sue. "It +will be fun; won't it, Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"I—I guess so."</p> + +<p>Bunny did not know quite what to make of what Sue had done. Getting up a +real party in such a hurry was a new idea for him. Still it might be all +right.</p> + +<p>"It's a good thing I lost my kite," said Bunny. "'Cause if I hadn't we +couldn't have seen those children to invite to the party."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Sue, "it was real nice. We'll have lots of fun at the party. +I hope they'll all come."</p> + +<p>"Oh, dey'll <i>come</i> all right!" said Wopsie, shaking her head. "But I +don't jest know what yo' Aunt Lu's gwine t' say."</p> + +<p>"Oh, that will be all right," answered Sue easily.</p> + +<p>When the children reached home, they rode up in the elevator with Henry, +and Sue found her aunt in the library with Mother Brown.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Aunt Lu," began Sue, "have you got lots of cake and jam tarts and jelly +tarts in the house?"</p> + +<p>"Why, I think Mary baked a cake to-day," Sue. "What did you ask that +for?"</p> + +<p>"And can you buy real ice-cream at a store near here, or make it?" Sue +wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Why, yes, child, but what for?" Aunt Lu was puzzled.</p> + +<p>"Then it's all right," Sue went on. "You're going to give a real +play-party to a lot of ragged children here to-morrow afternoon. I +invited them. I gave them your card. And now, please, I want a jam tart, +or a piece of cake, for myself. And then we must tell Henry when the +ragged children come, to let them come up in the elevator. They're +little, just like me, and they never could walk up all the stairs. I +hope your real play-party will be nice, Aunt Lu," and Sue, smoothing out +her dress, sat down in a chair.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2> + +<h3>IN THE PARK</h3> + + +<p>Aunt Lu looked first at Sue, and then at Bunny Brown. Mother Brown did +the same thing. Then they looked at Wopsie. Finally Aunt Lu, in a sort +of faint, and far-away voice asked:</p> + +<p>"What—what does it all mean, Sue?"</p> + +<p>Sue leaned back in her chair.</p> + +<p>"It's just like I told you," she said. "You know Bunny's kite got away, +and we ran after it. We didn't find it, but we saw some poor children +having a play-party, with broken pieces of dishes on a box, same as me +and Bunny plays sometimes. We watched them, and I guess they thought we +was makin' fun of 'em."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Bunny, "that's what they did."</p> + +<p>"But we wasn't makin' fun," said Sue. "We just wanted to watch, and when +they saw us I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> asked them to come here to-morrow to a <i>real</i> party."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Sue, you never did!" cried her mother.</p> + +<p>"Yes'm, I did," returned Sue. "I gave 'em Aunt Lu's card, and they're +coming, and we're going to have <i>real</i> cake and <i>real</i> ice-cream. That +one girl can cook real, or make-believe, sausages, but we don't need to +have <i>them</i>, 'less you want to, Aunt Lu! Only I think it would be nice +to have some jam tarts, and I'd like one now, please."</p> + +<p>Aunt Lu and Mrs. Brown again looked at one another. First they smiled, +and then they laughed.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Aunt Lu, after a bit. "I suppose since Sue has invited them +I'll have to give them a party. But I wish you had let me know first, +Sue, before you asked them."</p> + +<p>"Why, I didn't have time, Aunt Lu. I—I just had to get up the real +party right away, you see."</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, I see."</p> + +<p>So Aunt Lu told Mary, her cook, and her other servants, to get ready for +the party Sue had planned. For it would never do to have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> the big girl, +and the little boys and girls, come all the way to Aunt Lu's house, and +then not give them something to eat, especially after Sue had promised +it to them.</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue could hardly wait for the next day to come, so eager were +they to have the party. They were up early in the morning, and they +wanted to help make the jam and jelly tarts, but Aunt Lu said Mary could +better do that alone. Wopsie helped dust the rooms, though, and she +lifted up to the mantel several pretty vases that had stood on low +tables.</p> + +<p>"Dem chilluns might not mean t' do it," said the little colored girl, +"but dey might, accidental like, knock ober some vases an' smash 'em. +Den Miss Lu would feel bad."</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue spoke to Henry, the elevator boy, about the ragged +children coming to the party.</p> + +<p>"You'll let them ride up with you; won't you, Henry?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"Oh, suah I will!" he said, smiling and showing all his white teeth. +"Dey kin ride in mah elevator as well as not."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span></p> + +<p>And, about two o'clock, which was the hour Sue had told them, the ragged +children came, the big girl marching on ahead with Aunt Lu's card held +in her hand, so she would find the apartment house. But the children +were not so ragged or dirty now. Their faces and hands were quite clean, +and some of them had on better clothes.</p> + +<p>"I made 'em slick up, all I could," said the big girl, who said her name +was Maggie Walsh. "Is the party all ready?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered Sue, who with Bunny, had been waiting down in the hall +for the "company."</p> + +<p>Into the elevator the poor children piled, and soon they were up in Aunt +Lu's nice rooms. The place was so nice, with its satin and plush chairs, +that the children were almost afraid to sit down. But Aunt Lu, and Mrs. +Brown soon made them feel at home, and when the cake, ice-cream, and +other good things, were brought in, why, the children acted just like +any others that Bunny and Sue had played with.</p> + +<p>"Say, it's <i>real</i> ice-cream all right!" whis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>pered one boy to Maggie +Walsh. "It's de real stuff!"</p> + +<p>"Course it is!" exclaimed the big girl. "Didn't she say it was goin' to +be real!" and she nodded at Sue.</p> + +<p>"I t'ought maybe it were jest a joke," said the boy.</p> + +<p>Aunt Lu had not had much time to get ready for Sue's sudden little +party, but it was a nice one for all that. There were plenty of good +things to eat, which, after all, does much to make a party nice. Then, +too, there was a little present for each of the children. And as they +went home with their toys, pleased and happy, there was a smile on every +face.</p> + +<p>They had had more good things to eat than they had ever dreamed of, they +had played games and they had had the best time in their lives, so they +said. Over and over again they thanked Sue and her mother and Aunt Lu, +and Bunny—even Henry, the elevator boy.</p> + +<p>"We'll come a'gin whenever you has a party," whispered a little +red-haired girl, to Sue, as she said good-bye.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span></p> + +<p>"And youse kin come to our make-believe parties whenever you want," said +the big girl.</p> + +<p>"Thanks." Sue waved her hands to the children as they went down the +street. She had given them a happy time.</p> + +<p>For a few days after Sue's party she and Bunny did not do much except +play around Aunt Lu's house, for there came several days of rain. The +weather was getting colder now, for it was fall, and would soon be +winter.</p> + +<p>"But I like winter!" said Bunny. "'Cause we can slide down hill. Are +there any hills around here, Aunt Lu?"</p> + +<p>"Well, not many. Perhaps you might slide in Central Park. We'll see when +snow comes."</p> + +<p>One clear, cool November day Bunny and Sue were taken to Central Park by +Wopsie. They had been promised a ride in a pony cart, and this was the +day they were to have it.</p> + +<p>Not far from where the animals were kept in the park were some ponies +and donkeys. Children could ride on their backs, or sit in a little +cart, and have a pony or donkey pull them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span></p> + +<p>"We'll get in a cart," said Bunny. "I'm going to drive."</p> + +<p>"Do you know how?" asked the man, as he lifted Bunny and Sue in. Wopsie +got in herself.</p> + +<p>"I can drive our dog Splash, when he's hitched up to our express wagon," +said Bunny. "I guess I can drive the pony. He isn't much bigger than +Splash." This was so, as the pony was a little one.</p> + +<p>So Bunny took hold of the lines, but the man who owned the pony carts +sent a boy to walk along beside the little horse that was pulling Bunny, +Sue and Wopsie.</p> + +<p>"Giddap!" cried Bunny to the pony. "Go faster!" For the pony was only +walking. Just then a dog ran out of the bushes along the park drive, and +barked at the pony's heels. Before the boy, whom the man had sent out to +take charge of the pony, could stop him, the little horse jumped +forward, and the next minute began trotting down the drive very fast, +pulling after him the cart, with Bunny, Sue and Wopsie in it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIII</h2> + +<h3>OLD AUNT SALLIE</h3> + + +<p>"Bunny! Bunny! Isn't this fun?" cried Sue, as she looked across at her +brother in the other seat of the pony cart. "Don't you like it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I do," Bunny answered, as he pulled on the reins. "Do you, +Wopsie?"</p> + +<p>The colored girl looked around without speaking. She looked on the +ground, as though she would like to jump out of the pony cart. But she +did not. The little horse was going faster than ever.</p> + +<p>"Don't you like it, Wopsie?" asked Sue. "It's fun! This pony goes faster +than our dog Splash, and Splash couldn't pull such a nice, big cart as +this; could he, Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"No, I guess not," Bunny answered. He did not turn around to look at Sue +as he spoke.</p> + +<p>For, to tell the truth, Bunny was a little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> bit worried. The dog that +had jumped out of the bushes, to bark at the pony's heels, was still +running along behind the pony cart, barking and snapping. And, though +Bunny and Sue did not mind their dog Splash's barking, when he pulled +them, this dog was a strange one.</p> + +<p>Then, too, the boy, who had started out with the pony cart, was running +along after it crying:</p> + +<p>"Stop! Stop! Wait a minute. Somebody stop that pony!"</p> + +<p>But there was no one ahead of Bunny, Sue and Wopsie on the Park drive +just then, and no one to stop the pony, which was kicking up his heels, +and going faster and faster all the while.</p> + +<p>"He's running hard; isn't he, Bunny?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"Yes, he—he's going fast—very fast!" panted Bunny, in a sort of jerky +way, for the cart rattled over some bumps just then, and if Bunny had +not been careful how he spoke he might have bitten his tongue between +his teeth.</p> + +<p>"Don't—don't you li—like it—Wop<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>—Wopsie?" asked Sue, speaking in the +same jerky way as had her brother.</p> + +<p>Wopsie did not open her mouth. She just held tightly to the edge of the +pony cart, and shook her head from side to side. That meant she did not +like it. Sue and Bunny wondered why.</p> + +<p>True, they were going a bit fast, but then they had often ridden almost +as fast when Splash, their big dog, drew them in the express cart. And +this was much nicer than an express cart, though of course Bunny and Sue +liked Splash better than this pony. But if they had owned the pony they +would have liked him very much, also, I think.</p> + +<p>Now the pony swung around a corner of the drive, and he went so fast, +and turned so quickly, that the cart was nearly upset.</p> + +<p>Sue held tightly to the side of her seat, and called to her brother:</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny! Don't make him go so fast! You'll spill me and Wopsie out!"</p> + +<p>"I didn't make him go fast," Bunny answered. "I—I guess he's in a hurry +to get away from that dog."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Make the dog go 'way," pleaded Sue.</p> + +<p>Bunny looked back at the barking dog, who was still running after the +pony cart.</p> + +<p>"Go on away!" Bunny cried. "Let us alone—go on away and find a bone to +eat!"</p> + +<p>But the dog either did not understand what Bunny said, or he would +rather race after the pony cart than get himself a bone. At any rate he +still kept running along, barking and growling, and the pony kept +running.</p> + +<p>The boy who had started out with the children, first walking along +beside the pony, was now far behind. He was a small boy, with very short +legs, and, as the pony's legs were quite long, of course the boy could +not run fast enough to keep up. So he was now far behind, but he kept +calling:</p> + +<p>"Stop that pony! Oh, please someone stop that pony!"</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue heard the boy calling. So did Wopsie, but the colored girl +said nothing. She just sat there, holding to the side of the seat and +looking at Bunny and Sue.</p> + +<p>"I wonder what that boy's hollering that way for?" asked Sue, as the +pony swung<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> around another corner, almost upsetting the cart again.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," said Bunny. "Maybe he likes to holler. I do sometimes, +when I'm out in the country. And this park is like the country, Sue."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I guess it is," said the little girl. "But what's he saying, +Bunny?"</p> + +<p>They listened. Once more the boy, running along, now quite a long way +behind the pony cart, could be heard crying:</p> + +<p>"Stop him! Stop him! He's running away! Stop him!"</p> + +<p>Bunny and Sue looked at one another. Then they looked at Wopsie. The +colored girl opened her mouth, showing her red tongue and her white +teeth.</p> + +<p>"Oh! Oh!" she screamed. "De pony's runnin' away! Dat's what de boy says. +I'se afeered, I is! Oh, let me out! Let me out!"</p> + +<p>Wopsie, who sat near the back of the cart, where there was a little +door, made of wicker-work, like a basket, started to jump out. But +though Bunny Brown was only a little fellow, he knew that Wopsie might +be hurt if she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> jumped from the cart, which the pony was pulling along +so fast, now.</p> + +<p>"Sit still, Wopsie!" Bunny cried. "Sit still!"</p> + +<p>"But we's bein' runned away wif!" exclaimed Wopsie. "Didn't yo' all done +heah dat boy say so? We's bein' runned away wif! I wants t' git out! I +don't like bein' runned away wif!"</p> + +<p>"It won't hurt you," said Sue. She did not seem at all afraid. "It won't +hurt you, Wopsie," Sue went on. "Me and Bunny has been runned away with +lots of times, with our dog Splash; hasn't we, Bunny?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, we have, Sue. Sit still, Wopsie. I'll stop the pony."</p> + +<p>Bunny began to pull back on the lines, and he called:</p> + +<p>"Whoa! Whoa there! Stop now! Don't run away any more, pony boy!"</p> + +<p>But the pony did not seem to want to stop. Perhaps he thought if he +stopped, now, the barking dog would bite his heels. But the dog had +given up the chase, and was not in sight. Neither was the running boy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span></p> + +<p>The boy had found that his short legs were not long enough to keep up +with the longer legs of the pony. Besides, a pony has four legs, and +everybody knows that four legs can go faster than two. So the boy +stopped running.</p> + +<p>"Can you stop the pony?" asked Sue, after Bunny had pulled on the lines +a number of times, and had cried "Whoa!" very often. "Can you stop him?"</p> + +<p>"I—I guess so," answered the little boy. "But maybe you'd better help +me, Sue. You pull on one line, and I'll pull on the other. That will +stop him."</p> + +<p>Bunny passed one of the pony's reins to his sister and held to the +other. The children were sitting in front of the cart, Bunny on one side +and Sue on the other. Both of them began to pull on the lines, but still +the pony did not stop.</p> + +<p>"Pull harder, Bunny! Pull harder!" cried Sue.</p> + +<p>"I am pulling as hard as I can," he said. "You pull harder, Sue."</p> + +<p>But still the pony did not want to stop. If<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> anything, he was going +faster than ever. Yes, he surely was going faster, for it was down hill +now, and you know, as well as I do, that you can go faster down hill, +than you can on the level, or up hill.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I want to git out! I want to git out!" cried Wopsie. "I don't like +bein' runned away wif! Oh, please good, kind, nice, sweet Mr. Policeman, +stop de pony from runnin' away wif us!"</p> + +<p>"Where's a policeman?" asked Sue, turning half way around to look at +Wopsie. "Where's a policeman?"</p> + +<p>"I—I don't see none!" said the colored girl, "but I wish I did! He'd +stop de pony from runnin' away. Maybe if we all yells fo' a policeman +one'll come."</p> + +<p>"Shall we Bunny?" asked Sue.</p> + +<p>"Shall we what?" Bunny wanted to know. He had been so busy trying to get +a better hold on his rein that he had not noticed what Sue and Wopsie +were talking about.</p> + +<p>"Shall we call a policeman?" asked Sue. "Wopsie says one can stop the +pony from running away. And I don't guess <i>we</i> can stop<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> him, Bunny. +We'd better yell for a policeman. Maybe one is around somewhere, but I +can't see any."</p> + +<p>"All right, we'll call one," Bunny agreed. He, too, was beginning to +think that the pony was never going to stop. "But let's try one more +pull on the lines, Sue. Now, pull hard."</p> + +<p>And then something happened.</p> + +<p>Without waiting for Sue to get ready to pull on her line, Bunny gave a +hard pull on his. And I guess you know what happens if you pull too much +on one horse-line.</p> + +<p>Suddenly the pony felt Bunny pulling on the right hand line, and the +pony turned to that side. And he turned so quickly that the harness +broke and the cart was upset. Over it went on its side, and Bunny Brown +and his sister Sue, as well as Wopsie, were thrown out.</p> + +<p>Right out of the cart they flew, and Bunny turned a somersault, head +over heels, before he landed on a soft pile of grass that had been cut +that day. Sue and Wopsie also landed on piles of grass, so they were not +any more hurt than was Bunny.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span></p> + +<p>The pony, as soon as the cart had turned over, looked back once, and +then he stopped running, and began to nibble the green grass.</p> + +<p>"Well, we aren't being runned away with now," Bunny finally said.</p> + +<p>"No," answered Sue. "We've stopped all right. Wopsie, is you hurted?"</p> + +<p>The colored girl put her hand up to her kinky head. Her hat had fallen +off into her lap. Carefully she felt of her braids. Then she said:</p> + +<p>"I guess I isn't hurted much. But I might 'a' bin! I don't want no mo' +pony cart rides!"</p> + +<p>Before the children and Wopsie could get up they heard a voice calling +to them:</p> + +<p>"Bress der hearts! Po' li'l lambs! Done got frowed out ob de cart, an' +all busted t' pieces mebby. Well, ole Aunt <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Sallie'l'">Sallie'll</ins> take keer ob 'em! +Po' li'l honey lambs!"</p> + +<p>Glancing up, Bunny and Sue saw a motherly-looking colored woman coming +across the grass toward them. She held out her fat arms to the children +and said:</p> + +<p>"Now don't cry, honey lambs! Ole Aunt Sallie will tuk keer ob yo' all!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2> + +<h3>WOPSIE'S FOLKS</h3> + + +<p>The nice old colored woman, who called herself Aunt Sallie, bent first +over Sue, helping the little girl stand up.</p> + +<p>"Is yo' all hurted, honey?" asked Aunt Sallie, brushing the pieces of +grass from Sue's dress.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, I'm not hurt at all, thank you," Sue replied. "It was a soft +place to fall."</p> + +<p>"An' yo', li'l boy; am yo' all hurted?" she asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"No, thank you, I'm all right. I used to be in a circus, so I know how +to turn somersaults, you see."</p> + +<p>"What's dat! A li'l boy like yo' in a circus?"</p> + +<p>Aunt Sallie seemed very much surprised.</p> + +<p>"Oh, it wasn't a <i>real</i> circus," explained Sue.</p> + +<p>"No, it was only a make-believe one," Bun<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>ny said, as he began to brush +the grass off his clothes. "We had one circus in grandpa's barn," he +said, "and another in some tents. Say, Wopsie, is you hurted?" Bunny +asked.</p> + +<p>By this time the colored girl had found out there was nothing the matter +with her. Not even one of her tight, black braids of kinky hair had come +loose. She stood up, smoothed down her dress, and said:</p> + +<p>"No'm, I'se not hurted."</p> + +<p>"Dat's good," said Aunt Sallie. "It's lucky yo' all wasn't muxed up an' +smashed, when dat pony cart upset. Now yo' all jest come ober t' my +place an' I'll let yo' rest. I guess heah comes de boy what belongs t' +de pony."</p> + +<p>The short-legged boy came running across the field. He was very much out +of breath, for he had run a good way.</p> + +<p>"Any—anybody hurt?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"No," said Bunny, "we're all right, and your pony's all right too, I +guess."</p> + +<p>It seemed so, for the pony was eating grass as if he had had nothing to +chew on in a long while. But then perhaps running made him hungry, as it +does some boys and girls.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span></p> + +<p>The boy, with the help of Aunt Sallie, turned the cart right side up, +fixed the harness, and then got in to drive back to the place where the +other ponies and donkeys were kept.</p> + +<p>"Wait a minute!" cried Wopsie. "I done didn't pay yo' all fo' de +chilluns' ride yet."</p> + +<p>"Oh, never mind," said the boy. "I guess the man won't charge you +anything for this ride, because the pony ran away with you. It wasn't a +regular ride. I won't take your money."</p> + +<p>"Oh, then we can save it for ice-cream cones!" cried Sue, for Wopsie had +been given the money to pay for the children's rides in the pony cart.</p> + +<p>"Ice-cream cones!" cried Bunny. "I guess you can't get any up here!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes yo' kin, honey lamb!" exclaimed Aunt Sallie, as she called +herself. "I keeps a li'l candy an' ice-cream stand right ober dere," and +she pointed across the grassy lawn. "I was in my stand when I seed yo' +all bein' runned away wif, so I come ober as soon as I could. I sells +candy an' ice-cream cones, but I won't sell ice-cream much longer, +'cause<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> it'll soon be winter. Den I'll sell hot coffee an' chocolate. +But I got ice-cream now, ef yo' all wants to buy some."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I guess we do," stated Bunny. "Come on, Sue and Wopsie. We'll have +some fun anyhow, even if we did get runned away with."</p> + +<p>"We's mighty lucky!" said Wopsie, as she watched the boy driving back in +the pony cart. The little horse was going slowly now. "I guess we'll +walk back," went on the colored girl. "It isn't so awful far."</p> + +<p>Following Aunt Sallie, who was quite fat, the children and Wopsie walked +across the green, grassy lawn, for it was still green though it was now +late in the fall. Soon the green grass would be covered with snow.</p> + +<p>Just as she had said, Aunt Sallie kept a little fruit, candy and +ice-cream stand in the park. Soon the children and Wopsie were eating +cones.</p> + +<p>"Does yo' chilluns lib 'round yeah?" asked Aunt Sallie, as she stood +back of her little counter, watching Bunny and Sue.</p> + +<p>"We live at Aunt Lu's house—that is we're<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> paying her a visit," said +Bunny. "We live a good way off, and we were on Grandpa Brown's farm all +summer. We're going to stay here in New York over Christmas."</p> + +<p>"Dat's jest fine!" exclaimed Aunt Sallie. "An' I suah hopes dat Santa +Claus'll bring yo' all lots ob presents. Be yo' dere nuss maid?" Aunt +Sallie asked of Wopsie.</p> + +<p>"No, Wopsie's a lost girl," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Lost? What yo' all mean?" asked Aunt Sallie. "She don't look laik she's +lost."</p> + +<p>"But I is," Wopsie said. "I'se losted all mah folks. Miss Baker, dat's +de Aunt Lu dey speaks ob, she tuck me in. She's awful good t' me."</p> + +<p>"We all like Wopsie," explained Sue. "She takes care of us."</p> + +<p>"Wopsie!" exclaimed Aunt Sallie. "Dat suah am a funny name. Who gib yo' +all dat name, chile?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, dat's not mah real name," Wopsie explained. "Miss Lu jest calls me +dat fo' short. Mah right name am Sallie Alexander Jefferson!"</p> + +<p>The old colored woman jumped off the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> chair on which she had been +sitting. She looked closely at Wopsie.</p> + +<p>"Say dat ag'in, chile!" she cried. "Say dat ag'in!"</p> + +<p>"Say what ag'in?" Wopsie asked.</p> + +<p>"Yo' name! Say yo' name ag'in!"</p> + +<p>"Sallie Alexander Jefferson. Dat's mah name."</p> + +<p>To the surprise of Bunny Brown, and his sister Sue, Aunt Sallie threw +her arms around Wopsie. Then the nice old colored woman cried:</p> + +<p>"Bress de deah Lord! I'se done found yo'!"</p> + +<p>She hugged and kissed Wopsie, who did not know what it all meant. She +tried to get away from Aunt Sallie's arms, but the old colored woman +held her tightly.</p> + +<p>"Bress de deah Lord! Bress de deah Lord!" Aunt Sallie cried over and +over again. "I'se done found yo'!"</p> + +<p>Somehow or other Bunny understood.</p> + +<p>"Is you Wopsie's aunt that we've been looking for?" he asked. "She lost +her folks, you know, when she came up from down South. I heard Aunt Lu +say so. Are you her aunt?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I suttinly believe I is, chile! I suttinly believe I is!" cried Aunt +Sally. "Fo' a long time I'se bin 'spectin' de chile ob mah dead sister +t' come t' me. Mah folks down Souf done wrote me dat dey was sendin' +li'l Sallie on, but she neber come, an' I couldn't find her. But bress +de deah Lord, now I has! I suttinly t'inks yo' suah am mah lost honey +lamb! Her name was Sallie Jefferson. Jefferson was de name ob mah sister +what died, an' she say, 'fore she died, dat she'd named her chile after +me. So yo' all mus' be her."</p> + +<p>"Maybe I is! Oh, maybe I is! An' maybe I'se found mah folks at last!" +cried Wopsie, or Sallie, as we must now call her. There were tears of +joy in her eyes, as well as in the eyes of Aunt Sallie.</p> + +<p>"If you ask Aunt Lu maybe she could tell you if Wopsie is the one you're +looking for," said Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Dat's what I'll do, chile! Dat's what I'll do!" cried Aunt Sallie. +"I'll shut up mah stand, an' go see yo' Aunt Lu."</p> + +<p>And, a little later, they were all in Aunt Lu's house.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Well, what has happened now?" asked Aunt Lu, as she saw the strange +colored woman with Wopsie and the children.</p> + +<p>"Oh, we was runned away with in the pony cart," explained Sue, "and we +got spilled out, but we fell on some piles of grass and didn't get hurt +a bit. And Aunt Sallie found us, and we bought ice-cream cones of her +and—"</p> + +<p>"And—and she's Wopsie's aunt, what we've been looking for," interrupted +Bunny, fearing Sue would never tell the best part of the news. "This is +Wopsie's aunt," and he waved his hand toward fat Aunt Sallie. "She's +been looking for a lost girl, and her name is Sallie, and—"</p> + +<p>"Dat's it—Sallie Jefferson," broke in the colored woman. "Mah name is +Sallie Lucindy Johnson, an' I had a sister named Dinah Jefferson down +Souf. So if dis girl's name am Sallie Jefferson den she may be mah +sister's chile, an', if she am—"</p> + +<p>"Why, den I'se found mah folks! Dat's what I has!" cried Wopsie, unable +to keep still any longer. "Oh, I do hope I'se found mah folks!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXV</h2> + +<h3>A HAPPY CHRISTMAS</h3> + + +<p>Aunt Lu and Mother Brown were very much surprised when Bunny Brown and +his sister Sue came in with Aunt Sallie; and when they heard the story +told by the nice, old colored woman, they were more surprised than +before.</p> + +<p>"Do you really think she can be Wopsie's aunt?" asked Mrs. Brown.</p> + +<p>"It may be," answered Aunt Lu. "We can find out."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I do hope I'se got some folks at last!" said Wopsie, over and over +again. "I do hope I's gwine t' hab some folks like other people."</p> + +<p>Aunt Lu asked Aunt Sallie many questions, and it did seem certain that +the old colored woman was aunt to some little colored girl who had been +sent up from down South, but who had become lost.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span></p> + +<p>And if Aunt Sallie had lost a niece, and if Wopsie had lost an aunt, it +might very well be that they belonged to one another.</p> + +<p>"We can find out, if you write to your friends down South," said Aunt Lu +to the old colored woman.</p> + +<p>"An' dat's jest what I'll do," was the answer.</p> + +<p>It took nearly two weeks for the letters to go and come, and all this +while Wopsie was anxiously waiting. So was Aunt Sallie, for Bunny and +Sue learned to call her that. She would come nearly every day to Aunt +Lu's house, to learn if she had received any word about Wopsie.</p> + +<p>And, every day, nearly, Bunny and Sue, with Wopsie, or Sallie, as they +sometimes called her, would go to Central Park. They would walk up to +Aunt Sallie's stand, and talk with her, sometimes buying sticks of +candy.</p> + +<p>For now it was almost too cold for ice-cream. Some days it was so cold +and blowy that Bunny and Sue could not go out. The ponies and donkeys +were no longer kept in the park for children to have rides. It was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> too +cold for the little animals. They would be kept in the warm stables +until summer came again.</p> + +<p>Wopsie, or Sallie, still stayed at Aunt Lu's house, with Bunny and Sue. +For Aunt Lu did not want to let the little colored girl go to live with +Aunt Sallie, until it was sure she belonged to her. Aunt Sallie had made +money at her little candy stand, which she had kept in the park for a +number of years, and she was well able to take care of Sallie and +herself.</p> + +<p>"As soon as I hear from down South, that Aunt Sallie is your aunt, you +shall go to her, Wopsie," Aunt Lu had said.</p> + +<p>"Well, Miss Baker, I suttinly wants t' hab folks, like other chilluns," +said the little colored girl, "but I suah does hate t' go 'way from yo' +who has bin so good t' me."</p> + +<p>"Well, you have been good, and have helped me very much, also," said +Aunt Lu.</p> + +<p>One day there was a flurry of snow flakes in the air. Bunny and Sue +watched them from the windows.</p> + +<p>"Oh, soon we can ride down hill!" cried Sue. "Won't you be glad, +Bunny?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I sure will!" Bunny said. Then, coming close to Sue he whispered: "Say, +maybe if we went up on the roof now, we could have a slide. Let's go. +The roof is flat, and we can't fall off on account of the railing around +it. Come on and have a slide."</p> + +<p>"I will!" said Sue.</p> + +<p>Putting on their warm, outdoor clothes, the children went up on the flat +roof. There was plenty of snow up there, and soon they were having a +fine slide. It was rather funny to be sliding up on the roof, instead of +down on the ground, as they would have done at home, but, as I have told +you, New York is a queer place, anyhow.</p> + +<p>After a while Bunny and Sue grew tired of sliding. It was snowing harder +now, and they were cold in the sharp wind.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue, "I wonder if Santa Claus can get down this +chimney? It's the only one there is for Aunt Lu's house, and it isn't +very big. Do you think Santa Claus can climb down?"</p> + +<p>"We'll look," Bunny said.</p> + +<p>But the chimney was so high that Bunny<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> and Sue could not look down +inside. They were very much worried as to whether St. Nicholas could get +into Aunt Lu's rooms to leave any Christmas presents.</p> + +<p>"Let's go down and ask her how Santa Claus comes," said Sue.</p> + +<p>"All right," agreed Bunny, and down they went.</p> + +<p>But when they reached Aunt Lu's rooms, Bunny and Sue found so much going +on, that, for a while, they forgot all about Santa Claus.</p> + +<p>For Aunt Lu was reading a letter, and Wopsie was dancing up and down in +the middle of the floor, crying out:</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'se got folks! I'se got folks!"</p> + +<p>"Is Aunt Sallie really your aunt?" asked Bunny.</p> + +<p>"Yes'm! She is. She is! I'se got folks at last!" and up and down danced +Wopsie, clapping her hands, the "pigtails" of kinky hair bobbing up and +down on her head.</p> + +<p>And so it proved. The letters from down South had just come, and they +said that Sallie Lucindy Johnson, or "Aunt Sallie," as the children +called her, was really the aunt to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> whom Wopsie, or Sallie Jefferson, +had been sent. The card had been torn off her dress, and so Sallie's +aunt's address was lost. But that meeting in the park, after the pony +runaway, had made everything come out all right.</p> + +<p>The letters which Aunt Lu had written before, and the messages she had +sent, had not gone to the right place. For it was from Virginia, that +Wopsie came, not North or South Carolina, as the little colored girl had +said at first. You see she was so worried, over being lost, that she +forgot. But Aunt Sallie knew it was from a little town in Virginia that +her sister's child was to come, and, writing there, she learned the +truth, and found out that Wopsie was the one she had been so long +expecting. So everything came out all right.</p> + +<p>"Oh, but I suah is glad I'se found yo' at last!" said the nice old +colored woman, as she held her niece in her arms.</p> + +<p>"I suppose you are going to take her away from us?" said Aunt Lu.</p> + +<p>"Yaas'm. I'd like t' hab mah Sallie."</p> + +<p>"Well, now she can go. But I want you both to come back for Christmas."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span></p> + +<p>"We will!" promised Aunt Sallie and little Sallie.</p> + +<p>The word Christmas made Bunny and Sue think of what they were going to +ask their Aunt Lu.</p> + +<p>"Where does Santa Claus come down?"</p> + +<p>"Is that chimney on the roof big enough for him?" asked Sue. "And hasn't +you got an open fireplace, Aunt Lu?"</p> + +<p>"No, we haven't that. But I think Santa Claus will get down the chimney +all right with your presents. If he doesn't come in that way, he'll find +some other way to get in. Don't worry."</p> + +<p>So Bunny Brown and his sister Sue waited patiently for Christmas to +come. Several times, when it was not too cold, or when there was not too +much snow, the children went up on the roof. Once they took up with them +a box, so Bunny could stand on it. He thought perhaps he could look down +the chimney that way.</p> + +<p>But the box was not high enough, and Bunny slipped off and hurt his leg, +so he and Sue gave it up.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 249px;"> +<img src="images/p256.jpg" width="249" height="400" alt="THE CHILDREN SAW MANY WONDERFUL THINGS IN THE STORES." title="THE CHILDREN SAW MANY WONDERFUL THINGS IN THE STORES." /> +<span class="caption">THE CHILDREN SAW MANY WONDERFUL THINGS IN THE STORES.</span> +</div> + +<div class='center'><i>Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home.</i> <i>Page 243.</i></div> + + +<p>Two weeks passed. It would soon be Christmas now. Bunny and Sue were +taken through the New York stores by their mother and aunt, and the +children saw the many wonderful things Santa Claus's workers had made +for boys and girls—dolls, sleds, skates, toy-airships, Teddy bears, +Noah's arks, spinning tops, choo-choo cars, electric trains, dancing +clowns—little make-believe circuses, magic lanterns—so many things +that Bunny and Sue could not remember half of them.</p> + +<p>The children had written their Christmas letters, and put them on the +mantel one night.</p> + +<p>In the morning the letters were gone, so, of course, Santa Claus must +have taken them.</p> + +<p>Then it was the night before Christmas. Oh, how happy Bunny and Sue +felt! They hung up their stockings and went to bed. Their rooms were +next to one another with an open door between.</p> + +<p>"Bunny," whispered Sue, as Mother Brown went out, after turning low the +light; "Bunny, is you asleep?"</p> + +<p>"No, Sue. Are you?"</p> + +<p>"Nope. I don't feel sleepy. But does you<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> think Santa Claus will surely +come down that little chimney, when Aunt Lu hasn't got a fireplace for +him?"</p> + +<p>"I—I guess so, Sue."</p> + +<p>"Come, you children must get quiet and go to sleep!" called Mother +Brown. "It will be Christmas, and Santa Claus will be here all the +quicker, if you go to sleep."</p> + +<p>And at last Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did go to sleep. The sun was +not up when they awoke, but it was Christmas morning.</p> + +<p>"Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" cried Bunny and Sue as they ran to +where they had hung their stockings.</p> + +<p>They found many presents on the chairs, over the backs of which hung +their stockings, which were filled with candy and nuts.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Santa Claus came! Santa Claus came!" cried Sue.</p> + +<p>"Yep! He found the chimney all right!" laughed Bunny.</p> + +<p>And such a Merry Christmas as the children had! There were presents for +Mother Brown, and Aunt Lu, and some for Mary the cook, and Jane, the +housemaid, and later in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> the day, when Sallie and her aunt came, there +were presents for them, also.</p> + +<p>And when dinner time came, and the big turkey, all nice and brown, was +taken from the oven, and put on the table, Mother Brown said:</p> + +<p>"And now for the best present of all!"</p> + +<p>She opened a door, and out stepped Daddy Brown!</p> + +<p>"Merry Christmas, Bunny! Merry Christmas, Sue!" he cried, as he caught +them up in his arms and hugged and kissed them.</p> + +<p>And a very Merry Christmas it was. Mr. Brown had come to spend the +holidays with his family in New York. And such fun as Bunny and Sue had +telling him all their adventures since coming to Aunt Lu's city home. I +couldn't begin to tell you half!</p> + +<p>"I don't believe we'll ever have such a good time anywhere else," said +Sue, as she hugged her new doll in her arms.</p> + +<p>"Oh, maybe we will," cried Bunny, as he ran his toy locomotive around +the room.</p> + +<p>And whether the children did or not you may learn by reading the next +book of this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> series, which will be named: "Bunny Brown and His Sister +Sue at Camp Rest-a-While." In that I will tell you all that happened +when the children went out in the woods, to live in a tent, near a +beautiful lake.</p> + +<p>"And so you two found Wopsie's aunt for her, did you?" asked Mr. Brown +as he sat down, after dinner, with Bunny on one knee and Sue on the +other.</p> + +<p>"Well, I guess it was the runaway pony that did it," said Bunny, with a +laugh. And I, myself, think the pony helped; don't you?</p> + +<p>"Oh, Bunny!" whispered Sue that night, as she went to bed, hugging her +new doll. "Hasn't this been a lovely Christmas?"</p> + +<p>"The best ever," said Bunny, sleepily.</p> + +<p>And so, for a little while we will say Merry Christmas, and good-bye, to +Bunny Brown and his sister Sue.</p> + + +<h2>THE END</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><i><b><span class="u">This Isn't All!</span></b></i></h2> + +<div class='blockquot2'>Would you like to know what became of the good friends you have made in +this book?<br /> + +<br />Would you like to read other stories continuing their adventures and +experiences, or other books quite as entertaining by the same author?<br /> + +<br />On the <i>reverse side</i> of the wrapper which comes with this book, you +will find a wonderful list of stories which you can buy at the same +store where you got this book.</div> + + +<h3><i>Don't throw away the Wrapper</i></h3> + +<div class='blockquot2'><i>Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want some day to have. But +in case you do mislay it, write to the Publishers for a complete +catalog.</i></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES</h2> + +<h3>By LAURA LEE HOPE</h3> + +<div class='center'>Author of the Popular "Bobbsey Twins" Books, Etc.</div> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<div class='center'><b>Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding.</b><br /> + +<b>Every Volume Complete in Itself.</b></div> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<p>These stories are eagerly welcomed by the little folks from about five +to ten years of age. Their eyes fairly dance with delight at the lively +doings of inquisitive little Bunny Brown and his cunning, trustful +sister Sue.</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES"> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP-REST-A-WHILE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR SHETLAND PONY</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE GIVING A SHOW</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CHRISTMAS TREE COVE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE SUNNY SOUTH</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE KEEPING STORE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR TRICK DOG</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT A SUGAR CAMP</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON THE ROLLING OCEAN</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON JACK FROST ISLAND</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<div class='center'><b>GROSSET & DUNLAP, <i>Publishers</i>, NEW YORK</b></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS</h2> + +<div class='center'>For Little Men and Women</div> + +<h3>By LAURA LEE HOPE</h3> + +<div class='center'>Author of "The Bunny Brown Series," Etc.</div> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<div class='center'><b>Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding.</b><br /> + +<b>Every Volume Complete in Itself.</b></div> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<p>These books for boys and girls between the ages of three and ten stands +among children and their parents of this generation where the books of +Louisa May Alcott stood in former days. The haps and mishaps of this +inimitable pair of twins, their many adventures and experiences are a +source of keen delight to imaginative children everywhere.</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS"> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE GREAT WEST</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT CEDAR CAMP</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE COUNTY FAIR</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS CAMPING OUT</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BOBBSEY TWINS AND BABY MAY</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<div class='center'><span class="smcap">Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York</span></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>SIX LITTLE BUNKERS SERIES</h2> + +<h3>By LAURA LEE HOPE</h3> + + +<div class='center'>Author of The Bobbsey Twins Books, The Bunny Brown Series, The Blythe +Girls Books, Etc.</div> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<div class='center'><b>Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding.</b><br /> + +<b>Every Volume Complete in Itself.</b></div> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<p>Delightful stories for little boys and girls which sprung into immediate +popularity. To know the six little Bunkers is to take them at once to +your heart, they are so intensely human, so full of fun and cute +sayings. Each story has a little plot of its own—one that can be easily +followed—and all are written in Miss Hope's most entertaining manner. +Clean, wholesome volumes which ought to be on the bookshelf of every +child in the land.</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="SIX LITTLE BUNKERS SERIES"> +<tr><td align='left'>SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT GRANDMA BELL'S</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT AUNT JO'S</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT COUSIN TOM'S</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT GRANDPA FORD'S</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT UNCLE FRED'S</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT CAPTAIN BEN'S</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT COWBOY JACK'S</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT MAMMY JUNE'S</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT FARMER JOEL'S</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT MILLER NED'S</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT INDIAN JOHN'S</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<div class='center'><span class="smcap">Grosset & Dunlap</span>, <span class="smcap">Publishers</span>, <span class="smcap">New York</span></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE HONEY BUNCH BOOKS</h2> + +<h3>By HELEN LOUISE THORNDYKE</h3> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<div class='center'><b>Individual Colored Wrappers and Text Illustrations Drawn by</b><br /> + +<b>WALTER S. ROGERS</b></div> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<p>Honey Bunch is a dainty, thoughtful little girl, and to know her is to +take her to your heart at once.</p> + +<p>Little girls everywhere will want to discover what interesting +experiences she is having wherever she goes.</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE HONEY BUNCH BOOKS"> +<tr><td align='left'>HONEY BUNCH: JUST A LITTLE GIRL</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST VISIT TO THE CITY</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST DAYS ON THE FARM</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST VISIT TO THE SEASHORE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST LITTLE GARDEN</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST DAYS IN CAMP</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST AUTO TOUR</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST TRIP ON THE OCEAN</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST TRIP WEST</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST SUMMER ON AN ISLAND</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<div class='center'>GROSSET & DUNLAP, <i>Publishers</i>, NEW YORK</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CAROLYN WELLS BOOKS</h2> + +<div class='center'><b>Attractively Bound. Illustrated. Colored Wrappers.</b></div> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<h3>THE MARJORIE BOOKS</h3> + +<p>Marjorie is a happy little girl of twelve, up to mischief, but full of +goodness and sincerity. In her and her friends every girl reader will +see much of her own love of fun, play and adventure.</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE MARJORIE BOOKS"> +<tr><td align='left'>MARJORIE'S VACATION</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>MARJORIE'S BUSY DAYS</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>MARJORIE'S NEW FRIEND</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>MARJORIE IN COMMAND</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>MARJORIE'S MAYTIME</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>MARJORIE AT SEACOTE</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<h3>THE TWO LITTLE WOMEN SERIES</h3> + +<p>Introducing Dorinda Fayre—a pretty blonde, sweet, serious, timid and a +little slow, and Dorothy Rose—a sparkling brunette, quick, elf-like, +high tempered, full of mischief and always getting into scrapes.</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE TWO LITTLE WOMEN SERIES"> +<tr><td align='left'>TWO LITTLE WOMEN</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>TWO LITTLE WOMEN AND TREASURE HOUSE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>TWO LITTLE WOMEN ON A HOLIDAY</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<h3>THE DICK AND DOLLY BOOKS</h3> + +<p>Dick and Dolly are brother and sister, and their games, their pranks, +their joys and sorrows, are told in a manner which makes the stories +"really true" to young readers.</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE DICK AND DOLLY BOOKS"> +<tr><td align='left'>DICK AND DOLLY</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>DICK AND DOLLY'S ADVENTURES</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<div class='center'>GROSSET & DUNLAP, <span class="smcap">Publishers, New York</span></div> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> +<p> </p> + +<div class='tnote'><h3>Transcriber's Notes</h3> +<p class="noindent">Obvious punctuation errors repaired.</p> + +<p class="noindent">The remaining corrections made are indicated by dotted lines under the corrections. +Scroll the mouse over the word and the original text will <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'apprear'">appear</ins>.</p> +</div> + +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 20133-h.txt or 20133-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/1/3/20133">http://www.gutenberg.org/2/0/1/3/20133</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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 at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home + + +Author: Laura Lee Hope + + + +Release Date: December 19, 2006 [eBook #20133] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT +AUNT LU'S CITY HOME*** + + +E-text prepared by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, J. P. W. Fraser, Emmy, and +the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team +(https://www.pgdp.net/) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 20133-h.htm or 20133-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/1/3/20133/20133-h/20133-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/1/3/20133/20133-h.zip) + + + + + +BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME + +by + +LAURA LEE HOPE + +Author of The Bunny Brown Series, The Bobbsey Twins Series, +The Outdoor Girls Series Etc. + +Illustrated by Florence England Nosworthy + + + + + + + +New York +Grosset & Dunlap +Publishers +Made in the United States of America + + + * * * * * + + +BOOKS + +By LAURA LEE HOPE + + +_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated._ + + +THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES + + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP REST-A-WHILE + + +THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES + +For Little Men and Women + + THE BOBBSEY TWINS + THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE + THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME + + +THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES + + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT OCEAN VIEW + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS ON PINE ISLAND + + + GROSSET & DUNLAP + PUBLISHERS NEW YORK + + + * * * * * + + + Copyright, 1916, by + GROSSET & DUNLAP + + + + +_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home._ + + +[Illustration: "THIS IS WHERE AUNT LU LIVES" +_Frontispiece_ (_Page 93._) +_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home._] + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. A MIDNIGHT ALARM 1 + + II. BUNNY AND SUE GO OUT 14 + + III. AUNT LU'S INVITATION 23 + + IV. ON THE GROCERY WAGON 33 + + V. SURPRISING OLD MISS HOLLYHOCK 40 + + VI. OFF FOR NEW YORK 49 + + VII. ON THE TRAIN 58 + + VIII. AUNT LU'S SURPRISE 68 + + IX. THE WRONG HOUSE 80 + + X. IN THE DUMB WAITER 95 + + XI. A LONG RIDE 105 + + XII. BUNNY ORDERS DINNER 116 + + XIII. THE STRAY DOG 129 + + XIV. THE RAGGED MAN 138 + + XV. BUNNY GOES FISHING 148 + + XVI. LOST IN NEW YORK 157 + + XVII. AT THE POLICE STATION 166 + + XVIII. HOME AGAIN 175 + + XIX. BUNNY FLIES A KITE 184 + + XX. THE PLAY PARTY 193 + + XXI. THE REAL PARTY 202 + + XXII. IN THE PARK 211 + + XXIII. OLD AUNT SALLIE 218 + + XXIV. WOPSIE'S FOLKS 228 + + XXV. A HAPPY CHRISTMAS 236 + + + + +BUNNY BROWN +AND HIS SISTER SUE +AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A MIDNIGHT ALARM + + +"Bunny! Bunny Brown! Sue, dear! Aren't you going to get up?" + +Mrs. Brown stood in the hall, calling to her two sleeping children. The +sun was shining brightly out of doors, but the little folks had not yet +gotten out of bed. + +"My! But you are sleeping late this morning!" went on Mrs. Brown. "Come, +Bunny! Sue! It's time for breakfast!" + +There was a patter of bare feet in one room. Then a little voice called. + +"Oh, Bunny! I'm up first. Come on, we'll go and help grandma feed the +chickens!" + +Little Sue Brown tapped on the door of her brother's room. + +"Get up, Bunny!" she cried, laughing. "I'm up first; Let's go and get +the eggs." + +In the room where Bunny Brown slept could be heard a sort of grunting, +stretching, yawning sound. That was the little boy waking up. He heard +what his sister Sue said. + +"Ho! Ho!" he laughed, as he rubbed his sleepy eyes: "Go to get eggs with +grandma! I guess you think we're back on grandpa's farm; don't you Sue?" +and he came to his door to look out into the hall, where his mother +stood smiling at the two children. + +When Bunny said that, Sue looked at him in surprise. She rubbed her hand +across her eyes once or twice, glanced around the hall, back into her +room, and then at her mother. A queer look was on Sue's face. + +"Why--why!" she exclaimed. "Oh, why, Bunny Brown! That's just what I did +think! I thought we were back at grandpa's, and we're not at all--we're +in our home; aren't we?" + +"Of course!" laughed Mrs. Brown. "But you were sleeping so late that I +thought I had better call you. Aren't you ready to get up? The sun came +up long ago, and he's now shining brightly." + +"Did the sun have its breakfast, Mother?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, little man. He drank a lot of dew, off the flowers. That's all he +ever takes. Now you two get dressed, and come down and have your +breakfast, so we can clear away the dishes. Hurry now!" + +Mrs. Brown went down stairs, leaving Bunny and Sue to dress by +themselves, for they were old enough for that now. + +"Oh, Bunny!" exclaimed the little girl, as she went back in her own +room. "I really did think, when I first woke up, that we were back at +Grandpa Brown's, and that we were going out to help grandma feed the +hens." + +"Do you wish we were, Sue?" asked Bunny. + +"Oh, I don't know, Bunny," said Sue slowly. "I did like it at grandma's, +and we had lots of fun playing circus. But I like it at home here, too." + +"So do I," said Bunny, as he started to get dressed. + +The two children, with their father and mother, had come back, only the +day before, from a long visit to Grandpa Brown's, in the country. I'll +tell you about that a little later. So it is no wonder that Sue, +awakening from the first night's sleep in her own house, after the long +stay in the country, should think she was back at grandpa's. + +"Bunny, Bunny!" called Sue, after a bit. + +"What is it?" he asked. + +"Will you button my dress for me?" + +"Is it one of the kind that buttons up the back, Sue?" + +"Yes. If it buttoned in front I could do it myself. Will you help me, +just as you did once before, 'cause I'm hungry for breakfast!" + +"Yep, I'll help you, Sue. Only I hope your dress isn't got a lot of +buttons on, Sue. I always get mixed up when you make me button that +kind, for I have some buttons, or button-holes, left over every time." + +"This dress only has four buttons on it, Bunny, an' they're big ones." + +"That's good!" cried the little fellow, and he had soon buttoned Sue's +dress for her. Then the two children went down to breakfast. + +"What can we do now, Bunny?" asked Sue, as they arose from the table. +"We want to have some fun." + +"Yes," said Bunny. "We do." + +That was about all he and Sue thought of when they did not have to go to +school. They were always looking for some way to have fun. And they +found it, nearly always. + +For Bunny Brown was a bright, daring little chap, always ready to do +something, and very often he got into mischief when looking for fun. Nor +was that the worst of it, for he took Sue with him wherever he went, so +she fell into mischief too. But she didn't mind. She was always as ready +for fun as was Bunny, and the two had many good times together--"The +Brown twins," some persons called them, though they were not, for Bunny +was a year older than Sue, being six, while she was only a little over +five, about "half-past five," as she used to say, while Bunny was +"growing on seven." + +"Yes," said Bunny slowly, as he went out on the shady porch with his +sister Sue, "we want to have some fun." + +"Let's go down to the fish dock," said Sue. "We haven't seen the boats +for a long time. We didn't see any while we were at grandpa's." + +"Course not," agreed Bunny. "They don't have boats on a farm. But we had +a nice ride on the duck pond, on the raft, Sue." + +"Yes, we did, Bunny. But we got all wet and muddy." Sue laughed as she +remembered that, and so did Bunny. + +"All right, we'll go down to the fish dock," agreed the little boy. + +Their father, Mr. Walter Brown, was in the boat business at Bellemere, +on Sandport bay, near the ocean. Mr. Brown owned many boats, and +fishermen hired some, to go away out on the ocean, and catch fish and +lobsters. Other men hired sail boats, row boats or gasoline motor boats +to take rides in on the ocean or bay, and often Bunny and Sue would have +boat trips, too. + +The children always liked to go down to the fish dock, and watch the +boats of the fishermen come in, laden with what the men had caught in +their nets. Mr. Brown had an office on the fish dock. + +"Where are you two children going?" called Mrs. Brown after Bunny and +Sue, as they went out the front gate. + +"Down to Daddy's dock," replied Bunny. + +"Well, be careful you don't fall in the water." + +"We won't," promised Sue. "Wait 'til I get my doll, Bunny!" she called +to her brother. + +She ran back into the house, and came out, in a little while, carrying a +big doll. + +"I didn't take you to grandpa's with me," said Sue, talking to the doll +as though it were a real baby, "but I'll take you down to see the fish +now. You like fish, don't you, dollie?" + +"She wouldn't like 'em if they bit her," said Bunny. + +"I won't let 'em bite her!" retorted Sue. + +At the fish dock Bunny and Sue saw a tall, good-natured, red-haired boy +coming out of their father's office. + +"Oh, Bunker Blue!" cried Bunny. "Are any fish boats coming in?" + +Bunker Blue was Mr. Brown's helper, and was very fond of Bunny and Sue. +He had been to grandpa's farm, in the country, with them. + +"Yes, one of the fish boats is coming in now," said Bunker. "You can +come with me and watch." + +Bunny took hold of one of Bunker's hands, and Sue the other. They always +did this when they went out on the dock, for the water was very deep on +each side, and though the children could swim a little, they did not +want to fall into such deep water; especially with all their clothes on. + +Soon they were at the end of the dock. Coming up to it was a sailing +boat, that had been out to sea for fish. + +"Did you get many?" called Bunker to the captain. + +"Yes, quite a few fish this time. Want to come and look at them? Bring +the children!" + +"Oh, can we go on the boat?" asked Bunny eagerly. + +"I guess so," said Bunker Blue. + +He led the children carefully to the deck of the fish boat. Bunny and +Sue looked down into a hole, through an opening in the deck. The hole +was filled with fish, some of which were still flapping their tails, for +they had only just been taken out of the nets. + +"Oh-o-o-o! What a lot of fish!" exclaimed Sue. She leaned over to see +better, when, all at once, her doll slipped from her arms, and fell +right down among the flapping fish. + +"Oh, dear!" cried Sue. + +"I'll get her for you!" cried Bunny, and he was just going to jump down +in among the fish, too, but Bunker Blue caught him by the arm. + +"You'll spoil all your clothes if you do that, little man!" Bunker said. + +"But I want to get Sue's doll!" + +Bunny himself did not care anything about dolls; he would not play with +them. But he loved his sister Sue, and he knew that she was very fond of +this doll, so he wanted to get it for her. That was why he was ready to +jump down in the hold (as that part of the ship is called) among the +flapping fish. + +"I'll get her for you," said Bunker. With a long pole Bunker fished up +the doll. Her dress was all wet, for there was water on the fish. + +"And oh! dear! She smells just like a fish herself!" cried Sue, +puckering up her nose in a funny way. + +"You can take off her dress and wash it," said Bunny. + +"Yes," said Sue, "I can do that, and I will." She took off the doll's +dress, and then looked for some place to wash it. + +"Here, Sue, give it to me," said the captain of the boat, for he knew +Bunny and Sue very well indeed. "I'll soon have the dress clean for +you." + +"How?" asked Sue, as she gave it to Captain Tuttle. + +He tied the dress to a string, and then dipped it in the water, over the +side of the boat. Up and down in the water he lifted the doll's dress, +pulling it up by the string. + +"That's how we sailors wash our clothes when we're in a hurry," said +Captain Tuttle. "Now when your doll's dress is dry, it will be nice and +clean. You can hang it up here to dry, while you're watching us take +out the fish." + +He fastened Sue's doll's dress on a line over the cabin, and then he and +his men took the fish out of the boat, and packed them in barrels in ice +to send to the city. + +Bunny and Sue looked on, and thought it great fun. Sometimes a big flat +fish, called a flounder, would slip from one of the baskets, in which +the men were putting them, and flop out on deck, almost sliding +overboard. + +Soon all the fish were out, and as Sue's doll's dress was now dry, she +and Bunny started back home. + +"Well, we had fun then, Sue," said the little boy. "Didn't we?" + +"Yes," agreed his sister. "But what can we do this afternoon?" + +"Oh, we'll go down to Charlie Star's house and have some fun. He's got a +new swing and a hammock." + +"Oh, that will be fine!" cried Sue. + +The children had a good time playing with Charlie that afternoon. Others +of their playmates came also, and Bunny and Sue told of the jolly fun +they had had in the country, on grandpa's farm. + +After a while the sun, that had been shining brightly all day, began to +get ready to go to bed, down back of the hills where the clouds would +cover it up until morning. And it was time also, for Bunny Brown and his +sister Sue to go to bed. All the little folk of the town of Bellemere +were getting sleepy. + +How long Bunny and Sue slept they did not know. But Bunny was dreaming +he had turned into a fish, and was going to flop into the water, and Sue +was dreaming that she and her doll were having a fine ride in a motor +boat, when both children were awakened by the loud ringing of a bell. + +"Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" went the bell. + +"Is that our door bell?" asked Sue of Bunny, who slept in the room next +to hers, the door being open between. + +"No, I guess it's a church bell," said Bunny, half awake. + +Then he and his sister heard their father moving around his room. + +"What is it, Walter?" asked Mrs. Brown. + +"It's a midnight alarm," he answered. "I guess it must be a fire, though +it's the church bell that's ringing. I can't see any blaze from my +window, but it must be a fire, or why would they ring the bell?" + +"And why should they ring the church bell, when we have a fire bell?" +asked Mrs. Brown. + +"I don't know," answered her husband. "I guess I'd better get up, and +see what it is. I wouldn't want any of my boats to burn up." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +BUNNY AND SUE GO OUT + + +Bunny Brown, in his little room, and Sue Brown, in hers, jumped out of +bed and ran to the window. They could hear the ringing of the church +bell more plainly now. + +"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" it sounded through the silence of the night. It +was not altogether dark, for there was a big, bright moon in the sky, +and it was almost as light as a cloudy day. + +"Can you see any blaze?" Bunny and Sue heard their mother ask their +father. + +"No, not a thing. But it's funny that that bell should ring. I'm going +out to see what it is." + +"I'll come with you," said Mrs. Brown. "I'll just put on my slippers, a +bath robe and a cloak, and come along. It's so warm that I'll not get +cold." + +"All right, come along," said Mr. Brown. "The children are asleep and +they won't miss us." + +Bunny and Sue felt like laughing when they heard this. They were not +asleep, but their father and mother did not know they were awake. Pretty +soon Mr. and Mrs. Brown slipped quietly down the stairs and out of the +house--out into the moonlit night. The church bell was still ringing +loudly, and Bunny and Sue could hear the neighbors, in the houses on +either side of them, talking about it. Everyone wondered if there was a +fire. + +"Oh, Bunny!" called Sue in a whisper to her brother, when daddy and +Mother Brown had gone out. "Is you awake, Bunny?" + +"Yep, course I am! Are you?" + +"Yep. Say, Bunny, let's go to the fire; will you?" + +"Yep. I'll just put on my bath robe and slippers." + +"An' I will too. We'll go and see what it is. Daddy and mother won't +care, and we can come home with them." + +Now while Bunny Brown and his sister Sue are getting ready to go out to +see what that midnight alarm means, I'll tell you a little bit about the +children, and the other books, of Which this is one in a series. + +The first book was called "Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue." In that I +told you that Bunny and Sue lived with their father and mother in +Bellemere, near the ocean. Mr. Brown was in the boat business, and he +had a big boy, Bunker Blue, as well as other men and boys, to help him. +But of them all Bunny and Sue liked Bunker Blue best. + +In the first book I told how Bunny's and Sue's Aunt Lu came from the +city of New York to pay them a long visit, how she lost her diamond +ring, and how Bunny found it in the queerest way. + +In the second book, named "Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue on Grandpa's +Farm," I told how the Brown family went on a trip in a big automobile. +It was a regular moving van of an automobile, and so large that Bunny +and Sue, Mr. and Mrs. Brown and Bunker Blue could eat and sleep in it. +They camped out during the two or more days they were making the trip +to grandpa's. + +And what fun the children had in the country! You may read in the book +all about how they saw the Gypsies, how they were frightened by tramps +at the picnic, how they were lost, and what jolly times they had with +their dog Splash. + +Then, too, Bunny and Sue helped find grandpa's horses, that the Gypsies +had taken away. So, altogether, the children had lots of fun on Grandpa +Brown's farm. They even went to a circus, and this brings me to the +third book, which is called: "Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue Playing +Circus." + +And that is just what Bunny and Sue did. They got up a little circus of +their own, and held it in grandpa's barn. Then Bunker Blue, and some of +the larger boys in the country, thought they would get up a show. They +did, and held it in two tents. Of course Bunny and Sue helped. + +A week or so after the circus Bunny and Sue, with Bunker, and their +father and mother (and of course their dog Splash) came back from the +country in the big automobile. + +Bunny and Sue had many friends in Bellemere where they lived. Not only +were the boys and girls their friends, but also many grown folk, who +liked the Brown children very much indeed. There was Mrs. Redden, who +kept the village candy store, and there was Uncle Tad, an old soldier, +who lived in the Brown house. Bunny and Sue liked them very much. + +Then there was old Jed Winkler, a sailor, who lived with his sister, +Miss Euphemia Winkler, and a monkey. That's right! Mr. Winkler did have +a pet monkey named Wango, and he was very funny--I mean the monkey was +funny. He was so gentle that Bunny and Sue often petted him, and gave +him candy and peanuts to eat. Wango did many queer tricks. + +But now I think I have told you enough about Bunny and Sue, as well as +about their friends, so we will go back to the children. We left them +getting ready to go out into the moonlight, you know, to see what the +ringing of the church bell meant. + +"Is you all ready, Bunny?" called Sue when she had put on her bath robe +and slippers. + +"Yep," he answered. "Come on." + +Hand in hand the children went softly down the front stairs, as their +father and mother had done. Mr. and Mrs. Brown were now out in the +street, some distance away from the house. Men and women from several +other houses, near that of the Brown family, were also out, wondering +why the bell was ringing. + +"Don't wake up Uncle Tad!" whispered Bunny to Sue, as they walked along +so softly in their bath slippers. + +"No, I won't," answered the little girl. "And don't wake up Mary, +either. She might not let us go." + +"All right," whispered Bunny. + +Mary was the cook, but, as she slept up on the third floor, she would +hardly hear the children going out. + +"Shut the door easy," said Bunny to Sue, as they reached the front +steps. "Don't let it slam." + +They had found the door open, as Mr. and Mrs. Brown had left it, and +the two children, each taking hold of it, closed it softly after them. + +"Now we're all right!" whispered Bunny, as he started down the street on +the run, for the bell was ringing louder than ever now, and Bunny was +anxious to see the fire, if there was one. He hoped it would not be one +of his father's boats, or the office on the fish dock. + +"Wait! Wait for me!" cried Sue to her brother. "I can't run so fast, +Bunny, 'cause I'll stumble over my bath robe. It's awful long!" + +"Hold it up, just as I do," said Bunny, turning around to look at his +sister. "Hold it up, and then your legs won't get tangled in it." + +Sue pulled the robe up to her knees, and held it there. Bunny was doing +the same thing, the bare legs of the children showing white in the +moonlight. Bunny started off again. + +"Wait! Wait!" begged Sue. "Take hold of my hand, Bunny." + +"I can't!" he answered. "I've got to hold up my robe, or I'll tumble and +bump my nose. Besides, how can I take hold of your hand when you +haven't got any hand for me to take hold of?" + +That was true enough. Sue was holding up her long robe with both hands. + +"If I had some string I could tie up our robes," said Bunny, looking on +the moonlit sidewalk, hoping he might find a piece. "But I hasn't got +any," he said, "so I can't hold your hand, Sue. But I'll go slow for +you." + +He waited for his sister to catch up to him, and then the two children +hurried on. They could go faster now, for their long bath robes did not +dangle around their feet. + +Down the street they hurried. The bell kept ringing and ringing, and +Bunny and Sue could see and hear many other persons who had gotten up to +see what it all meant, and who were now hurrying down the street. + +"Oh, Bunny!" said Sue. "Isn't it just nice out to-night?" + +"Yes," he said. The night was warm, and the moon was bright. Bunny Brown +and his sister Sue did not think they were doing wrong to get up at +midnight, and run down the street. + +"I--I wonder where mother is?" said Sue, as they turned a corner. + +"We don't want to see her, or daddy either," answered Bunny, keeping in +the shadows, out of sight. + +"Why not, Bunny Brown? Why don't we want to see our papa or mamma?" + +"'Cause they'll send us back to bed, and we want to see the fire." + +"Oh! do you think there is a fire, Bunny?" + +"I guess so, or the bell wouldn't ring. But we'll soon see it, Sue, for +we're almost at the church." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +AUNT LU'S INVITATION. + + +"Ding-dong!" went the bell in the steeple. "Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" + +By this time many persons were out in the street. Mr. Gorden, the +grocery man, who lived next door to the Brown family, saw Bunny and Sue +hurrying along. + +"Hello!" he cried. "What are you two youngsters doing up at this hour of +night?" + +"We--we came to see the fire," said Bunny. + +"Where is your pa and your ma?" asked Mr. Gordon. + +"They--they went on ahead," explained Bunny. + +"Oh, well, if they're with you I guess it's all right," the grocer said. + +Of course Mr. and Mrs. Brown were not with Bunny and Sue, and their +parents didn't even know that the children were out of their beds. But +Mr. Gordon thought Bunny and Sue were all right, for he hurried on, +calling back over his shoulder: + +"I don't know where the fire is. I think it must be a mistake, for I +don't see any bright light. Good-night, Bunny and Sue!" + +"Good-night!" called the children, and they followed on behind Mr. +Gordon. + +Now they were in front of the church. Before it was quite a crowd of +people, but Bunny and Sue seemed to be the only children. At first no +one noticed them. Everyone was anxious to know what the ringing of the +bell meant. + +"Where's the fire?" + +"Who rang the alarm?" + +"Why didn't they ring the fire bell instead of the church bell?" + +"Who's ringing it, anyhow?" + +"And what a funny way to ring it!" + +Those were some of the remarks and questions Bunny and Sue heard, as +they stood in front of the church. + +"Ding-dong!" the bell kept on ringing. "Ding-dong!" + +"Well, there's one thing sure," said Mr. Gordon. "There isn't any fire +around here, or we'd see it." + +"Then someone must be ringing the bell for fun," suggested another +voice. + +"That's daddy," whispered Sue to Bunny. + +"Hush!" Bunny said, as he moved around behind Mr. Gordon. He did not +want his father or his mother to see him just yet--not until he had +found out what made the bell ring. + +"It must be some boys doing it just for fun," said another man. + +"Then we ought to get the police after them!" exclaimed someone else. +"The idea of waking folks up at this hour of the night by ringing a +church bell! They ought to be spanked!" + +"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" went the bell again. Everyone looked up at the +church steeple, trying to see who was ringing the bell. There was no +fire--everyone was sure of that. + +Then, all at once a man cried: + +"There he is! I see him! There's the boy who has been ringing the +bell!" + +He pointed up to the steeple. Climbing out of one of the little windows, +near the top, could be seen something small and black. + +"It's a boy--a little boy!" cried Mr. Gordon. + +"Oh, he'll fall!" gasped Mrs. Brown. "The poor little fellow! How will +he ever get down?" + +Indeed he was very high above the ground. But he did not seem to be +afraid. + +"Little tyke!" said a man. "He ought to be spanked for this! I wonder +whose boy he is?" + +"I'm glad it isn't Bunny or Sue," said Mrs. Brown. + +"Yes, they are safe at home in bed," answered Mr. Brown. + +And, all this while, mind you, Bunny and Sue were right there in the +crowd, where they could hear their father and their mother talking. But +Mr. and Mrs. Brown did not see their children. + +"Who are you, up there on that steeple?" cried Mr. Gordon. "Whose boy +are you, and what are you doing there?" + +There was no answer. + +"Maybe it's Ben Hall, the circus boy," said Sue, as she thought of the +strange boy who had come to grandpa's farm. + +"No, it couldn't be!" said Bunny. + +"It might," Sue went on. "Ben was a good climber, you know. He climbed +up high in the barn, and jumped down in the hay, and he turned a +somersault." + +"Yes, but the church steeple is higher than the barn," said Bunny. "That +isn't Ben Hall. It's a little boy--not much bigger than I am." + +Just then the moon, which had been behind a cloud, came out. The church +steeple was well lighted up, and then everyone cried: + +"Why, it isn't a boy at all! It's a monkey!" + +"A monkey has been ringing the bell!" + +"Whose monkey is it?" someone asked. + +"Why it's Wango!" exclaimed Bunny Brown, out loud, before he thought. +"It's Mr. Winkler's monkey, Wango!" + +"And I know how to get him down!" chimed in Sue. "Just give him some +peanuts, and he'll come down!" + +The children's voices rang out clearly in the silence of the night. +Everyone heard them, Mr. and Mrs. Brown included. + +"Why--why, that sounded just like Bunny!" said Mrs. Brown. + +"And Sue," added Mr. Brown. "Bunny! Sue!" he called. "Are you here? +Where are you?" + +"We--we're here, Daddy," said Bunny, sliding out from behind Mr. Gordon. + +"And I'm here, too!" said Sue. She let her bath robe fall down over her +bare legs. + +"Well I never!" cried Mrs. Brown. "I thought you were at home in bed!" + +"We--we heard the fire-bell, Mother," said Bunny, "and when you and +daddy got up we got up, too." + +"But we didn't wake Uncle Tad nor Mary," said Sue. + +The crowd laughed, and Mr. and Mrs. Brown had to smile. After all, Bunny +and Sue had done nothing so very wrong. It was a warm, light night, and +they were not far from home. Besides, they were only following their +father and mother, though of course they ought not to have done that. + +"Well, well!" said Mrs. Brown. "I wonder what you children will do +next?" + +"We--we don't know," answered Sue, and everyone laughed again. + +"As long as there isn't any fire, we'd better get back home," said Mr. +Brown. "Come on, Bunny and Sue." + +"Oh, please let us watch 'em get Wango down," begged Bunny. "Did he +really ring the bell?" + +"I guess he must have," said Mr. Gordon. "He's a great monkey for +getting loose, and doing tricks. I don't see how we're going to get him +down if he doesn't want to come, though. It's too high to climb after +him." + +"If we had some peanuts or lollypops, he'd come down," said Sue. "Once +he was up on a high candy shelf in Mrs. Redden's store, and he came down +for peanuts." + +"Well, we might try that," said the store-keeper. "But here comes Mr. +Winkler himself. I guess he'll know how to manage Wango." + +The old sailor, who had also been awakened by the ringing of the bell, +came slowly down the street. He looked toward the church steeple in the +moonlight, and saw his pet. + +"Wango, you bad monkey! Come right down here!" called Mr. Winkler. + +But Wango only chattered, and stayed where he was. + +"How'd he get up there?" someone asked. + +"Oh, he broke loose in the night, when we were all asleep, and jumped +out of an open window," said Mr. Winkler. "I suppose he must have +climbed up inside the church steeple, and, seeing the bell rope hanging +down, he swung himself by it, as he does on a rope I have fixed for him +at home. His swinging back and forth on the rope rang the bell. I don't +really believe he meant to do it." + +And that was how it had happened, and how Wango had made people think +there was a fire in the middle of the night when there wasn't any fire +at all. + +"Wango, come down!" called Mr. Winkler. + +But the monkey would not come. + +"If you had some peanuts he'd come," said Sue. + +"I have some peanuts, little Sue," said Mr. Winkler, and he brought out +a handful from his pocket. "Here, Wango, come and get these!" the old +sailor called. + +Wango chattered, and came scrambling down the church steeple. He liked +peanuts very much, and he was soon perched on his master's shoulder +eating the brown kernels, and throwing the shells to one side. + +"Well, now that everything is over all right, we'll go back home," said +Mr. Brown. "But the next time a bell rings at night, I don't want you +children running out," he said. + +"We won't," promised Bunny. "But it was so nice and warm, and moonlight, +that we couldn't stay in, Daddy." + +Daddy Brown laughed, and a little later he and his wife, with Bunny and +Sue, were safe at home. They went in without awakening Uncle Tad or +Mary, the cook. The other people also went home. Mr. Winkler fastened +Wango so he could not get loose, and soon everyone was asleep again, +even the bell-ringing monkey. + +In the morning Bunny and Sue went over to see the old sailor's pet. +Wango jumped around on his perch and chattered, for he liked the +children. + +"I--I wish we'd had him in the circus at grandpa's farm," said Bunny, as +he watched Wango do some of his tricks. "He would have made them all +laugh." + +"Yes," said Sue. "Wango is funny!" and she petted the little, brown +animal. + +When Bunny and Sue reached home again, munching on some cookies Miss +Winkler had given them, they found their mother reading a letter. + +"Good news, children!" Mother Brown cried. "Good news!" + +"Oh, are we going back to grandpa's farm?" asked Bunny. + +"No, not this time," said his mother. "This is a letter from Aunt Lu. +She invites us to come to her home, in New York City, to spend the fall +and winter. Oh, it's just a lovely invitation from Aunt Lu!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +ON THE GROCERY WAGON + + +Bunny Brown and his sister Sue began to dance up and down, and to clap +their fat little hands. They always did this when they were happy over +some pleasure that was coming. And surely it would be a pleasure to go +to Aunt Lu's city home. + +"Oh, Mother, may we go?" cried Bunny. + +"Please say we can!" begged Sue. + +"Why, yes, I think we'll go," smiled Mother Brown. "I have been thinking +for some time of paying Aunt Lu a visit, and, now that she asks us to +come, I think we will go." + +"And will daddy come?" Bunny wanted to know. + +"Well, he can't come and stay as long as we shall stay, perhaps," said +Mrs. Brown, "but he may be with us part of the time, as he was at +grandpa's farm." + +"Oh, goodie! What fun we'll have! Oh, goodie! What fun we'll have!" sang +Sue, dancing around, holding her doll by one arm. + +"And we'll ride in street cars, and on the steam cars," said Bunny, "and +I'll see a policeman and a fireman and the fire engines, and we'll have +ice cream cones, and--and----" + +But that was all the little boy could think of just then, and he had to +stop to catch his breath, which had nearly got away from him, he had +talked so fast. + +"There won't be any horses to ride, and we can't see the ducks and +chickens," said Sue, "like we did on grandpa's farm in the country, +Bunny." + +"No, but we can see lots of other things in the city. I know we'll have +plenty of fun, Sue." + +"Yes, I guess we will. When are we going, Mother?" + +"Oh, in about a week, I think. I'll write and tell Aunt Lu we are +coming." + +"She hasn't lost her diamond ring again; has she?" asked Bunny. + +"No, I guess not. She doesn't say anything about it, if she has," +answered Mrs. Brown. + +"'Cause if she had lost it we'd help her find it," the little boy went +on. "Oh, Sue! aren't you glad we're going?" + +"Well, I just guess I am!" said Sue, happily, singing again. + +She and Bunny talked of nothing else all that day but of the visit to +Aunt Lu, and at night, when they were going to bed, they made plans of +what they would do when they got to Aunt Lu's city house in New York. + +"You'll come; won't you, Daddy?" asked Bunny, at breakfast the next +morning, just before Mr. Brown was ready to start for his office at the +fish dock. + +"Well, yes, I guess I'll come down when it gets so cold here that the +boats can't go out in the bay on account of the ice," said daddy. + +"Oh, are we going to stay until winter?" asked Sue. + +"Yes, we shall stay over Christmas," her mother answered. + +"Will there be a place to slide down hill?" Bunny wanted to know. + +"I'm afraid not, in New York City," Mr. Brown said. "But you can have +other kinds of fun, Bunny and Sue." + +"Oh, I can hardly wait for the time to come!" cried Sue, as she once +more danced around the room with her doll. + +"Let's go out in the yard and play teeter-tauter," called Bunny. "That +will make the time pass quicker, Sue." + +Bunker Blue had made for the children a seesaw from a long plank put +over a wooden sawhorse. When Bunny sat on one end of the plank, and Sue +on the other, they went first up and then down, "teeter-tauter, bread +and water," as they sang when they played this game. + +Soon the brother and sister were enjoying themselves this way, talking +about what fun they would have at Aunt Lu's city home. Then, all at +once, Bunny jumped off the seesaw, and of course Sue came down with a +bump. + +"Oh, Bunny Brown!" she cried, "what did you do that for? Why didn't you +tell me you were goin' to get off, an' then I could stop myself from +bumpin'." + +"I'm sorry," said Bunny. "I didn't know I was going to jump till I did. +Did you get hurted?" + +"No, but I might have. And you knocked my doll out of my lap, and maybe +she's hurted." + +"Oh, you can't hurt a doll!" cried Bunny. "Pooh!" + +"Yes you can, too!" + +"No you can't!" + +The children might have gone on talking in this unpleasant way for some +time, only, just then, up the side drive came Mr. Gordon's grocery +wagon, with Tommie Tobin, the grocery boy, on the seat driving the +horse. + +"Oh, he's got things in for us!" cried Sue. "Let's go an' see what they +is, Bunny. Maybe it's cookies, and we can have one. I'm hungry, and it +isn't near dinner time yet. It's only cookie time." + +The two children went over to the grocery wagon. Tommie Tobin jumped off +the seat, and hurried into the Brown kitchen with a basket of things. He +did not see Bunny and Sue, as they were on the other side of the wagon. + +Just then Bunny had an idea. He often got ideas in his queer little +head. + +"Oh, Sue!" he cried. "I know what let's do!" + +"What?" she asked. + +"Let's get in the grocery wagon, and have a ride." + +"Oh, Bunny! All right. Let's!" + +Softly the children drew nearer the wagon. Then Sue thought of +something. + +"But, Bunny," she said, "Tommie won't like it. Maybe he won't let us +ride." + +"Oh, he'll like it all right," said Bunny. "He gave Charlie Star a ride +the other day. Anyhow he won't know it." + +"Who won't know it; Charlie?" + +"No, Tommie. We'll get in the wagon, and hide down between the boxes and +baskets, while he's in our house. Then he won't see us. Come on, Sue." + +"But it's so high up I can't get in, Bunny." + +"Oh, I'll help you. Here, we can stand on this box, and then we can easy +get up." + +Bunny found a box beside the drive-way. He put it up near the back of +the grocery wagon, and stood up on it. Then he helped Sue up on the +box. + +"Now you can get in," said the little boy. "I'll boost you, just like +Bunker Blue boosts me when I climb trees. Up you go, Sue!" + +Bunny raised Sue up from the box. She put one leg over the tail-board of +the wagon, and down inside she tumbled in the midst of the grocery +packages, the boxes and baskets. + +"Here I come!" cried Bunny, and in he came tumbling. He fell between Sue +and a bag of potatoes. Just then the children heard a joyous whistle. + +"Now keep still--keep very still," whispered Bunny to Sue. "Here comes +Tommie, and if he doesn't see us he'll drive off and give us a nice +ride. Keep still, Sue." + +Sue kept very still. So did Bunny. Tommie came out whistling. He tossed +the empty basket into the back of the wagon, gave one jump up on to the +seat, and cried: + +"Giddap!" + +Off trotted the horse with the wagon, taking Sue and Bunny for a ride, +along with the groceries. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +SURPRISING OLD MISS HOLLYHOCK + + +"Aren't we having a fine ride, Bunny?" + +"Hush, Sue! Not so loud! He'll hear us!" whispered the little boy, as he +and his sister cuddled down in among the boxes and baskets in the +grocery wagon. + +"But it is a nice ride; isn't it?" + +"It sure is, Sue." Bunny laughed in a sort of whisper, so Tommie, the +boy who drove the wagon, would not hear him. And, so far, Tommie had no +idea that he was taking with him Bunny and Sue. + +The two children had no idea where they were going. They often did +things like that, without thinking, and sometimes they were sorry +afterward. But it had seemed all right to them to get into the wagon for +a ride. + +"We won't go very far," Bunny went on, in another whisper, after a bit. +"We'll just ride around the block, and then get out." + +"Will we have to walk home?" Sue asked. + +"Maybe Tommie will drive us back," said Bunny. "He's real good, you +know." + +"I'd rather ride than walk," said Sue. + +Tommie was whistling away as loudly as he could, and this, with the +rattle of the wagon, and the clatter of the horse's hoofs made so much +noise that the whisperings of Bunny and Sue were not heard by the +grocery boy. + +The horse began to trot slowly, and Bunny and Sue, peering out from the +back of the wagon, saw that it was going to stop in front of Charlie +Star's house. + +"What's he stopping for?" asked Sue. + +"Hush!" whispered Bunny. "I guess Tommie is going to leave some +groceries here." + +Bunny had guessed right. Tommie reached back inside the wagon, and +picked up a basket full of packages and bundles. The delivery boy did +not notice Bunny and Sue, who crouched down low, so as to keep out of +sight. Then, still whistling, Tommie ran up the walk with some groceries +for Mrs. Star. + +In a little while Tommie was back again, and once more the horse trotted +off as the grocery boy called: "Giddap there, Prince!" Prince was the +name of the horse. + +"Oh, this sure is a fine ride!" said Sue, laughing and snuggling close +up to Bunny. "Aren't you glad we came?" + +"Yes," he answered, "but I hope he brings us back. We're a long way from +home now, and it's pretty far to walk." + +"Oh, I guess he'll take us," said Sue. "Anyhow we're having a good time, +and so is my doll," and she looked at her toy which she had brought with +her. The doll was now sound asleep on a pound of butter in one of the +baskets, her feet resting on a bag of sugar, and one arm stretched over +a box of crackers. + +"She won't get hungry, anyhow," said Bunny with a laugh. + +"She doesn't eat when she's asleep," said Sue. + +Tommy stopped his grocery wagon several times, to leave boxes or baskets +of good things at the different houses. Finally he stopped in front of +a house where lived Mr. Thompson, and here Tommie had to wait a long +time, for the Thompson family was very large, and they bought a number +of groceries. Tommie used to write down in his book the different things +Mrs. Thompson wanted to order, so he could bring them to her the next +time he drove past. + +Bunny and Sue, cuddled down amid the boxes and baskets, did not like to +stay still so long. They wanted to be riding. Finally Sue looked out of +the back of the wagon and said: + +"Oh, Bunny, look! There's where old Miss Hollyhock lives," and she +pointed to a shabby little house, where lived a poor old woman. +"Hollyhock" was not her name, but everyone called her that because she +had so many of those old-fashioned flowers around her house. She was so +poor that often she did not have much to eat, except what the neighbors +gave her. Mrs. Brown often sent her things, and once Bunny and Sue sold +lemonade, and gave the money they took in to old Miss Hollyhock. + +"Yes, that's where she lives," said Bunny. + +"And maybe she's hungry now," Sue went on. + +"Maybe she is," agreed Bunny. + +"We could give her something to eat," suggested Sue, after thinking a +few seconds. + +"How?" Bunny wanted to know. + +"Look at all these groceries," Sue said. "There's a lot here that Tommie +don't need. We could get out, and take a basket full in to old Miss +Hollyhock." + +"Oh, so we could!" Bunny cried. "We'll do it. Pick out the biggest +basket you can find, Sue." + +Neither Bunny Brown nor his sister Sue thought it would be wrong to take +a basket of groceries from the wagon for poor old Miss Hollyhock. They +did not stop to think that the groceries belonged to someone else. All +they thought of was that the old lady might be hungry. + +"We'll take this basket," said Sue. "It's got lots in." + +She pointed to one that held some bread, crackers, sugar, butter, +potatoes, tea and coffee. All of these things were done up in paper +bags, except the potatoes. Bunny and Sue could tell which was tea and +which was coffee by the smell. And they had often gone to the store for +their mother, so they knew how the grocer did up other things good to +eat, in different sized bags or packages. + +"Yes, that will be a nice basket to take to old Miss Hollyhock," agreed +Bunny. "But I don't think I can carry it, Sue." + +"I'll help you," said the little girl. "Anyhow, if we can't carry it all +at once, we can take it in a little at a time." + +"We--we ought to have a box to step on when we get out, same as we had +to get in," said Bunny. + +"Here's one," and Sue pointed to an empty box in the wagon. + +Bunny dragged it to the back of the wagon. The end, or "tail," board was +down, so there was no trouble in dropping the box out of the wagon to +the ground. Then Bunny could step on it and get out. He also helped Sue +down. But first they pulled the big basket of groceries close to the end +of the wagon, where they could easily reach it. + +"Now we'll surprise old Miss Hollyhock," said Bunny. + +"Won't it be nice!" exclaimed Sue. + +They did not stop to think that they might also surprise someone else +besides the poor old lady. + +Looking toward the Thompson house, to make sure Tommie was not coming +out, Bunny and Sue filled their little arms with bundles from the +grocery basket, and started toward old Miss Hollyhock's cabin. They did +not want Tommie to see what they were doing. + +"'Cause maybe he wouldn't want to give her so much," said Bunny. "But +mother will pay for it if we ask her to." + +"Yes," said Sue. + +Together they went up to old Miss Hollyhock's door. Then Bunny thought +of something else. + +"We'll give her a surprise," he whispered to Sue. "We'll make believe +it's Valentine's Day or Hallowe'en, and we'll leave the things on her +doorstep, and run away." + +"That will be nice," said Sue. + +The children had to make three trips before they had all the groceries +out of the basket and piled nicely on the front steps of old Miss +Hollyhock's house. But at last it was all done, and Bunny and Sue +climbed back in the wagon again. Bunny even reached down and pulled up +after him the box on which he and his sister had stepped when they got +in and out. + +All this while Tommie had not come out of the Thompson house, so of +course he had not seen what the children had done. Soon after Bunny and +Sue were safely snuggled down amid the boxes and baskets once more, the +grocery boy came down the walk whistling. + +He threw an empty basket into the wagon, put in his pocket the book in +which he had written down the order Mrs. Thompson had given him, and +cried to Prince: + +"Giddap!" + +"And he giddapped as fast as anything!" said Sue, in telling about it +afterward. "He giddapped so fast that I tumbled over backward into a box +of strawberries. But I didn't smash very many, and Bunny and me ate 'em, +so it didn't hurt much." + +On went the grocery horse, and pretty soon Tommie, on the front seat, +cried: + +"Whoa!" + +The horse stopped in front of a big house where lived Mr. Jones. Tommie +looked back into the wagon. He did not see Bunny and Sue, for they had +pulled a horse blanket over themselves to hide, since there were not so +many boxes in the wagon now. + +"Hello!" cried Tommie in surprise. "Where's that big basket of groceries +for Mr. Jones? I surely put it in the wagon, but it's gone! This is +queer!" + +Bunny and Sue, hiding under the blanket, wondered what would happen +next. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +OFF FOR NEW YORK + + +"Where is that basket of groceries for the Jones house? Where can it +have gone to?" asked Tommie aloud, as he looked back into his wagon. +"I'm sure I put it in, and now--" + +He turned around on his seat, and stepped over into the back part of the +wagon, among the boxes and baskets. He looked at them carefully, and +finally he raised the horse blanket that was over Bunny and Sue. + +"Why--why--what--what in the world are you doing here?" cried Tommie, +much surprised to see the two children hiding there. + +"We--we're having a ride," said Sue. + +"Where did you get in?" asked Tommie. + +"When you stopped at our house," answered Bunny. "And we've been riding +with you ever since." + +"Well, well!" cried Tommie. "And to think I never knew it! You riding +in with me all the while, and I never knew a thing about it! Well, +well!" + +He laughed, and Bunny and Sue laughed also. It was quite a joke. + +"You don't mind, do you, Tommie?" asked Bunny. + +"No, not a bit. I'm glad to have you." + +"And will you ride us home?" asked Sue. + +"Sure, yes, of course I will. But I've got to deliver the rest of my +groceries first. And that makes me think--I've lost a big basket full +that ought to go to Mr. Jones. I'm sure I put 'em in the wagon, but +they're not here. You didn't see a big basket of groceries--butter, +bread, tea, coffee and sugar--fall out, while you were riding in there, +did you?" + +Bunny and Sue looked at one another. They were both thinking of the same +thing. + +"That must have been the basket," said Bunny slowly. + +"Yes," agreed Sue. + +"What basket?" asked Tommie. + +"We--we gave a basket of groceries to old Miss Hollyhock," said Bunny +slowly. "It was while you were in Mr. Thompson's house. You know old +Miss Hollyhock is awful poor, and we gave her the things to eat. We left +'em on her doorstep." + +"For a Hallowe'en surprise," added Sue, "or a Valentine, though it isn't +Valentine's Day yet, either." + +"So that's what happened; eh?" cried the grocery boy. "Old Miss +Hollyhock has the things I ought to leave for Mrs. Jones! Well, well!" + +"Is you mad?" asked Sue, for there was a queer look on Tommie's face. + +"No, not exactly mad, Sue," said Tommie slowly. "But I don't know what +to do. I know you meant to be kind, and good to old Miss Hollyhock; but +what am I to do about the things for Mrs. Jones? I can't very well go +and take them away from old Miss Hollyhock, for she must think that some +of her friends sent them, as they often do. It wouldn't do to take them +away." + +"Oh, no! You musn't take 'em away from her, after we gave 'em to her," +said Bunny. "That would make her feel bad." + +"And she feels bad now, 'cause she's poor," put in Sue. "She's hungry, +too, maybe." + +"Yes, I guess she is," agreed Tommie. "Well, I don't know what to do. If +I go back to the store to get more things for Mrs. Jones, Mr. Gordon +will want to know what became of the basketful I had. And old Miss +Hollyhock has them. Well--" + +"Oh, I know what to do!" cried Bunny. + +"What?" asked Tommie. + +"You go to my house," said the little boy, "and my mamma will give you +money to buy more groceries for Mrs. Jones. Then old Miss Hollyhock can +keep the ones Sue and me give her. Won't that be all right?" + +"Yes, I s'pose it will if your mother gives me the money," answered +Tommie slowly. + +"She won't have to give you the money," said Sue. "We don't pay money +for groceries anyhow; we charge 'em." + +"Well, it's the same thing in the end," said Tommie with a laugh. "But I +guess the best I can do is to take you two youngsters home, and see what +happens then. I'll tell Mrs. Jones I'll come later with her groceries." + +Tommie ran up to the Jones house, and was soon back on the wagon again. +He drove quite fast to the home of Bunny and Sue. + +"Oh, you children!" cried Mrs. Brown, when she heard what had +happened--about Bunny and Sue riding in the grocery wagon, and giving +the things away to old Miss Hollyhock that Mrs. Jones ought to have had. + +"You'll pay for the groceries, won't you, Mother?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, dear, I suppose so. I know you meant to be kind, but you should +ask me before you do things like that. However, the food will be a great +help to old Miss Hollyhock. I was going to send her some anyhow. + +"Here, Tommie, you give this note to Mr. Gordon, the grocer, and he will +charge the things to me, and give you more for Mrs. Jones. I'm sorry you +had all this trouble." + +"Oh, I don't mind," and Tommie was smiling now. "I'm glad Bunny and Sue +had a nice ride." + +"And it makes you feel good to give things to people," said Bunny. "I +mean it makes you feel good inside." + +"Like eating bread and jam when you're hungry," observed Sue. + +"No, it isn't like that," said Bunny. "'Cause when your hungry, and you +eat bread and jam it makes you feel good here," and he put his hand on +his stomach. "But when you make somebody, like old Miss Hollyhock, a +present it makes you feel good higher up," and he patted his little +heart. + +"Well, I'm glad to know you like to be kind," said Mother Brown. "But +please don't run away and ride in any more grocery wagons, or something +may happen so that you can't go on a visit to Aunt Lu's city home." + +"Oh dear!" cried Sue. "We wouldn't want that to happen! Are we soon +going, Mother?" + +"Pretty soon, I guess. I have some sewing to do first. I must make you +some new dresses." + +The next week was a busy one in the Brown house. There were clothes to +get ready for Bunny and Sue, and as they had just come back from a long +visit to grandpa's, in the country, some of their things needed much +mending. For Bunny and Sue had played in the hay; they had romped around +in the barn, and had run through the woods, and across the fields. + +But the summer vacation had done them good. They were strong and +healthy, and as brown as little Indian children. They could play all day +long, come in, go to bed, and get up early the next morning, ready for +more good times. + +One day the postman brought another letter from Aunt Lu. + + "I can hardly wait for Bunny and Sue to come to + see me," said Aunt Lu. "I am sure they will have a + fine time in the city, though it is different from + the seashore where they live. Bunny will not find + any lobster claws here. And my home isn't in the + country, either. There are no green fields to play + in, though we can go to Central Park, or the Bronx + Zoo." + +"What's a Zoo?" asked Bunny. "Is it something good to eat?" + +"It's a game, like tag," guessed Sue. + +"No," said Mother Brown. "Aunt Lu means the Bronx Zooelogical Park, and +she calls it Zoo for short. That means a place where animals are kept." + +"Wild animals?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes." + +"Pooh! I know what a Zoo is--it's a circus!" the little boy exclaimed. + +"Well, it's partly like that," said his mother. "But that isn't all of +Aunt Lu's letter." + +"What else does she say?" asked Sue. + +"Why, she writes that she has a surprise for you." + +"Oh, what is it?" asked Bunny. + +"Tell us!" begged Sue. + +"Aunt Lu doesn't say," said Mrs. Brown. "You will have to wait until you +get to Aunt Lu's city home. Then you'll find out what the surprise is." + +Bunny and Sue tried all that day to guess, but of course they could not +tell whether they had guessed right or not. + +"Oh dear!" sighed Sue. "I wish it was time to go now." + +But the days soon passed, and, about a week later, Mrs. Brown, with +Bunny and Sue, were at the railroad station, ready to take the train for +New York. Mr. Brown could not go with them, though he said he would come +later. He went to the station with them, however. + +"Here comes the New York train," said Mr. Brown as a whistle sounded +down the track. "Now you're off for Aunt Lu's!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +ON THE TRAIN + + +Mr. Brown helped his wife and the two children on to the train. Then he +had to hurry down the steps, for the engine was whistling, which meant +that it was about to start off again. + +"And I don't want to be carried away with it, much as I would like to +go," said Daddy Brown. "But I'll come to Aunt Lu's and see you before +the winter is over, though now I must stay here, and look after my boat +business, with Bunker Blue." + +"Bring Bunker with you when you come to New York," called Bunny to his +father, as the train slowly rolled out of the station. + +"All right, perhaps I will," answered Mr. Brown. + +Bunny Brown and his sister Sue crowded up to the open car window to wave +a last good-bye to their father, who stood on the depot platform. At +last they could see him no longer, for the train was soon going fast, +and was quickly far away. Then the children settled down to enjoy their +ride. + +"Mother, can't I sit next to the window?" begged Sue. + +"No, I want to!" cried Bunny. + +The children did not often ride in the steam cars, and of course it was +quite a treat for each of them to sit next to the window, where one +could watch the trees, houses, fences and telegraph poles as they seemed +to fly past. In fact Bunny and Sue both wanted the window so much that +they quite forgot to be polite, as they nearly always were. + +"I'm going to be at the window," said Sue. + +"No, I am!" cried Bunny. + +"Children, children!" said Mrs. Brown softly. "Be nice now. I will let +you each have a seat by yourself, then you may each sit by a window. You +must not be so impatient about it." + +The car was not crowded, and there was plenty of room for Bunny and Sue +to have each a seat by a window. Mrs. Brown also sat in a seat by +herself behind the two little ones. She had seen that the windows were +not raised high enough for Bunny or Sue to put out their heads. + +"And you must not put out your arms, or hands, either," she said. "You +might be hit by a post or something, and be hurt. Keep your hands and +arms in." + +Bunny and Sue were quite happy now, for they loved to travel, as most +children do. Then, too, they were going to Aunt Lu's in the big city of +New York, and would have lots of good times there. They had said +good-bye to all their little friends, and to old Miss Hollyhock. The +poor old lady had found the groceries on her doorstep, and she was very +thankful for them. + +"I hope when you get old, and poor and hungry, you'll have some one to +be kind to you," she had said to Bunny and Sue, when she found out it +was to them she owed the good things. + +"Oh, we're never going to be poor!" Sue had said. "Our papa will buy us +things to eat. He buys us ice cream cones; don't he Bunny?" + +"Yes, dear, and I hope he will always be with you, to look after you," +said old Miss Hollyhock. + +Bunny and Sue had also said good-bye to Uncle Tad, to Mrs. Redden who +kept the candy store, and to Mr. and Miss Winkler. Nor did they forget +to say good-bye to Wango, the monkey. + +"We won't see any monkeys in the city," said Sue. + +"Yes we will," cried Bunny. "We'll see 'em in the Zoo. And they have +hand-organ monkeys in cities, Sue." + +"Maybe they do," she said. + +And now, as the two children were riding in the train, they talked of +what they saw from the windows, and also of the friends they had left +behind in Bellemere, not forgetting Wango, the monkey. + +"Mother, I want a drink of water," said Sue, after a while. "I'm +thirsty." + +"All right, I'll get you a drink," said Mrs. Brown. In her bag she had a +little drinking cup, that closed up, "like an accordion," as Bunny +said. And, taking this out, Mrs. Brown walked to the end of the car +where the water was kept in a tank, to get Sue a drink. + +As the little girl was taking some from the cup the train gave a sudden +swing to one side, and, the first thing Sue knew, the water had splashed +up in her face, and down over her dress. + +"Oh--oh, Mother!" gasped Sue. "I--I didn't mean to do that." + +"No, you couldn't help it," said Mrs. Brown. "It was the train that made +you do it. Water won't hurt your dress." + +Mrs. Brown sat down, after wiping the drops off Sue's skirt and face. +She was beginning to read a book when Bunny, who had been looking out of +his window, called: + +"Mother, I'm thirsty. I want a drink!" + +"Oh, Bunny dear! Why didn't you tell me that when I was getting one for +Sue?" + +"'Cause, Mother, I wasn't thirsty then." + +Mrs. Brown smiled. Then she once more went down to the end of the car +and got Bunny a drink. By this time the train had stopped at a station, +so the car was not "jiggling" as Sue called it. And Bunny did not spill +his cup of water. + +For some time after this the two children sat quietly in their seats. + +"I just saw a cow!" Sue called back to her brother. + +"Pooh!" he answered. "That's nothing. I just saw two horses in a field, +and one was running." + +"Well, a cow's better than a horse," insisted Sue. + +"No it isn't!" Bunny cried. "You can ride a horse, but you can't ride a +cow." + +"Well, a cow gives milk." + +Bunny could not think of any answer for a minute, and then he said: + +"Well, anyhow, two horses is better than one cow." + +Even Sue thought this might be so. She sat looking out of the window, +watching the trees, houses, fences and telegraph poles, as they seemed +to fly past. + +By and by a boy came through the car selling candy. + +"Mother, I'm hungry!" said Bunny. + +"So am I!" added Sue. "I want some candy!" + +Mrs. Brown bought them some chocolates, for the ride was a long one, and +they had eaten an early breakfast. The candy kept Bunny and Sue quiet +for a while, and Mrs. Brown was shutting her eyes for a little sleep, +when she heard some one behind her saying: + +"Oh, children, I wouldn't do that!" + +Quickly opening her eyes she saw Bunny and Sue crossing to the other +side of the car, to take some empty seats there. A passenger behind Mrs. +Brown, seeing that she was asleep, had spoken to the children. + +"Oh, you musn't do that," said Mrs. Brown. "Stay in the seats you had +first." + +"We want to see what's on this side," said Bunny. He had already climbed +up into a vacant seat, and was near the window, when, all at once, a +train rushed past on the other track, with a loud whistle, a clanging of +the bell and puffing of the engine, that sent smoke and cinders into +Bunny's face. The little fellow jumped back quickly. + +"There!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "You see it is much nicer on the side +where you were first. No trains pass on this side." + +So Bunny and Sue were glad enough to go back to the places they had at +first. For some time they were quiet, looking out at the different +stations as they stopped. At noon their mother gave them some chicken +sandwiches from a basket of lunch she had put up. + +"Why don't we go into the dining car, like we did once?" Bunny wanted to +know. + +"Because there isn't any on this train," said Mrs. Brown. "But we will +soon be at Aunt Lu's. Now sit back in your seats, and rest yourselves." + +Bunny and Sue did for a while. Then they looked for something else to +do. The train boy came through with some picture books, and Mrs. Brown +bought one each for Bunny and Sue. + +These kept them quiet for a little while, but the books were soon +finished, even when Bunny took Sue's and gave her his, to change about. + +"You come back and sit in my seat, Bunny," Sue invited her brother +after a while. + +"No, you come with me," said Bunny. So Sue got in with him, but she +wanted to sit next to the window, and as Bunny wanted that place +himself, they were not satisfied, until Sue went back in her own seat. + +About this time Bunny looked up and saw a long cord stretched overhead +in the car, like a clothes line. It hung down from the car ceiling, and +ran over little brass wheels, or pulleys, like those on Mr. Brown's +boats, only much smaller. + +"Do you see that cord, Sue?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes," answered the little girl. "What's it for?" + +"That's what holds the cars together," Bunny said. "The cars are tied to +the engine with that cord." + +Of course this was not so, for it takes strong iron chains and bars to +hold the railroad cars one to another, and to the engine. But Bunny +thought the cord, that blew a whistle in the engine, kept the train from +coming apart. + +"Is that what it's for?" asked Sue. "It isn't a very big string for to +hold a train." + +"Oh, it's very strong," Bunny said. "Nobody could break it." + +"I--I guess daddy could break it," Sue suggested. + +"No he couldn't!" + +"Yes he could! Daddy's awful strong!" + +"He couldn't break that cord!" declared Bunny. "Nobody could break it. +If I could pull it down here, you could pull on it and see how strong it +is. No one can break it." + +He reached up toward the whistle cord, but he was too short to get hold +of it. + +"I know how you can get it," said Sue. + +"How can I get it?" Bunny asked. + +"Hook it down with mother's parasol," answered Sue. + +"Oh, so I can!" cried Bunny. + +He went back to the seat where his mother sat. Mrs. Brown had fallen +asleep, and Bunny got her parasol without awakening her. + +The little fellow raised the umbrella, and hooked the crook in the end +of it over the whistle cord. He pulled down hard, and then--well, I +guess I'll tell you in the next chapter what happened. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +AUNT LU'S SURPRISE + + +When Bunny Brown pulled down on the whistle cord in the railroad car, a +very strange thing happened. All at once there was a loud squeaking, +grinding sound. The car shivered and shook and began to go slowly. It +stopped so suddenly that Bunny slid out of the smooth plush seat down to +the floor. So did his sister Sue. + +Some of the other passengers had hard work to keep from sliding from +their seats, and many of them jumped up and began calling: + +"What's the matter?" + +"What has happened?" + +"Is there an accident?" + +For when a train stops suddenly, you know, if it is going along fast, it +almost always means that something has happened, or that there is a +cow, or something else, on the track, and that the engineer wants to +stop, quickly, so as not to hit it. And that's what the other passengers +thought now. + +Mrs. Brown was suddenly awakened from her sleep. She, too, had almost +slid from her seat when the car stopped so suddenly. For the moment +Bunny pulled down on the cord, it blew a whistle in the cab, or little +house of the engine, where the engineer sits. And when the engineer +heard that whistle he knew it meant for him to stop as soon as he could. + +He could look down the track, and see that there was nothing on the +rails that he could hit, but, hearing the whistle, he thought the +conductor, or one of the brakemen, must have pulled the cord. Perhaps +the engineer thought some one had fallen off the train, as people +sometimes fall off boats, and the engineer wanted to stop quickly so the +passenger could be picked up. At any rate, he stopped very suddenly, and +that was what made all the trouble. Or, rather, Bunny Brown made all the +trouble, though he did not mean to. + +"Why, Bunny!" cried his mother, as she straightened up in her seat. +"Where are you? Where is Sue? What has happened?" + +For, you know, Bunny and Sue had slid down to the floor of the car when +the train came to such a sudden stop. + +"Where are you, children?" called Mrs. Brown, anxiously. + +"I--I'm here, Mother!" answered Sue. "Bunny pushed me off my seat!" + +"Oh-o-o-o, Sue Brown! I did not!" cried the little fellow, getting up +with the parasol still in his hand. "I did not!" + +"Well, you made the train stop, and that knocked me out of my seat, and +my doll was knocked down too, so there!" answered Sue, and she seemed +ready to cry. + +"Bunny, what happened? What did you do?" asked his mother. "What are you +doing with my parasol?" she asked. + +"I--I just reached up to pull down that rope with the crooked handle +end," Bunny answered, pointing to the whistle cord. "I wanted to show +Sue how strong it was, so I pulled on it." + +"Oh ho!" exclaimed a fat man, a few seats ahead of Bunny. "So that's +what made the train stop; eh? I thought someone must have pulled the +engineer's whistle cord to make him stop, but I didn't think it was a +little boy like you." + +"Oh, Bunny!" exclaimed his mother, when she saw what had happened. "You +shouldn't have done that. You musn't stop the train that way." + +"I--I didn't want to stop the train, Mother!" the little boy answered. +"I just wanted to show Sue about the cord. I fell out of my seat, too," +he added. + +"Yes, nearly all of us did," said the fat man with a laugh. "Well if you +didn't mean to do it Bunny, we'll forgive you I suppose," and he laughed +in a jolly way. + +Into the car came hurrying the conductor, with the gold bands on his +cap, and the brakeman. They looked all around, and then straight at +Bunny who still held his mother's parasol. + +"Who pulled the whistle cord?" asked the conductor. Years ago there used +to be a bell cord in the train, and a bell rang in the engineer's cab +when the cord was pulled. But now an air whistle blows. "Who pulled the +cord?" asked the conductor. + +Now Bunny Brown was a brave little chap, even when he knew he had done +wrong. So he spoke up and said: + +"I--I pulled it, Mr. Conductor. I pulled the cord." + +"You did eh?" and the conductor smiled a little now. Bunny looked so +funny and so cute standing there, with the parasol, and Sue looked so +pretty, standing near him, holding her doll upside down, that no one +could help at least smiling. Some of the passengers were laughing. + +"And so you stopped my train; did you?" the conductor asked. + +"I--I guess so," Bunny answered. "I was pulling down on the rope, to +show my sister how strong it was." + +"Oh, I see," the conductor went on. "Then you didn't stop my train +because you wanted to get off?" + +"Oh, no!" cried Bunny quickly. "I don't want to get off now. I want to +go to New York. We're going to my Aunt Lu's house." + +"Well, New York is quite a way off yet," laughed the conductor, "so I +guess you had better stay with us. But please don't pull on the whistle +cord again." + +"I won't," Bunny promised. "But it is a strong rope, isn't it, Mr. +Conductor? And it does hold the cars together; doesn't it?" + +"Well, no, not exactly," the conductor answered, while the passengers +laughed. "I'll show you what the cord does in a little while. But I'm +glad nothing has happened. I thought there was an accident when the +train stopped so quickly, so I ran through all the cars to find out. Now +we'll go on again." + +He reached up and pulled the car-cord twice. Far up ahead, in the cab of +the locomotive, a little whistle blew twice, and the engineer knew that +meant for him to go ahead. It's just like that on a trolley car. One +bell means to stop, and two bells to go ahead. + +"Oh Bunny! Why did you do it?" asked his mother, as she took the parasol +from him. + +"Why--why, I didn't mean to stop the train," he said. + +Mrs. Brown thought there was not much need of scolding Bunny, for he had +not meant to do wrong. He promised never again to pull on a whistle cord +in a train. + +Now the cars were rolling on again, and, in a little while the conductor +again came back to where Mrs. Brown was sitting. + +"Now where's the little boy who stopped my train?" he asked with a +smile. + +"I'm here," Bunny answered, "and this is my sister Sue." + +"Well, I'm glad to meet you both again, I'm sure," and the conductor +shook hands with Bunny and kissed Sue. "Now, if you two would like it, +I'll show you where you blew the whistle in the engine." + +"Oh, will you take us in the engine?" asked Bunny, who had always wanted +to go in that funny little house on top of the locomotive's back. + +"Yes, I'll take you in when we make the next stop," the conductor said. +"We have to wait a few minutes to give the engine a drink of water, and +I'll take you and your sister in the engine. That is if you say it's all +right," and he turned around to look at Mrs. Brown. + +"Oh, yes," Bunny's mother answered. "They may go with you if they won't +be a bother. I'm sorry my little boy made so much trouble about stopping +the train." + +"Oh, well, he didn't mean to, so we'll forget all about it. I'll come +back and get you when we stop," he said. + +A little later the train slowed up. It did it so easily that no one fell +out of his seat this time, and, pretty soon, back came the conductor to +get Bunny and Sue. + +The engine had stopped near a big wooden tank filled with water, and +some of this water was running through a big pipe into the tender of the +engine. The tender is the place where the coal is kept for the +locomotive fire. + +"Hello, Jim!" called the conductor to the engineer who was leaning out +of the window of his little house. "Here's the boy who stopped the train +so suddenly a while back." + +"Oh ho! Is he?" asked the engineer. "Well, he isn't a very big boy, to +have stopped such a big train." + +"I--I didn't mean to," said Bunny, and he and Sue looked back, and saw +that truly it was a long train. And the locomotive pulling it was a very +big one. + +"Well, you didn't do much damage," laughed the engineer. + +"I'm going to bring them up to see you," the conductor said. + +"That's right, let 'em come!" + +The engineer came out of his cab and took first Bunny, and then Sue, +from the conductor, who lifted them up to the iron step near the boiler. +A hot fire was burning under the engine to make steam, and Bunny and Sue +looked at it in wonder. + +Then the engineer took them up in his cab, and showed Bunny where, on +the ceiling, was the little air whistle--the one Bunny had blown when he +pulled the cord with the parasol. Then the engineer showed the children +the shiny handle that he pulled to make the engine go ahead, and another +that made it go backward. Then he showed a little brass handle. + +"This is the one I pulled on in a hurry when I heard you blow the +whistle once," he said. + +"What handle is that?" asked the little boy. + +"That's the handle that puts on the air brakes," said the engineer. "And +over here is the rope the fireman pulls when he wants to ring the bell. +I'll let you ring it." + +"And me, too?" asked Sue. + +"Yes, you too!" laughed the engineer. + +First Bunny pulled on the rope that was fast to the big bell on the top +of the engine, near the smoke-stack where the puffing noise sounded. +Bunny could hardly make the bell ring, as it was very heavy, but finally +he did make it sound: + +"Ding-dong!" + +"Now it's my turn!" cried Sue. + +She could only make the bell ring once: + +"Ding!" + +But she was just as well pleased. + +By this time the engine had taken enough water for its boiler, to last +until it got to New York, and the conductor took Bunny and Sue back to +their mother. They were quite excited and pleased over their visit to +the locomotive, and told Mrs. Brown all about the strange sights they +had seen. + +"But when will we be at Aunt Lu's?" asked Bunny, as he looked out of the +window. + +"Oh, soon now," his mother answered. + +And, in about an hour, the brakeman put his head in through the door of +their car, and called out: + +"New York! All change!" + +"Change what, Mother?" asked Sue. "Have we got to change our clothes? +Are we going to bed?" + +"No, dear. The man means we must change cars. We are at the end of our +railroad trip." + +"But it's so dark," said Bunny. "I thought it was time to go to bed." + +"It's the station that's dark," said Mrs. Brown. "Part of it is +underground, like a tunnel." + +Indeed it was so dark in the train and the station that the car lamps +were lighted. No wonder Bunny and Sue thought it time to go to bed. + +But when they got outside the sun was shining, though it was afternoon, +and would soon be supper time. + +"Oh, here you are! Hello, Bunny dear! Hello, Sue dear!" cried a jolly +voice. + +"Oh, Aunt Lu! Oh, Aunt Lu!" cried Bunny and Sue as they clung to their +aunt. "We're so glad to see you!" + +"And I'm glad to see you!" she cried, as she kissed her sister, Mrs. +Brown. "Now come on, and we'll soon be at my house." + +"But where's the surprise?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, we want to see the surprise," said Sue. + +"It's in my automobile," said Aunt Lu with a laugh. "Come on, I'll show +her to you." + +"Is it--is it a _her_?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, my dear. You'll soon see. Come on!" + +Aunt Lu led the way to a fine, large automobile just outside the +station. A man wearing a tall hat opened the door of the car, and +looking inside Bunny and Sue saw a queer little colored girl, her kinky +hair standing up in little pigtails all over her head. She smiled at +Bunny and Sue, showing her white teeth. + +"There!" cried Aunt Lu. "What do you think of my surprise?" + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE WRONG HOUSE + + +For a second or two Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did not know what to +say. They stood on the sidewalk, at the door of the automobile, which +was one of the closed kind, staring at the little colored girl, with her +kinky wisps of hair. + +"Well, what do you think of Wopsie?" asked Aunt Lu again. "Don't you +like my surprise, Bunny--Sue?" + +"Is--is this the surprise?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, this is Wopsie. I'll tell you about her in a little while. Get in +now, and we'll soon be at my house." + +Wopsie, the colored girl, smiled to show even more of her white teeth, +and then she asked: + +"Is yo' all de company?" + +"Yes, this is the company I told you about, Wopsie," said Miss Baker, +which was Aunt Lu's name. "This is Bunny," and she pointed to the little +boy, "and this little girl is Sue. They are going to be my company for a +long time, I hope." + +Wopsie gave a funny little bow, that sent her black topknots of hair +bobbing all over her head, and said: + +"Pleased to meet yo' all, company! Pleased to meet yo'!" + +Bunny and Sue thought Wopsie talked quite funnily, but they were too +polite to say so. They looked at the little colored girl and smiled. And +she smiled back at them. + +"Home, George," said Miss Baker to one of the two men on the front seat +of the automobile. The man touched his cap, and soon Bunny, Sue and +their mother were being driven rapidly through the streets of New York +in Aunt Lu's automobile. + +"It's almost as big as the one we went in to grandpa's, in the country," +said Bunny, as he looked around at the seats, and noticed the little +electric lamp in the roof. + +"But you can't sleep in it or cook in it," said Sue. "And there's no +place for Splash or Bunker Blue." + +"No," said Bunny. "That's so." + +The children had had to leave Splash, the dog, home with Daddy Brown, +and of course Bunker Blue did not come to Aunt Lu's. + +"No, we can't sleep in my auto, nor eat, unless it is to eat candy, or +cookies, or something like that," said Aunt Lu. "And I have some sweet +crackers for the children, if you think it's all right for them to eat," +said Aunt Lu to Mother Brown. + +"Oh, yes. I guess it will be all right. They must be hungry, though they +ate on the train." + +"And Bunny stopped the train, too!" cried Sue. "He pulled on the whistle +cord, with mother's parasol, and we stopped so quick we slid out of our +seats; didn't we, Bunny?" + +"Yep!" + +"My! That was quite an adventure," said Aunt Lu, laughing. + +"And we went in the choo-choo engine," went on Sue. "I ringed the bell, +I did, and so did Bunny. Was you ever in a train, Wopsie?" Sue asked the +little colored girl. + +"Yes'm, I was once." + +"Wopsie came all the way up from down South," said Aunt Lu. "She is a +little lost girl." + +"Lost!" cried Bunny and Sue. They did not understand how any one could +be lost when in a nice automobile with Aunt Lu. + +"Yes'm, I'se losted!" said Wopsie, shaking her kinky head, "an' I +suttinly does wish dat I could find mah folks!" + +"I must tell you about her," said Aunt Lu. "Wopsie, which is the name I +call her, though her right name is Sallie Jefferson, was sent up North +to live with her aunt here in New York. Wopsie made the trip all alone. +She was put on the train, at a little town somewhere in North Carolina, +or South Carolina--she doesn't remember which--and sent up here." + +"All alone?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, all alone. She had a tag, or piece of paper, pinned to her dress, +with the name and house number of her aunt. But the paper was lost." + +"De paper was losted, and now I'se losted," said Wopsie. + +"I'll tell them all about you, Wopsie," said Aunt Lu. + +Then she told Bunny and Sue how the little colored girl had reached New +York all alone, not knowing where to go. + +"A kind lady, in the same station where you children just came in, +looked after Wopsie," said Aunt Lu. "This lady looks after all lost boys +and girls, and she took Wopsie to a nice place to stay all night. In the +morning she tried to find Wopsie's aunt, but could not. Nor could Wopsie +tell her aunt's name, or where she lived. She was lost just as you and +Sue, Bunny, sometimes get lost in the woods." + +"And how did you come to take her?" asked Mother Brown. + +"Well, Wopsie was sent to a society that looks after lost children," +said Aunt Lu. "They tried to find her friends, either up here, in New +York, or down South, but they could not. I belong to this society, and +when I heard of Wopsie I said I would take her and keep her in my house +for a while. I can train her to become a lady's maid while I am waiting +to find her folks." + +"Are you trying to find them?" asked Mrs. Brown. + +"Yes, I have written all over, and so has the society. We have asked the +police to let us know if any one is asking for a little lost colored +girl. But I have had her nearly a month now, and no one has claimed +her." + +"Yep. I suah am losted!" said Wopsie, but she laughed as she said it, +and did not seem to mind very much. "It's fun being losted like this," +she said, as she patted the soft cushions of the automobile. "I likes +it!" + +"And are you really going to keep her?" asked Mrs. Brown of her sister. + +"Yes, until she gets a little older, or until I can find her folks. I +think her father and mother must have died some time ago," said Aunt Lu +in a whisper to Mrs. Brown. "She probably didn't have any _real_ folks +down South, so whoever she was with sent her up here." + +"Well, I'm glad you took care of her," said Mrs. Brown. "She looks like +a nice clean little girl." + +"She is; and she is very kind and helpful. She is careful, too, and she +will be a help with Bunny and Sue. Wopsie has already learned her way +around that part of New York near my apartment, and I can send her on +errands. She can take Bunny and Sue out." + +While Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu were talking together Wopsie had given +Bunny and Sue some sweet crackers from a box she took out from a pocket +in the side of the automobile. Aunt Lu had told her to do so. So Bunny +and Sue ate the crackers as they rode along, and Wopsie sat near them. + +"Don't you want a cracker?" asked Bunny. + +"No, sah, thank you," answered the little colored girl. "I don't eat +'tween meals. Miss Baker say as how it ain't good for your +intergestion." + +"What's in--indergaston?" asked Sue. + +"Huh! Dat's a misery on yo' insides--a pain," said Wopsie. "I t'ought +everybody knowed dat!" + +Bunny was silent a minute. + +"Do you know how to stop a train by pulling on the whistle cord?" he +asked. + +"No," said Wopsie. + +"Huh! I thought everybody knew that!" exclaimed Bunny. Then he laughed, +as Wopsie did. It was a little joke on her, when Bunny answered her the +way he did. + +The automobile came to a stop in front of a large building. Bunny and +Sue looked up at it. + +"My! What a big house you live in, Aunt Lu!" said Bunny. + +"Oh, this isn't all mine!" laughed Aunt Lu. "There are many others who +live in here. This is what is called an apartment house. I have my +dining room, kitchen, bath room and other rooms, and other families in +this building have the same thing. You see there isn't room in New York +to build separate houses, such as you have in Bellemere, so they make +one big house, and divide it up on the inside, into a number of little +houses, or apartments." + +Bunny and Sue thought that very strange. + +"But you haven't any yard to play in!" exclaimed Bunny, as he and his +sister got out of the automobile, and found that the front door of Aunt +Lu's apartment was right on the sidewalk. + +"No, we don't have yards in the city, Bunny. But we have a roof to go up +on and play." + +"Playing on a roof!" cried Bunny. "I should think you'd fall off!" + +"Oh, it has a high railing all around it. Wopsie may take you up there +after a bit. Then you can see how it seems to play on a roof, instead of +down on the ground. We have to do queer things in big cities." + +Bunny Brown and his sister Sue certainly thought so. + +As they entered the apartment house the children found themselves in a +wide hall, with marble floor and sides. There was a nice carpet over the +marble floor and bright electric lights glowed from the ceiling. + +"Right in here," said Aunt Lu, leading the children toward what seemed +to be a little room with an iron door, like the iron gate to some park. +A colored boy, with many brass buttons on his blue coat, stood at the +door. + +"Jes' yo' all wait an' see what gwine t' happen!" said Wopsie. + +"Why, what is going to happen?" asked Bunny. + +"Oh, ho! Yo' all jes' wait!" exclaimed Wopsie, laughing at her secret. + +"What is it? I don't want anything to happen!" cried Sue hanging back. + +"Oh, it isn't anything, dear. This is just the elevator," said Aunt Lu. +"Get in and you'll have a nice ride." + +"Oh, I like a ride," Sue said. + +In she stepped with Bunny, her mother, Aunt Lu and Wopsie. The colored +boy, who was also smiling, and showing his white teeth as Wopsie was +doing, closed the iron door. Then, all of a sudden, Bunny and Sue felt +themselves shooting upward. + +"Oh! Oh!" cried Bunny. "We're in a balloon! We're in a balloon! We're +going up!" + +"Just like a skyrocket on the Fourth of July!" added Sue. She was not +afraid now. She was clapping her hands. + +Up and up and up they went! + +"Oh, what makes it?" asked Bunny. "Is it a balloon, Aunt Lu?" + +"No, dear, it's just the elevator. You see this big house is so high +that you would get tired climbing the stairs up to my rooms, so we go +up in the elevator. It lifts us up, and in England they call them +'lifts' on this account." + +"Oh, I see!" Bunny cried, as he looked up and saw that he was in a sort +of square steel cage, going up what seemed to be a long tunnel; standing +up instead of lying on the ground as a railroad tunnel lies. "I see! +We're going up, just like a bucket of water comes up out of the well." + +"That's it!" said Aunt Lu. "And when we go down we go down just like the +bucket going down in the well." + +"It's fun! I like it!" and Sue clapped her hands. "I like the elevator!" + +"Yes'm, it sho' am fun!" echoed Wopsie. + +"Wopsie would ride up and down all day if I'd let her," said Aunt Lu. +"But here we are at my floor. Now wasn't that better than climbing up +ten flights of stairs, children?" + +"I guess it was!" cried Bunny. "Do you live up ten flights?" + +"Yes, and there are some families who live higher than that." + +They stepped out of the elevator into a little hall, and soon they were +in Aunt Lu's nice city apartment, or house, if you like that word +better. + +"Now, Wopsie," said Aunt Lu, "you tell Jane to make Mrs. Brown a nice +cup of tea." + +"And can we go up on the roof?" asked Bunny. + +"Not right away--but after a while," said his aunt. + +"Let's go out into the elevator again," suggested Sue. + +"No, dear, not now," said Mrs. Brown. + +Bunny and Sue thought they had never been in such a nice place as Aunt +Lu's city home. From the windows they could look down to the street, ten +stories below. + +"It's a good way to fall," said Bunny, in a whisper. + +"But you musn't lean out of the windows, and then you won't fall," his +mother told him. + +The children were given their supper, and then Wopsie took them up on +the roof. This was higher yet. It was a flat roof, with a broad, high +railing all around it so no one could fall off. And from it Bunny and +Sue could look all over New York, and see the twinkling lights far off, +for it was now getting on toward evening, though it was not yet dark. + +A little later Wopsie took them down in the elevator again, to the +street. There they saw other children walking up and down, some of them +playing; some babies being wheeled in carriages, and many men and women +walking past. + +"My! What a lot of people!" cried Bunny. "Is it always this way in a +city, Wopsie?" + +"Yes'm," answered the little colored girl, who seemed to mix up "Yes, +ma'am," and "Yes, sir." But what of it? She meant all right. "It's bin +dis way eber sence I come t' New York," she went on. "Allers a crowd +laik dis. Everybuddy hurryin' an' hurryin'." + +Wopsie stood still a moment to speak to another colored girl, who came +out of the next house, and Bunny and Sue walked on ahead. Before they +knew it they had turned a corner. Down at the end of the street they saw +a man playing a hand-piano, or hurdy-gurdy, as they are called. + +"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue. "Let's go down and listen to the music." + +"All right," Bunny agreed. "And maybe he has a monkey, like Wango." + +Hand in hand the two children ran on. They saw other children about the +hurdy-gurdy. Some of them were dancing. Bunny and Sue danced too. Then +the music-man wheeled his music machine away, and Bunny and Sue turned +to go back. They walked on and on, and finally Bunny, stopping in front +of a big house said: + +"This is where Aunt Lu lives." + +"But where is Wopsie?" asked Sue. "Why isn't she here?" + +"Oh, maybe she went inside," replied Bunny. "Come on, we'll go in the +elevator and have a ride." + +They went into the marble hall. It looked just like the one in Aunt Lu's +apartment. And there was the same colored elevator boy in his queer +little cage. Bunny and Sue went to the entrance. + +"Where yo' want to go?" asked the elevator boy. + +"To Aunt Lu's," answered Bunny. + +"What floor she done lib on?" the boy asked. + +"I--I don't know," Bunny said. "I--I forgot the number." + +"What's her name?" + +"Aunt Lu," said Sue. + +"No, I mean her last name?" + +"Oh, it's Baker," said Bunny. "Aunt Lu Baker." + +The colored elevator boy shook his head. + +"They don't no Miss Baker lib heah!" he said. "I done guess yo' chilluns +done got in de wrong house!" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +IN THE DUMB WAITER + + +Bunny Brown looked at his sister Sue, and his sister Sue looked at Bunny +Brown. Then they both looked at the colored elevator boy. He was smiling +at them, so Bunny and Sue were not as frightened as they might otherwise +have been. + +"Isn't this where Aunt Lu lives?" asked Bunny. + +"Nope. Not if her name's Baker," answered the elevator lad. "We sure +ain't got nobody named Baker in heah!" (He meant "here.") + +"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue. "Then we're losted again!" + +"Where'd you come from?" asked the colored boy. "Now don't git skeered, +'cause yo' all ain't losted very much I guess. Maybe I kin find where +yo' all belongs. What's de number of, de house where yo' auntie libs?" + +"I--I don't know," said Bunny. He had not thought to ask the number of +his aunt's house, nor had he looked to see what the number was over the +door before he and Sue came out. In the country no one ever had numbers +on their houses, and Bellemere was like the country in this way--no +houses had numbers on them. + +"Well, what street does your aunt done lib on?" asked the colored boy, +in the funny way he talked. + +"I don't know that, either," said Bunny. + +"Huh! Den yo' suah _am_ lost!" cried the elevator lad. "But don't yo' +all git skeered!" he said quickly, as he saw tears coming in Sue's brown +eyes. "I guess yo' all ain't losted so very much, yet. Maybe I kin find +yo' aunt's house." + +"If you could find Wopsie for us, she could take us there," said Bunny. + +"Find who?" + +"Wopsie. She's a little girl that lives with my aunt, and--" + +But the elevator boy did not wait for Bunny to finish. + +"Wopsie!" he cried. "Am she dat queer li'l colored gal, wif her hair all +done up in rags?" + +"Yes!" cried Sue eagerly. "That's Wopsie. We came out to walk with her, +but we heard the hand-piano music, and we got lost." + +"Do you know Wopsie?" asked Bunny. + +"I suah does!" cried the elevator boy. "She's a real nice li'l gal, an' +we all likes her." + +"She's losted too," said Bunny. + +"Yes, I knows about dat!" replied the elevator boy. "We all knows 'bout +Wopsie. Why she's jest down the street, and around the corner a few +houses. Now I know where yo' Aunt Lu libs. If you'd a' done said Wopsie +_fust_, I'd a knowed den, right off quick!" + +"Can you take us home?" asked Sue. + +"I suah can!" cried the kind colored boy. "Jes yo' all wait a minute." + +He called to another colored boy to take care of his elevator, and then, +holding one of Bunny's and one of Sue's hands, he went out into the +street. Around the corner he hurried, and, no sooner had he turned it, +than up rushed Wopsie herself. She made a grab for Bunny and Sue. + +"Oh, mah goodness!" cried the little colored girl. "Oh, mah goodness! +I'se so skeered! I done t'ought I'd losted yo' all!" + +"No, Wopsie," said Bunny. "You didn't lost us. We losted ourselves. We +heard music, and we went to look for a monkey." + +"But there wasn't any monkey," said Sue, "and we got in the wrong house, +where Aunt Lu didn't live." + +"But he brought us back. He knows you, Wopsie," and Bunny nodded toward +the kind elevator boy. + +"I guess everybody around dish yeah place knows Wopsie," said the boy, +smiling. "Will yo' all take dese chilluns home now?" he asked. + +"I suah will!" Wopsie said. "Mah goodness! I'se bin lookin' all ober fo' +'em! I didn't know where dey wented. Come along now, an' yo' all musn't +go 'way from Wopsie no mo'!" + +"We won't!" promised Bunny. + +He and Sue were beginning to find out that it was easier to get lost in +the city, even by going just around the corner, than it was in the +country, when they went down a long road. For in the city the houses +were so close together, and they all looked so much alike, that it was +hard to tell one from the other. + +"But yo' all am all right now, honey lambs," said Wopsie, who seemed to +be very much older than Bunny and Sue, though really she was no more +than three or four years older. + +"Do we have to go in now?" asked Bunny, as Wopsie led him and Sue down +the street, having said good-bye to the kind elevator boy who had +brought them part way home. + +"Yes, I guess we'd better go in," said the little colored girl. "Yo' ma +might be worried about yo'. We'll go in. It's gittin' dark." + +The elevator quickly carried them up to Aunt Lu's floor. + +"Oh, now I see the number!" cried Bunny. "It's ten--I won't forget any +more." + +"Well, did you have a good time?" asked Mother Brown when Bunny and Sue +came in, followed by Wopsie. + +"We got losted!" exclaimed Sue. + +"What! Lost so soon?" cried Aunt Lu. "Where was it?" + +"In a house just like this," broke in Bunny. "And it had a lift elevator +and a colored boy and everything. Only he said you didn't live there, +and you didn't, and I didn't know the number of your floor, or of your +house, and we got losted!" + +"But I found them!" said Wopsie, for she felt it might be a little bit +her fault that Bunny and Sue had gotten away. But of course it was their +own fault for running to hear the music. + +"You must be careful about getting lost," said Aunt Lu. "But of course, +if ever you do, just ask a policeman. I'll give you each one of my +cards, with my name and address on, and you can show that to the +officer. He'll bring, or send, you home." + +Sue and Bunny were each given a card, and they put them away in their +pockets, where they would have them the next time they went out on the +street. + +For the next two or three days Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did not go +far away from Aunt Lu's house. Wopsie took them up and down the block +for a walk, but more often they were riding in Aunt Lu's automobile. +And many wonderful sights did the children see in the big city of New +York. They could hardly remember them, there were so many. + +Bunny and Sue grew to like Wopsie very much. She was a kind, good girl, +anxious to help, and do all she could, and she just loved the children. +She was almost like a nurse girl for them, and Mrs. Brown did not have +to worry when Bunny and Sue were with Wopsie. + +"Do you think you'll ever find her folks?" asked Mrs. Brown of Aunt Lu, +when they were talking of the colored girl one day. + +"Well, I'm sure I hope so," answered Aunt Lu, "though I like the poor +little thing myself very much, and I would like to keep her with me. But +I know she is lonesome for her own aunt whom she has not seen since she +was a little baby. And I think the aunt must be worrying about lost +Wopsie. The police haven't been able to find any one who is looking for +a little colored girl, to come up from down South. Perhaps her aunt has +moved away. Anyhow I'll keep Wopsie until I find her folks." + +Sometimes Bunny and Sue thought that Wopsie looked sad. Perhaps she did, +when she thought of how she was lost. But she had a good home with Aunt +Lu, and after all, Wopsie was quite happy, especially since Bunny and +Sue had come. + +The two Brown children thought riding in the elevator was great fun. +Often they would slip out by themselves and get Henry, the colored boy, +to carry them up and down. And he was very glad to do it, if he was not +busy. + +One day Bunny and Sue went out into Aunt Lu's kitchen, where Mary, the +colored cook, was busy. She often gave the children cookies, or a piece +of cake, just as Mother Brown did at home. + +This day, after they had eaten their cookies, Bunny and Sue heard a +knocking in the kitchen. + +"Somebody's at the door," called Bunny. + +"No, chile! Folks don't knock at de kitchen do' heah," said Mary. "Dey +rings de bell." + +"But somebody's knocking," said Bunny. + +"Yes chile. I s'pects dat's de ice man knockin' on de dumb waiter t' +tell me he's put on a piece ob ice," went on the cook. + +She opened a door in the kitchen wall, and Bunny and Sue saw what looked +like a big box, in a sort of closet. In the box was a large piece of +ice. + +"Yep. Dat's what it am. Ice on de dumb waiter," said Mary, as she took +off the cold chunk and put it in the refrigerator. It was an extra piece +gotten that day because she was going to make ice cream for dessert. + +"What's a dumb waiter?" asked Bunny. + +"Dis is," said Mary, pointing to the box, back of the door in the wall. +"It waits on me--it brings up de milk and de ice. It's jest a big box, +and it goes up an' down on a rope dat runs ober a wheel." + +"I know--a pulley wheel," said Bunny. + +"Dat's it!" cried Mary. "De box goes up an' down inside between de +walls, and when de ice man, or de milk man puts anyt'ing on de waiter in +de cellar, dey pulls on de rope and up it comes to me." + +"What makes them call it a dumb waiter?" asked Sue. + +"'Cause as how it can't talk, chile. Anyt'ing dat can't talk is dumb, +an' dis waiter, or lifter, can't talk. So it's dumb." + +Bunny and Sue looked at the dumb waiter for some time. Mary showed them +how it would go up or down on the rope, very easily. + +A little while after that, Mary went to her room to put on a clean +apron; Bunny and Sue were still in the kitchen. + +"Sue," said Bunny. "I know something we can do to have fun." + +"What?" asked the little girl. + +"Play with the dumb waiter. It's just like a little elevator. Now I'll +get in, you close the door, and I'll ride down cellar. Then when I ride +up it will be your turn to ride down." + +"All right!" cried Sue. "I'll do it. You go first, Bunny." + +Standing on a chair, Bunny managed to crawl into the dumb waiter box, +where the piece of ice had been. And then, all at once something +happened. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +A LONG RIDE + + +"Are you all ready, Bunny?" asked Sue, as she stood on the chair close +to the little door of the dumb waiter, or elevator. + +"Yep," Bunny answered. + +Sue closed the door, and then there was a squeaking sound inside the +little closet where the waiter slid up and down. At the same time +Bunny's voice was heard crying: + +"Oh, Sue! I'm falling! I'm falling down!" + +Sue did not know what to do. She tried to open the door, but it had shut +with a spring catch when she pushed on it, and her small fingers were +not strong enough to open it again. + +"Oh dear!" cried the little girl. "Oh dear! Bunny! Mother! Aunt Lu! +Mary! Wopsie!" + +She called every name she could think of, and she would have called for +her father, Grandpa Brown and even Uncle Tad, only she knew they were +far away. + +"Bunny! Bunny!" Sue called. "Is you there? Is you in there?" + +But Bunny did not answer. And now Sue could hear no noise from the dumb +waiter, inside of which she had shut her brother. + +"Bunny! Bunny!" begged Sue. "Speak to me! Where is you?" + +But no answer came. Bunny was far off. I'll tell you, soon, where he +was. + +Sue got down off the chair, on which she stood to push shut the door, +after Bunny crawled inside the dumb waiter. The little girl ran out of +the kitchen, calling to her mother, Aunt Lu and Wopsie. The colored cook +was the first one to answer. + +"What's the matter?" she called. "What hab happened, Sue?" + +"Oh, it's Bunny! He's gone! He's gone!" sobbed Sue. + +"Gone? Gone where?" Mary asked. + +"Down there!" and Sue pointed to the dumb waiter door. + +Mary ran across the kitchen, and opened the door. She looked down, and +then she turned to Sue and asked: + +"Did he fall down, Sue?" + +"No, he didn't fall down. But he got in the little box, where the ice +was, and told me to shut the door. He was going to have a ride. It was +going to be my turn when he came back. But there was a big bump, and +Bunny hollered, and he didn't come back, and oh dear! I guess he's +losted again!" + +Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu came hurrying into the kitchen. Behind them was +Wopsie, her hair standing up more than ever, for she had just finished +tying it in rags. + +"What's the matter?" asked Mother Brown and Aunt Lu at the same time. + +"Oh, Bunny's gone!" wailed Sue. + +"He's in de dumb waiter," explained Mary. + +"Oh, did he fall?" cried Aunt Lu. + +"No'm, he jest got in to hab a ride, same as dat little boy who used to +lib up stairs," Mary explained. "We'll find him in de cellar all right, +Miss Baker." + +"Find who?" Sue wanted to know. + +"Yo' brudder!" said Mary. "Now don't yo' all git skairt. 'Case little +Massa Bunny am suah gwine t' be all right." + +"I'll go and get him!" cried Aunt Lu. + +"And I'll go with you," said Mother Brown. + +"Oh, I'm coming too!" exclaimed Sue. + +"No, you stay here, dear," said her mother. "You stay here with Mary and +Wopsie." + +Mrs. Brown and her sister, who was the aunt of Bunny and Sue, went down +in the big elevator to the basement or cellar of the apartment house. +And there they saw a strange sight. + +Bunny, whose clothes were all dusty, and whose hair was all topsy-turvy, +was standing in front of the janitor, an iceman and a policeman. These +three men were looking at the little boy who did not seem to know what +to do or say. But he was not crying. He was too brave for that. + +"Oh, Bunny Brown!" cried his mother. "Why did you do it?" + +Bunny did not answer, but the policeman spoke, and said: + +"Is it all right, lady? Does he belong here?" + +"Oh, yes, he's my little boy," explained Mrs. Brown. + +"He rode down in the dumb waiter," Aunt Lu said. "You see he is visiting +me, and he had never seen a dumb waiter before." + +"Well, he came down in one all right," said the iceman. "It was like +this," he explained to Aunt Lu. "After I sent up your piece of ice, Miss +Baker, I stood here talking to the janitor. All at once we heard the +dumb waiter come down with a bang, and then we heard someone in it +yelling. I thought it was a sneak-thief, or a burglar, for you know they +often rob houses by going up in dumb waiters. + +"So I spoke to the janitor about it, and we called in the policeman who +was going past. We thought if it was a burglar we'd sure have him. But +when we opened the door there was only this little chap." + +"I--I didn't mean to do it," said Bunny, as he saw them all looking at +him. "I just wanted to get a ride, and then Sue was going to have one. +But, as soon as I got in, the dumb waiter went down so quick I couldn't +stop." + +"He sure did come down with a bump!" exclaimed the iceman. "I guess he +was a little too heavy for it, or else the rope must have slipped. +Anyhow he's not hurt much, except he's a bit mussed up." + +"Are you hurt, Bunny?" his mother asked him. + +"No'm," he answered. "Just bumped, that's all. I--I won't do it again." + +"No, you'd better not, because you might get hurt," said the policeman. +"Well," he added, "I might as well go along, for you have no burglars +for me to arrest this day," and away he went. + +Then the iceman went off, laughing, and Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu took +Bunny up to their apartment in the elevator. + +"This is nicer than the dumb waiter," Bunny said, as Henry took them up. +"I was all scrunched up in that, and I got a awful hard bump." + +Mrs. Brown sighed. + +"I'm sure I don't know what you will do next," she said. "You and Sue +never do the same thing twice, so there's no use in telling you to be +careful." + +"Oh, I won't get in any more dumb waiters," said Bunny, with a shake of +his head. "They're too small, and they're too bumpy." + +Sue felt much better when she saw that Bunny was all right, and Mary +gave each of the children a piece of cake, after which Wopsie took them +up to the roof, where an awning had been stretched to make shade, and +there, high above the city streets, the two children had a sort of +play-party. + +"I like it in the city; don't you, Bunny?" asked Sue. + +"Yes, I think it's fine at Aunt Lu's house," returned Bunny. "Don't you +like it here, Wopsie?" + +"Yes'm, I suah does. But I wishes as how I could find mah folks. It's +awful nice heah, an' Miss Baker suah does treat me mighty fine, but I'd +like to find mah own aunt." + +"And don't you know where she is?" asked Bunny. + +"No'm, I don't 'member much about it all," said the colored girl, with a +shake of her kinky head. "I lived down Souf, an' I s'pects dey got tired +ob me down dere. Or else maybe dey didn't hab money 'nuff t' keep me. +Colored folks down Souf is terrible poor. They ain't rich, laik yo' Aunt +Lu." + +"Aunt Lu is terrible rich," said Sue. "She's got a diamond ring." + +"I knows dat!" said Wopsie. + +"An' it was losted, like we was," Sue went on, "but Bunny, he found it +in a lobster claw. And we had a Punch and Judy show." + +"I'd laik dat!" exclaimed Wopsie, her eyes sparkling. + +"Maybe we could help you find your folks," said Bunny. "We found Aunt +Lu's diamond ring, and grandpa's horses, that the Gypsies took; so maybe +we could find your folks, Wopsie." + +"I don't believe so," and the little colored girl shook her head. "Yo' +all sees it was dis heah way. Somebody down Souf, what was takin' care +ob me, got tired, and shipped me up Norf here. Dey didn't come wif me +deyse'ves, but dey puts a piece ob paper on me, same laik I was a +trunk, or a satchel. + +"Well, maybe it would a' bin all right, but dat piece ob paper come +unpinned offen me, an' I got losted, same laik you'd lose a trunk. Only +Miss Lu found me, an' she's keepin' me, but she don't know who I belongs +to, nohow." + +"And is your aunt up here?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes'm, she's somewheres in New York," and Wopsie waved her hand over +the big city, down on which Sue and Bunny could look from the roof of +the apartment house. + +"Well, maybe we can find her for you," said Bunny. "We'll try; won't we, +Sue?" + +"Course we will, Bunny Brown." + +Just how he was going to do it Bunny Brown did not know. But he made up +his mind that he would find Wopsie's aunt for her. And two or three +times after that, when he and Sue happened to be out in the street, and +saw any colored women, the children would ask them if they were looking +for a little, lost colored girl named Wopsie. But of course the colored +women knew nothing about the little piccaninny. + +"Well, we'll have to ask somebody else," Bunny would say, after each +time, when he had not found an aunt for Wopsie. "We'll find her yet, +Sue." + +"Yes," Sue would answer, "we will!" + +From the windows of Aunt Lu's house Bunny and Sue could look down on the +street and see many strange sights. Oh! how many automobiles there were +in New York! + +There were big ones, and little ones, but there were more of the small +kind, with little red flags in front, than any other. + +"Those are called taxicabs," Aunt Lu told Bunny. "They are like the old +cabs, drawn by horses. If a person wants to ride in a taxicab he just +waves his hand to the men at the steering wheel." + +"And does he stop?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes," answered Aunt Lu. "The taxicab man stops." + +"And gives 'em a ride?" Sue wanted to know. + +"Yes, he takes them wherever they want to go." + +Bunny and Sue looked at each other. Their eyes sparkled, and it is too +bad Aunt Lu did not see them just then, or she might have said something +that would have saved much trouble. But she was busy sewing, and she did +not notice Bunny and Sue. + +The next day the two children slipped out into the hall, and went down +to the street in the elevator. + +Once out in the street Bunny and Sue watched until they saw, coming +along, one of the little taxicabs, with the red flag up, which meant +that no one was having a ride in it just then. + +"Hi there!" called Bunny, holding up his hand to the man at the steering +wheel. + +"Want a ride?" asked the man, as he swung his taxicab up to the curb. + +"Yes," answered Bunny. "My sister--Sue and I--we want a ride." + +"Where to?" asked the man, as he helped the children up inside the car. + +"Oh, we want a nice, long ride," said Bunny. "A nice, long ride; don't +we, Sue?" + +"Yep," answered the little girl. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +BUNNY ORDERS DINNER + + +You may think it strange that the man on the taxicab automobile would so +quickly help Bunny Brown and his sister up into his machine and give +them a ride. And that, without asking for any money. + +But it was not at all strange in New York. There are many children in +that big city, and often they go about by themselves, some who are no +larger than Bunny and Sue. They get used to looking out for themselves, +learn how to make their way about, and they often go in taxicabs alone. + +So the automobile man thought nothing of it when Bunny said he wanted a +ride. The automobile man just thought the children's father, or mother, +had sent them out to go somewhere. + +"And so you want a long ride," repeated the automobile man, as he +closed the door so Bunny or Sue would not fall out when he started. "How +about Central Park? Do you want to go there?" + +"Do we want to go to Central Park, Sue?" asked Bunny. + +"Is they elephants there, like a circus?" asked the little girl. + +"Is they?" Bunny asked of the automobile man. + +"Yes, there are some animals in the park. Not as many as up in the Bronx +Zoo, but that's a little too far for me to go. I'll take you to Central +Park if you say so." + +"Please do," begged Bunny. "We want to see the animals. We were in a +circus once, Sue and I were. Our dog was a blue striped tiger, and we +had a green painted calf, for a zebra." + +"That must have been some circus!" laughed the automobile man, as he got +up on his seat, and took hold of the steering wheel. "Well, here we go!" + +And away went the automobile, taking Sue and Bunny off to Central Park, +and their mother and Aunt Lu didn't know a thing about it! + +"Isn't this nice, Sue?" asked Bunny, when they had ridden on for a few +blocks. + +"Yes," answered Sue. "I like it. But I wish we had our dog Splash here +with us, Bunny." + +"Yes, it would be fine!" Bunny said. + +Speaking of the circus had made Sue think about Splash, who was far +away, at home in Bellemere. + +The taxicab wound in and out among other cabs, horses and wagons of all +sorts. Now it would have to go slowly, through some crowded street, and +again the children were moving swiftly, when there was room to speed. + +"He's a awful nice man to give us a ride like this," said Bunny to Sue. + +"Yes; isn't he?" answered the little girl. "There's lots of people +getting rides, Bunny; see!" + +Indeed there were many other taxicabs, and other automobiles on the +streets of New York, but Bunny and Sue looked most often at the taxicabs +like their own. + +"There must be a awful lot of nice men, like ours, in New York," Bunny +went on. And, mind you, neither he nor Sue thought they would have to +pay for their automobile ride. They just thought you got in one of the +taxicabs, and rode as far as you liked, for nothing. + +Pretty soon they were at Central Park. + +"Now where shall I take you?" asked the man. + +"Down by a elephant," spoke up Sue. + +"Are you sure your mother will let you go?" asked the taxicab man. He +felt he must, in a way, look after the children. + +"Oh, yes," said Bunny. "Mother would let us. She likes us to see +animals. She lets us have a circus whenever we like." + +Bunny and Sue had on nice clothes, and the chauffeur knew they had come +from a street where many rich persons lived, so he was sure if the +children did not have with them the money to pay him, that their folks +would settle his bill. + +"You can get out here, and walk along that path," he said, stopping his +machine on a roadway. "Then you can see the elephant, the lion and the +tiger. I'll wait for you here." + +Hand in hand, Bunny and Sue went to the place in Central Park where the +animals are kept. It was not far from where the automobile had stopped, +out on Fifth Avenue, New York, and Bunny looked back, several times, as +he and his sister went down the steps, to make sure he would know the +place to find the automobile again, when he wanted to go home. + +"Oh, there's a elephant!" cried Sue, as, walking along, her hand in +Bunny's, she saw one of the big animals, just stuffing some hay into his +mouth with his trunk. It was a warm day, and the elephant was out in the +"back yard" of his cage. In the winter he was kept in the elephant +house, where the people could look at him standing behind the heavy iron +bars, but in summer he was allowed to go out of doors, though his yard +had a fence of big iron bars all around it. + +"I wish we had some peanuts to give him," said Sue. + +"Well, I haven't any money," answered Bunny. "Anyhow, if I had, Sue, +I'd rather buy us each a lollypop. The elephant has hay to eat." + +"Yes, I know," said Sue. "But I like to see him pick up peanuts with his +trunk." + +However, they had no money, so they could not feed peanuts to the +elephant. Some other children, though, had bought bags of the nuts, and +these they tossed in to the big animal. There was a sign on his yard, +which said no one must feed the animals, but no one stopped the +children, so Sue did see, after all, the elephant chewing the roasted +nuts. + +For some time Bunny and Sue watched the elephants. There were two of +them, and, after a while, a keeper came into the yard, and handed a +large mouth organ to the biggest elephant. The wise creature held it in +his trunk, and, to the surprise of Sue and her brother, began to blow on +the mouth organ, making music, though of course the elephant could not +play a regular tune. + +"Oh, isn't he smart, Bunny!" cried Sue. + +"He--he's a regular circus elephant!" Bunny cried. "I like him!" + +The other children, who had come to Central Park, also enjoyed seeing +the big elephant eat peanuts, and play a mouth organ. + +"I'd like to see some monkeys," said Bunny, after a bit, when the +elephant seemed to have gone to sleep standing up, for elephants do +sleep that way. + +"The monkeys are over in that house," a boy told Bunny, pointing to a +brown building not far from the elephant's cage and yard. + +"Oh, let's go!" cried Sue. + +Soon she and her brother were watching the monkeys do funny tricks, +climb up the sides of their cage, eat peanuts and pull each other's +tails and ears. + +Bunny and Sue spent some time in Central Park, looking at the different +animals. There was one, almost as big as an elephant, only not so tall. +He was called a hippopotamus, and he swam in a tank of water, next door +to a pool in which lived some mud turtles and alligators. When the +hippopotamus opened his mouth it looked big enough to hold a washtub. + +"Oh!" cried Sue, as she saw this. "I wouldn't like him to bite me, +would you, Bunny?" + +"No, I guess not!" said the little boy. + +But there was no danger that the hippopotamus would bite anyone, for he +was behind big, strong, iron bars, and could not get out. There was also +a baby hippopotamus, swimming around in a tank with the mother. + +Bunny and Sue saw many other animals in Central Park, and then, as he +was getting hungry, and as he began to think his mother might be +wondering where he was, Bunny said to Sue that they had better go back +home. + +"All right," Sue answered. "I'm tired, too." + +They went back to where they had left the automobile taxicab. + +"Well, did you see enough?" the man asked them. + +"Yes," Bunny answered, "and now we want to go home, if you please." + +"All right," said the man. He knew just where to take Bunny and Sue, for +he remembered where he had found them, right in front of Aunt Lu's +house. So the two children did not get lost this time, though they had +gone a good way from home. + +"Thank you very much," said Bunny as he and Sue got out. + +The automobile man laughed, as Bunny and Sue started up the front steps, +and then he called to them: + +"Wait a minute, little ones, I must have some money for giving you a +ride." + +"Oh!" exclaimed Bunny. "I--I thought you gave folks rides for nothing. +Wopsie said you did." + +"Well, I don't know who Wopsie is," said the cab man, "but I can't +afford to ride anyone around for nothing. You'd better tell your mother +that I must be paid." + +"Oh, I'll tell her," said Sue. "Mother or Aunt Lu will pay you." + +"I'll come up with you I guess," said the automobile man, and he rode up +in the elevator with Bunny and Sue. + +And you can guess how surprised Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu were when the two +children came in. + +"Oh, where have you been?" cried Mother Brown. "We've been looking all +over for you; up on the roof, down in the basement, out in the +street--and Wopsie was just going to ask the policeman on this block if +he had seen you. Where have you been?" + +"Riding," answered Bunny. + +"Up in Central Park, to see a elephant," added Sue. + +"And we had a good time," Bunny went on. + +"And now the automobile man wants some money, and we haven't any so you +must pay him, Mother," said Sue. + +"We--we thought we were riding for nothing," Bunny explained. + +Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu looked at the automobile man, who smiled, and +told how the children had called to him, and asked him to give them a +long ride. + +"Which I did," he said. "I thought their folks had maybe sent them to +get the air, as folks often do here, and--" + +"Oh, it isn't your fault," said Mrs. Brown. "I'll pay you for the +children's ride, of course. But oh, dear! Bunny, you musn't do this +again." + +"No'm, I won't," Bunny said. "But we had a nice ride." + +Mrs. Brown gave the taxicab man some money, and thanked him for having +taken good care of the children. Then Wopsie did not have to go to tell +the policeman, for Bunny and Sue were safe home again. + +"I wonder what they'll do next?" said Mrs. Brown. + +"No one knows," answered Aunt Lu. + +But, for several days after this, Bunny and Sue did nothing to cause any +trouble. They went with their aunt and mother to different places about +New York in Aunt Lu's automobile, Wopsie sometimes going with them. +Several times Bunny or Sue asked colored persons they met if they were +looking for a little lost colored girl, but no one seemed to be. + +"Never mind, Wopsie," Bunny would say. "Some time we'll find your +folks." + +"Yes'm, I wishes as how yo' all would," Wopsie would answer. + +Bunny and Sue liked it very much at Aunt Lu's city home. They had many +good times. And that reminds me; I must tell you about the time Bunny +ordered a queer dinner for himself and Sue. + +The children had been out with Wopsie for a walk, and when they came +back to Aunt Lu's house it was such a nice day that Bunny and Sue did +not want to go in. + +"Let us stay out a while, Wopsie," Bunny begged. + +"Well, don't go 'way from in front, an' yo' all can stay," Wopsie said. +So Bunny and Sue sat on the side of the big stone steps, in front of +Aunt Lu's house. + +They really did not intend to go away, but when they saw a fire engine +dashing down the street, whistling and purring out black smoke, they +just couldn't stand still. + +"Let's go and see the fire!" cried Bunny. + +"Come on!" agreed Sue. + +But it was only a little fire, after all, though quite a crowd gathered. +It was upstairs in a store, and it was soon out. Bunny and Sue started +back, for they had not come far. They were getting so they knew their +way around pretty well now. + +As they passed a restaurant, or place to eat, they saw, in the window, a +man baking griddle cakes on a gas stove. He would let the cakes brown on +one side, toss them up in the air, making them turn a somersault, catch +them on a flat spoon, and then they would brown on the other side. + +"Oh Bunny!" cried Sue. "Wouldn't you like some of those?" + +"I would," said Bunny. "Come on in and we'll have some. I'm hungry!" + +He and Sue went into the restaurant, and sat down at one of the tables. +A girl, with a big white apron on over her black dress, brought them +each a glass of water and a napkin, and said: + +"Well, children, what do you want?" + +"We want dinner," said Bunny. "We're hungry, and we want some of those +cakes the man in the window is baking." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE STRAY DOG + + +The girl waitress in the restaurant smiled at Bunny Brown and his sister +Sue. They seemed too small to be going about, ordering meals for +themselves, but then the girl knew that in New York people do not live +as they do in other cities, or in the country. Many New York persons +never eat a meal at home, nor do their children. They go out to hotels, +restaurants or boarding houses. + +And perhaps this girl thought Bunny and Sue might be the children of +some family who had rooms near the restaurant, and who went out to their +meals. So she just asked them: + +"Are cakes the only things you want?" + +"Oh, no, we'll want more than that," said Bunny. "But we want the cakes +first; don't we, Sue?" + +"Yep," Sue answered. "I like pancakes. And I want some syrup on mine." + +"So do I!" cried Bunny. + +"I'll bring you some maple syrup when I bring you the cakes," the girl +said as, with a smile, she went up to the front of the restaurant to +tell the white-capped cook in the window to bake a plate of cakes for +each of the children. + +Several other persons in the restaurant smiled at Bunny and Sue, as they +sat there waiting for the cakes. They seemed such little tots to be all +alone. But Bunny and Sue knew what they were doing. At least they +thought they did, and they were not at all bashful. + +When the hot cakes were brought to them they spread on some butter, +poured the maple syrup over their plates, out of the little silver +pitchers, and began to eat. + +"They're awful good, aren't they, Bunny?" asked Sue, as she took up the +last piece of her third cake. + +"Yep," he answered. "I like 'em." + +"Let's have some more," Sue said. + +"No, let's have something else," said Bunny. "I'm hot now." + +"Oh, then we ought to have ice-cream," cried Sue. "You know the other +night, when Aunt Lu and mother were so warm, they had ice-cream." + +"Then we'll have some," agreed Bunny. + +"Anything else?" asked the waitress girl, coming up to their table. + +[Illustration: SOON BUNNY AND SUE WERE EATING THE ICE-CREAM + +_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home._ _Page 131._] + +"Ice-cream, please--two plates," ordered Bunny. Soon he and Sue were +eating the cold dessert. As they were taking up the last spoonfuls they +saw the waitress girl, at the next table carrying a large piece of red +watermelon to a man. + +"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue. "I want some of that!" + +"So do I!" exclaimed Bunny. "We'll have some." + +And so, after the ice-cream, they ordered watermelon. + +"Do you think it will be good for you?" asked the waitress girl. + +"Oh, yes, we like it," said Bunny. That was all he thought of--just +then. + +The ice-cream had been cold, and so was the watermelon, for it had been +on the ice, and by the time they had finished that Bunny and Sue were +quite chilled through. + +"Now I'd like to be warm again," said Sue. "Let's have some more hot +cakes, Bunny." + +"All right," agreed her brother. He waved his hand to the waitress girl. + +"Some more hot cakes!" ordered Bunny. + +The girl laughed and said: + +"I guess you tots had better not eat any more. I'll call the manager, +and ask him if he thinks it safe." + +A man, with a black moustache and red cheeks, came up to the table. + +"What is it?" he asked. The waitress girl explained. At the same time +she put down on the table, by Bunny's plate, two little cards, with some +numbers on them, and some round holes punched near the numbers. + +"We want some hot cakes, 'cause the ice-cream and watermelon made us so +cold," Bunny said. + +"How much money have you?" asked the manager, who is the man who sees +that everyone gets enough to eat, and then that they pay for it. + +"Money?" cried Bunny Brown. "Money?" + +"Yes, you must have money to pay for what you eat," the man said. + +"I've five cents," explained Sue. "My mother gave it to me for a toy +balloon, but I didn't spend it yet." + +"I've four cents," said Bunny, reaching into his pocket, and bringing +out four pennies. "I had five cents," he explained, "but I spent a penny +for a lollypop." + +He shoved the four pennies over toward the girl. Sue began looking in +her pocket for her five cent piece. + +"I'm afraid you won't have enough money," the manager said. "But if you +tell me where you live, and give me the name of your father, I'll call +him up on the telephone, and let him know you are here." + +"Oh, our daddy's away off," said Bunny. "But you can talk to Aunt Lu on +the telephone. She's got one. My mother is with her. She'll buy some +cakes for us." + +"What's your aunt's name?" the manager wanted to know. + +"Aunt Lu!" said Sue. + +"Aunt Lu Baker," added Bunny. + +"All right. I'll call her up," said the man, smiling. "And I don't +believe you had better eat any more griddle cakes. You might be made +ill. Give them some dry, sweet crackers, and a glass of milk," he said +to the girl. "That won't hurt them." + +Bunny and Sue liked the crackers very much. They were eating away, +having a fine time, when, all at once, into the restaurant came Mrs. +Brown. + +"Oh, Mother!" cried Bunny, as he saw her. "Are you hungry too? Sit down +by us and eat! We had a fine meal, didn't we, Sue?" + +"Yep," answered the little girl. "The ice-cream and watermelon is awful +good, Mother!" + +"Yes, I suppose it is," and Mrs. Brown could not help smiling. "But you +musn't come in restaurants, and order meals like this, Bunny Brown, +without having money to pay for them. It isn't right!" + +"I--I thought I had money enough," and Bunny looked at his four pennies. + +The manager laughed. He had found Aunt Lu's name in the telephone book, +and had talked to her, telling her about Bunny and Sue. And then, as the +restaurant was just around the corner from Aunt Lu's house, Mrs. Brown +had hurried there to get her children. + +She paid for what they had eaten, and took them back with her. The +waitress girl smiled, so did the manager, and so did many persons in the +restaurant, who had seen Bunny and Sue eating. + +"Don't ever do anything like this again, Bunny," said Mrs. Brown. + +"I won't," Bunny promised. "But we went to the fire, and we were awful +hungry; weren't we, Sue?" + +"Yes, we was. And the hot cakes was good." + +"Oh dear!" sighed Mrs. Brown. "I wonder what it will be next." + +But even Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did not know. + +For several weeks the two children stayed at Aunt Lu's city home. They +had more good times, and often went with their mother or Aunt Lu to the +moving pictures. Then, too, there was much to see on the city streets, +and Bunny and Sue never grew tired of looking at the strange sights. +Daddy Brown wrote letters, saying he was so busy, looking after his boat +business, that he could not come to see them for a long time. + +"Does he say how Splash, our dog, is?" asked Bunny, when part of one of +his father's letters had been read to him and Sue. + +"Yes, Daddy says Splash is all right, but lonesome," Mrs. Brown +answered. + +"I wish we had Splash here with us," sighed Sue. + +"So do I," echoed her brother. + +After that, whenever they saw a dog out in the street, they looked +anxiously at him, especially if he looked like Splash. And one day, when +Bunny and Sue had gone down to the corner of their street, to listen to +another hurdy-gurdy hand-piano, they saw a big yellow dog running about, +sniffing at some muddy water in a puddle in the sidewalk, as though he +wanted a drink. + +"Oh, look at that dog!" cried Bunny to Sue. "He's thirsty!" + +"He looks as nice as Splash, only, of course, it isn't Splash," Sue +said. + +"Maybe we could take him," said Bunny. "Let's try. Then we'll have a +city dog and a country dog, too." + +Sue was willing, and she and Bunny walked up to the stray dog. + +"Come here!" called Bunny, just as he used to call to Splash. + +The dog looked up. He seemed to like children, for he came straight to +Bunny and Sue. + +"Oh, he's got a nice collar on," said Sue. "Let's take him to Aunt Lu's, +Bunny, and give him a nice drink of water." + +"All right," agreed Bunny. "We will." Then, each with a hand on the +dog's collar, Bunny and Sue walked along with the nice animal, whose red +tongue hung out of his mouth, for the dog had been running, and was +quite hot. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE RAGGED MAN + + +"Come on, nice dog!" coaxed Sue, for as the children came nearer to the +house where Aunt Lu lived, the animal seemed to want to turn back and +run away. + +"Yes, don't be afraid," said Bunny. "We'll give you something nice to +eat, and some cold water." + +Whether the dog understood what Bunny and Sue said to him, or whether he +was thirsty and hungry and hoped to get something to eat, I do not know. +Some dogs seem to know everything you say to them, and certainly this +one was very wise. So he walked on willingly with the two children. + +"Do you think we can keep him?" asked Sue. + +"I guess so," answered her brother. "He's my dog, 'cause I saw him +first." + +"Isn't he half mine?" Sue wanted to know. + +"Nope, he's _all_ mine!" and Bunny took a firmer grasp on the dog's +collar. + +"Well, I don't care!" cried Sue, stamping her foot, which she sometimes +did when she was getting angry. "Half of our dog Splash at home is mine, +and I don't see why I can't have half of this one." + +"Nope, you can't!" cried Bunny. He hardly ever acted this way toward his +sister. Generally he gave her half of everything. "I want all this dog," +Bunny said. "I'm going to train him to be a circus animal, and if a girl +owns part of a dog she don't want him to run, or get muddy or anything +like that." + +"Oh, Bunny Brown!" cried Sue. "I don't care if he does get muddy. I want +him to be a circus dog, too. So please can't I have half of him? I'll +take the tail end for my half, or the head end half or down the middle, +just like we do with Splash!" + +"Well," and Bunny seemed to be thinking about it. "Maybe I'll let you +have half of him, Sue. But you've got to let me train your half the same +as mine, to be a circus dog." + +"Yes, Bunny, I will. Oh, isn't he a nice dog!" and she patted him on the +head. The dog wagged his tail and seemed happy. + +Into the apartment house hall walked the children, leading the stray dog +they had found in the street. The elevator was not open, being on one of +the upper floors, and Bunny pushed the button that rang the bell, which +told Henry, the colored elevator boy, that someone was on the lower +floor, waiting to be taken up. + +When Henry came down in the queer iron cage that slid up and down, he +looked first at Bunny, then at Sue, and then at the dog. + +"What yo' all want?" asked the colored boy, smiling and showing his big, +white teeth. + +"We want to ride up to Aunt Lu's house," answered Bunny. + +"We got a new dog, Henry," said Sue. + +Henry shook his head. + +"I'll take you little folks up to yo' aunt's house," he said, "but I +can't take up dat dawg." + +"Why not?" asked Bunny. "Is he too heavy? 'Cause if he is, Henry, we'll +go up with you first, and you can bring the dog up alone. We'll wait +for him up stairs." + +Once more the elevator boy shook his head. + +"No, sah! I can't do it!" he exclaimed. + +"Is you afraid, Henry?" asked Sue, putting her head down on the dog's +back. "Is you afraid he'll bite you, Henry? He won't. He's as nice a dog +as Splash is, the one we have at home. He won't bite, Henry." + +"No, Miss Sue. I ain't askeered ob dat," said Henry, with another smile. +"But yo' all can't bring no dawgs in heah! It ain't allowed, nohow!" + +"You mean we can't bring a dog in the house?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes, sah!" Henry exclaimed. "Dat's it. De man what owns dis house done +gib strict orders dat no dogs or cats or parrots can come in, an' I got +t' keep 'em out. Yo' all jest go up an' ast yo' Aunt Lu 'bout it." + +"Shall we?" asked Sue, as she looked down at the dog. + +"Yes," said Bunny. "But, of course, Henry ought to know. But we've got +to give this dog something to eat and drink, Sue, 'cause we promised we +would. So we'll just leave him down here, and go up and tell Aunt Lu. We +can do that; can't we, Henry?" Bunny asked. + +"Oh, yes, Bunny. Yo' all kin do dat I'll jest tie de dawg down here in +de hall, an' yo' all kin go ast yo' Aunt Lu." + +The dog did not seem to mind being tied and left alone. Henry fastened +him with a cord, and the dog lay down on the cool marble floor, while +the colored boy took the two children up in the elevator. + +"Oh, Bunny!" said Sue, in a whisper, as they were waiting for their +aunt's maid, or for Wopsie, to open the door of the hall. "Oh, Bunny, I +know what we could do." + +"What?" Bunny wanted to know. + +Sue looked around, and seeing that Henry had gone down in his elevator, +she said: + +"We could have walked our new dog up the stairs. We didn't need to bring +him up in the elevator. Then Henry wouldn't have seen him." + +"Yes, but he'd hear him when he barks. If they won't let us keep our new +dog here we can take him to Central Park, Sue." + +"What for, Bunny?" + +"To put him in a cage until we go home. Then we can take him with us to +play with Splash." + +"Oh, maybe we could!" cried Sue, clapping her hands. + +By this time Wopsie had opened the door. + +"Well, where yo' chilluns bin?" she asked. "Yo' ma an' yo' aunt Lu am +gettin' worried 'bout yo'." + +"We found a dog!" cried Bunny. "A real dog!" + +"And he's down stairs," said Sue. "Henry won't bring him up on the +elevator, but it isn't 'cause Henry's afraid. They won't let dogs live +in here, he says. Don't they, Aunt Lu?" + +"Don't they what, Sue?" asked Miss Baker, coming into the room just +then. + +"Dogs," answered Bunny. "We found a nice dog, Aunt Lu, and we want to +keep him, but Henry won't let us," and he told all that had happened. + +"No, I am sorry," said Aunt Lu. "They don't allow any dogs, cats or +parrots in this building. You see they think persons who have no pets +would be bothered by those animals of the neighbors. I'm sorry, Bunny +and Sue, but you can't have the dog. One is enough, anyhow, and you have +Splash." + +"Yes, but he's away off home," said Bunny. + +"Never mind, dears. I'm sorry, but I haven't any place for a dog, or a +cat or even a parrot." + +Bunny and Sue thought for a moment Then Bunny asked: + +"Could you keep a monkey, Aunt Lu?" + +"Gracious goodness, no!" cried his aunt. "I should hope not! A monkey +would be worse than a dog, a cat or a parrot. I hope you don't think of +bringing a monkey home, Bunny." + +"Oh, no'm. I was just wondering what we'd do if a hand-organ man gave us +a monkey." + +Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu laughed. + +"Well, I hope a hand-organ man won't give you a monkey," said Bunny's +mother, "but, if one does, you'll have to say that you're much obliged, +but that you can't keep it." + +"Well," broke in Sue, "can we give this dog something to eat and drink, +Aunt Lu? We promised him some." + +"Yes, you can do that. Poor dog, he's probably a stray one, and will be +glad of a meal. Mary will get you some cold meat and a pail of water, +and you can take it down to the poor dog. But don't invite him up here, +Bunny dear." + +The children were sorry they could not keep the dog they had found in +the street, but perhaps it was better not to have him. They gave him the +water and meat, standing with Henry in the lower hall while the animal +ate and drank. Then the elevator boy loosened the string from the dog's +collar. + +"Run along now!" called Henry, and the dog with a bark, and a wag of his +tail, trotted off down the street. + +"He's happy, anyhow," remarked Sue. "Dogs is always happy when they wag +their tails; aren't they Bunny?" + +"I guess so. Well, what will we do next?" + +That question was answered for Bunny and Sue when they went up stairs +again. For Wopsie was waiting to take them to a moving picture show not +far away. There Bunny and Sue had a good time the rest of the afternoon. + +It was two or three days after this that, as Bunny and Sue were walking +up and down on the sidewalk in front of Aunt Lu's house, waiting for +Wopsie to come down and go with them to another moving picture show, the +two children saw, walking along, a very ragged man. And, as they watched +him, they saw the poor man stoop over a can of ashes on the street, and +take from it a piece of dried bread, which he began to eat as though +very hungry indeed. + +"Oh, Bunny! Look at that!" cried Sue. + +"What is it?" asked the little boy. + +"That man! He's so hungry he took bread out of the ash can." + +"He must be terrible hungry," said Bunny. "Oh, Sue, I know what we can +do!" + +"What?" + +"We can get him something to eat," said Bunny. "I heard Aunt Lu say she +didn't know what she was going to do with all the meat left over from +dinner. This man would like it, I'm sure. We can ask him up to Aunt +Lu's rooms. She'll feed him." + +"All right," cried Sue, always ready to do what Bunny did. + +"We'll ask him. But we won't take him up in the elevator, Sue," Bunny +went on. + +"Why not?" + +"'Cause maybe Henry won't let him come up, same as he wouldn't let the +dog we found. We'll walk up the stairs with the man." + +"It--it's awful far," said Sue, with a sigh, as she thought of the ten +flights. Once she and Bunny, just for fun, had walked up them. It took a +long while. + +"Well, I'll walk up with the ragged man," said Bunny. "You can ride up +in the elevator, Sue, and tell Aunt Lu we're coming, so she can have +something to eat all ready." + +"All right," agreed Sue. "That will be nice!" + +Then she and Bunny started toward the ragged man who was poking about in +the ash can with a long stick, as though looking for more pieces of +bread. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +BUNNY GOES FISHING + + +"Are you hungry, Mr. Man?" asked Bunny, standing, with his sister Sue, +behind the ragged man. "Are you hungry?" + +The man turned quickly, and seeing it was only two little children, he +smiled. + +"Yes, I am hungry," he said. "I guess you'd be hungry, too, if you +hadn't had any breakfast, or dinner or supper, except what you picked +out of the ashes." + +"My Aunt Lu will give you something to eat," said Sue. "You're going to +walk up stairs with Bunny, so Henry, the elevator boy, won't see you. +You don't mind walking, do you?" + +"Not if I get something to eat," and the man chewed on a piece of the +dried bread. + +"Oh, Aunt Lu will give you lots!" promised Sue. "She's got plenty of +meat left over from dinner, I heard her say so. But you can't go in the +elevator. Henry wouldn't let us take up a dog we found." + +"Course you're not a dog," Bunny explained quickly, "but they don't let +dogs or cats or parrots, or I guess monkeys, up in this place, so maybe +they wouldn't let you. But I don't know about that. Only I'll walk up +stairs with you, and get you something to eat." + +"And I'll go on ahead and tell Aunt Lu you're coming," said Sue. "Then +Henry won't see you in his elevator. Go on, Bunny." + +"Come along," said the little fellow, holding out his hand to the ragged +man. Even though he was ragged he seemed clean. + +"Oh, I guess I'd better not go up with you, little ones," the man said. +"I'm not dressed nice enough to go in there," and he looked up at the +fine, big apartment house in which lived Aunt Lu. "If there was a back +door I'd go round to that," he said, "but they don't have back doors to +city houses. I'm not used to being a tramp, and begging, either," he +said. "But I've been sick, and I can't get any work, and I don't want to +beg." + +"Aunt Lu likes to help people," said Bunny, "and so does my mother. You +come on up stairs with me and I'll get you something to eat. Sue, you go +in first, and get Henry to take you up in the elevator. Then Henry won't +see me and this man come in, and he can't stop us." + +"All right," agreed Sue. So, while Bunny stayed outside, with the ragged +man, Sue went into the hall, and rang the elevator bell. + +"Hello!" exclaimed Henry, as he opened the sliding door for Sue. +"Where's Bunny?" + +"Oh, he's coming," Sue said. + +"Then I'll wait for him," said Henry. + +"Oh, no! You needn't!" Sue exclaimed. "Maybe he won't be in for a long +time. I want to go up right away, to tell Aunt Lu she's going to have +company." + +"Company!" cried Henry. "If company is comin', I'll wait and take 'em +up." + +"No, please don't!" begged Sue. "Take me up right away, and then you can +come down again." She did not want Henry to wait there in the lower +hall, with his elevator, and see Bunny going up the stairs with the +ragged man. Sue wanted to get Henry safely out of the way. + +"All right. I'll take you up," promised Henry, and, a second later, Sue +was shooting upward in the elevator car. + +"Come on now. We can get in without Henry's seeing us!" called Bunny to +the ragged man. "It's a long walk, but Sue and I did it once." + +"Say, I'm much obliged to you," said the tramp, for that's what he was. +"But maybe I'd better not go in. They might arrest me." + +"No they won't--not while I'm with you," Bunny said. "I'll tell a +policeman you're going up to my Aunt Lu's. She's got lots to eat." + +And so Bunny and the ragged man began the long climb up the stairs, +while Sue rode in the elevator. She, of course, was the first to reach +her aunt's rooms. Wopsie let Sue in. + +"Oh, Aunt Lu!" cried Sue. "The hungry, ragged man's coming. He ate bread +out of the ash can, and he hasn't had any breakfast, dinner or supper. +Bunny's walking up stairs with him, so Henry won't see him, 'cause +Henry, maybe, wouldn't let him ride in the elevator. But he's awful +hungry, so please give him some of that meat!" + +For a moment Aunt Lu stared at Sue, and so did Mrs. Brown. + +"Bless my stars!" cried Aunt Lu, after a bit. "What does the child +mean?" + +"It's the ragged man," Sue explained. "Bunny's bringing him up the +stairs," and then the little girl told her aunt and mother all about it. + +"But, Sue, dear! You musn't bring strange men in the house," said her +mother. + +"Oh, he was so hungry and ragged!" cried the little girl. + +"She meant all right," remarked Aunt Lu. "I dare say it is some poor +tramp. There are many of them in New York. I'll give him something to +eat. Is Bunny bringing him here?" + +"Yes, Aunt Lu. Bunny's walking up the stairs with him, so Henry won't +see him, and put him out, like he did our dog that we found." + +Aunt Lu and Mother Brown laughed at this, but Sue did not mind. Soon +there came a ring at Aunt Lu's hall bell. She opened the door herself, +and saw, standing there, Bunny and the ragged man. + +"Here he is!" Bunny cried. "I got him up stairs all right, but he +slipped on one step. I didn't let him fall, though, and Henry didn't see +us. He's hungry, Aunt Lu." + +The ragged man took off his ragged cap. + +"I'm sorry about this, lady," he said to Aunt Lu. "But the little boy +would have it that I come up with him. He said you'd give me a meal, but +I don't like to trouble you--" + +"Oh, I'm glad to help you," said Aunt Lu. "Wait a minute and I'll hand +you out something to eat." + +"Come on in!" said Bunny, who did not see why the ragged man should be +left standing in the hall. + +"No, little chap, I'll wait here," said the man. A few minutes later he +was drinking a bowl of coffee Mary, the colored cook, brought him, and +he was given a bag of bread and meat, with a piece of cake. + +"It's mighty good of you, lady," said the ragged man, as he started to +walk down the stairs again. + +"You can thank the children," said Aunt Lu with a smile, as she gave the +man some money. "And you needn't walk down. I'll ring for the elevator +for you." + +"Oh, no'm, I'd rather walk. I'm stronger now I've had that coffee. I'll +walk down. The elevator boy wouldn't want me in his car. I'll walk." + +Down he started, not so hungry now, though as ragged as ever. And, too, +Aunt Lu had given him money enough to last him for a few days, until he +could find work to earn money for himself. + +"But, Bunny and Sue, please don't ask any more ragged men up without +first coming to tell me," said Aunt Lu with a smile. "I like to be kind +to all poor persons, but you see I live in a house with many other +families, and some of them might not like to have tramps come up here. +However, you meant all right, only come and tell me or your mother +first, after this." + +"I will," promised Bunny. "But he was awful hungry; wasn't he?" + +"I guess he was, and I'm glad we could help him. But now Wopsie is ready +to take you to the moving pictures. Run along." + +Bunny and Sue had another good time at the pictures. They saw the play +of Cinderella, and liked it very much. After they came out they went to +a drug store, and had ice-cream. + +One day Aunt Lu said to Bunny and Sue: + +"How would you like to go to the aquarium?" + +"What's that?" asked Bunny. "Is it like a moving picture show?" + +"Well, it is moving, and it is a show," answered Aunt Lu, with a smile. +"But it is not exactly pictures. It is a big building down at the end of +New York City, in a place called Battery Park, and in the building are +tanks and pools, where live fish are swimming around. There are also +seals, alligators and turtles. Would you like to go to see that?" + +Bunny and Sue thought they would, very much, and a little later, with +their mother and Aunt Lu, they were in the aquarium. All around the +building, which was in the shape of a circle, were glass tanks, in which +big and little fish could be seen swimming about. In white tile-lined +pools, in the middle of the floor, were larger fish, alligators, turtles +and other things. Bunny was delighted. + +"Oh, if I could only catch some of these big fish," he said to Sue. + +"But you can't!" + +"Maybe I can," he said to her in a whisper. "I brought some pins with +me, and some string. I'm going to try and catch a fish. Come on over +here." + +From his pocket Bunny took a string and a pin. His mother and his aunt +were looking down in the pool where some seals were swimming about. +Bunny, holding Sue's hand, led her over to the other side of the +aquarium where there was a pool containing some large fish, and some big +turtles. + +"I'm going to fish here," said Bunny Brown. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +LOST IN NEW YORK + + +Bunny's sister Sue did not think her brother was doing anything wrong. +She had so often seen him do many things that other boys did not do that +she thought whatever Bunny did was all right. + +"How you going to catch fish?" she asked. + +"I'll show you," Bunny answered. "But don't call mother or Aunt Lu. They +want to stay looking at the seals. I've seen enough of them." + +But I think, though, that the real reason Bunny did not want Sue to call +his mother, or his aunt, was because he was afraid they might stop him +from trying to catch a fish. + +And that was what Bunny Brown was going to try to do. + +While Sue watched, Bunny bent a pin up in the shape of a hook. He and +his sister had often fished with such hooks down in the brook near +their house. Bunny tied the bent pin to the end of a long string, and +then he walked over toward the white, tile-lined pool. + +Just at this time there was no one near this pool, for most of the +visitors in the aquarium were watching the seals, as Mrs. Brown and Aunt +Lu were doing. The seals, of whom there were three or four, seemed to be +having a game of tag. They swam about very swiftly, and leaped half out +of the water, splashing it all about, and even on the persons standing +about the pool. But the men, women and children only laughed, and +crowded up closer to look at the playing seals. + +"I want to see them," said Sue, pointing to where the crowd stood, +laughing. + +"Wait until I catch a fish," pleaded Bunny. "I'll soon have a fish, or a +turtle or an alligator, Sue." + +"I don't want any alligators," said the little girl. "They bite, and so +does a turtle." + +"All right. I won't catch them," promised Bunny. "I'll just catch a +fish. Then we'll go to look at the seals." + +"All right," agreed Sue. She went with her little brother over to the +other pool. They were the only ones there, because everyone else was so +anxious to look at the seals. + +"Now watch me catch a fish," Bunny said. To the bent pin hook, on the +end of the string, he tied a piece of rag. He had brought all these +things with him, hoping he might get a chance to fish in the aquarium. + +"What's that rag?" Sue wanted to know. + +"That's my bait," Bunny answered. "You can't dig any worms in the city, +'cause there's all sidewalk. So I use this rag for bait." + +"I don't like worms, anyhow," said Sue. "They is so--so squiggily. Rags +is nicer for bait. But will the fish eat rags, Bunny?" + +"I guess so." + +The pool that Bunny had picked out to fish in was in two parts. There +was a wire screen across the middle, and on one side were the alligators +and turtles--some large and some small, while on the other side of the +wire were fish. It was these fish--or one of them at least--that Bunny +Brown was going to try to catch. + +Into the water he cast his bent pin hook, with the fluttering rag for +bait. No one saw him, everyone else being at the seal-pool. Sue watched +her brother eagerly. She wanted him to hurry, and catch a fish, so they +could go over where their mother and Aunt Lu were. + +But the fish in the pool did not seem to care for Bunny's rag bait. +Perhaps they knew it was only a piece of cloth, and not a nice worm, or +piece of meat, such as they would like to eat. Anyhow, they just swam +past it in the water. + +"Hurry up, Bunny, and catch a fish!" begged Sue. "I want to go and look +at the seals." + +"All right--I'll have a fish in a minute," Bunny said, hopefully. + +But he did not. The fish would not bite. Bunny wanted to catch +something, and, all at once, he decided that if he could not get a fish +he might get a turtle, or a small alligator. But he did not tell Sue +what he was going to do, for he knew she would not like it. She was +afraid of alligators and turtles. + +Bunny pulled his line from the fish-pool and tossed the pin-hook over +into the turtle-pool. And then something happened, all at once! There +was a rush through the water, as a big turtle saw the fluttering rag, +and the next minute Bunny was nearly pulled over the low railing into +the pool. For the turtle had swallowed his bent pin hook. + +"Oh, Sue! I've got one! I've got one!" cried Bunny, shouting out loud, +he was so excited. + +"Have you got a fish, Bunny?" asked Sue, who had walked a little way +over toward the seal-pool. + +"No, I haven't got a fish, but I've got a turtle. But I won't let him +hurt you, Sue!" he called. "Oh, I've got a big one! Look, Sue!" + +Bunny was holding tightly to the string. He had wound it about his +hands, and as the cord was a strong one, and as the turtle had swallowed +the bent-pin hook on the other end, Bunny was almost being pulled over +into the tank full of water, where the alligators and other turtles were +now swimming about, very much excited, because the turtle which Bunny +had caught was making such a fuss. + +"Oh, I've got him! I've got him!" cried Bunny, eagerly. + +"I rather think he has got _you_!" said a man, rushing up to Bunny just +in time to grab him. The little fellow's feet were being lifted off the +floor and, in another few seconds, he himself was in danger of being +pulled into the pool. For the cord was a strong one, and the turtle was +one of the largest. + +"Let go the string!" called the man who had hold of Bunny. "Let go the +string!" + +Bunny did so, and the turtle swam away with it. + +By this time Mother Brown and Aunt Lu, who had heard Bunny's calls, had +rushed over to him. Others, too, left the seals, to see what was the +excitement at the turtle and alligator pool. + +"Oh, Bunny! What have you done?" cried his mother. + +"I--I was catching a fish," Bunny explained, as the man who had stopped +him from being pulled into the pool, set the little fellow down. "I was +catching a fish and--" + +"But you musn't catch any fish in _here_!" exclaimed one of the men in +uniform, who was on guard in the aquarium. "You're not allowed to catch +fish in here!" + +"It--it wasn't a fish," said Bunny. "It was a turtle. I tried to get a +fish, but I couldn't. But the turtle bit on the rag bait." + +"Yes, turtles will do that," said the guard. "But you must never again +try to fish in here. These fish are to look at, not to catch." + +"Oh, I'm sure he didn't mean to do wrong," said the man who had saved +Bunny from getting wet in the pool. + +"I'll forgive him this time," the guard said, "but he must not do it +again." + +"I won't," Bunny promised. + +The turtle that had taken the pin hook was swimming about with the +string dragging after it. One of the aquarium men, with a net, caught +the turtle, and took the pin and string out of its mouth. + +"Now let's go and look at the seals," said Bunny, when the crowd, +laughing at what the little boy had done, had moved away. + +"But you musn't try to catch any of them," his mother said. + +"I won't," promised Bunny. + +Watching the seals was fun, and Bunny and Sue had a good time there, +until it was time to go out of the aquarium for dinner. The children had +a nice meal, in a restaurant, and Aunt Lu said: + +"I think this afternoon we will take a little ride on the boat to Coney +Island. You children can have an ocean bath there. It is getting on +toward fall, I know, but it is all the nicer down at the beach, and +there won't be such crowds there as in real hot weather." + +"Oh, won't it be fun to paddle in the water again!" cried Sue. + +"That's what it will!" said Bunny Brown. + +The place to take the boat for Coney Island was two or three blocks from +the restaurant where they had eaten lunch. Bunny and Sue walked behind +Mother Brown and Aunt Lu along the street to the boat-dock. + +"This is just like home," said Bunny as he saw the water-front, with +many boats tied up along the docks, just as they were at his father's +pier at home. + +Sue liked it, too. There were many things to see. In one window the +children saw a number of monkeys, and birds with brightly colored +feathers. + +"Oh, let's stop and look at them!" cried Sue. Bunny was willing, so they +stood looking in the window. Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu, thinking the +children were coming right along, walked on. And it was not until they +were ready to cross the street that the mother and aunt missed the +little ones. + +"Why, where can they have gone?" cried Mrs. Brown, looking all around. + +"Oh, they're just walking slowly, behind us," Aunt Lu said. "We'll go +back and find them." + +She and her sister walked back, but they could not see Bunny and Sue. + +"Oh, where are they?" cried Mrs. Brown. "My children are lost! Lost in +New York! Oh dear!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +AT THE POLICE STATION + + +Bunny Brown, and his sister Sue, standing in front of the window where +the monkeys and birds were, in cages, had forgotten all about Mother +Brown and Aunt Lu. All the children thought of was watching the funny +things the monkeys did, for there were three of the long-tailed animals +in one cage, and they seemed to be playing tricks on one another. + +"Oh, Bunny!" said Sue, "this must be where the hand-organ men get their +monkeys." + +"Maybe," Bunny agreed. "But hand-organ monkeys have red caps on, and +wear green coats, and these monkeys haven't anything on." + +"Maybe they make caps and jackets for them from the birds' feathers," +Sue said. + +"Maybe," agreed Bunny. Certainly the feathers of the birds were red and +green, just the colors of the caps and jackets the monkeys wore. + +"I wonder if the man would give us a monkey?" Sue said, as she pressed +her little nose flat against the window glass, so she would miss nothing +of what went on in the store. + +"Maybe he would, or we could save up and buy one," Bunny answered. + +"Monkeys don't cost much I guess. 'Cause hand-organ mens isn't very +rich, and they always have one. I'd like a parrot, too," said Sue. + +"Yes, a parrot is better than a doll, for a parrot can talk." + +"A parrot is not better than a doll!" Sue cried. + +"Yes it is," said Bunny. "It's alive, too, and a doll isn't." + +"Well, I can make believe my doll is alive," said Sue. "Anyhow, Bunny +Brown, you can't have a parrot or a monkey, 'cause Henry, the elevator +boy, won't let 'em come inside Aunt Lu's house." + +"That's so," Bunny agreed. "Well, anyhow, we can go in and ask how much +they cost, and we can save up our money and buy one when we go home. We +aren't always going to stay at Aunt Lu's. And our dog, Splash, would +like a monkey and a parrot." + +"Yes," said Sue, "he would. All right, we'll go in and ask how much they +is." + +Hand in hand, never thinking about their aunt and their mother, Bunny +and Sue went into the animal store, in the window of which were the +monkeys and the parrots. Once inside, the children saw so many other +things--chickens, ducks, goldfish, rabbits, squirrels, pigeons and +dogs--that they were quite delighted. + +"Why--why!" cried Sue, "it's just like Central Park, Bunny!" + +"Almost!" said the little boy. "Oh, Sue. Look at the squirrel on the +merry-go-'round!" + +In a cage on the counter, behind which stood an old man, was a +bushy-tailed squirrel, and he was going around and around in a sort of +wire wheel. It was like a small merry-go-'round, except that it did not +whirl in just the same way. + +"What do you want, children?" asked the old man who kept the animal +store. + +"We--we'd like a monkey, if it doesn't cost too much," said Bunny. + +"And a parrot, too. Don't forget the parrot, Bunny," whispered Sue. "We +want a parrot that can talk." + +"And how much is a parrot, too?" asked Bunny. + +The old man smiled at the children. Then he said: + +"Well, parrots and monkeys cost more than you think. A parrot that can +talk well costs about ten dollars!" + +Bunny looked at Sue and Sue looked at Bunny. They had never thought a +parrot cost as much as that. Bunny had thought about twenty-five cents, +and Sue about ten. + +"Well," said Bunny with a sigh, "I guess we can't get a parrot." + +"Does one that can't talk cost as much as that?" Sue wanted to know. + +"Well, not quite, but almost, for they soon learn to talk, you know," +answered the nice old man. + +"How much are monkeys?" asked Bunny. It was almost as if he had gone +into Mrs. Redden's store at home, and asked how much were lollypops. + +"Well, monkeys cost more than parrots," said the old man. + +"Oh, dear!" sighed Bunny. "I--I guess we can't ever save up enough to +get one." + +"No, I guess not," agreed Sue. + +The old man smiled in such a nice way that Bunny and Sue felt sure he +would be good and kind. He was almost like Uncle Tad. + +"Where did you get all these animals?" asked Bunny, as he and his sister +looked around on the dogs, cats, monkeys, parrots, guinea pigs, pigeons +and goldfish, that were on all sides of the store. + +"Oh, I have had an animal store a long time," said the old man. "I buy +the animals and birds in different places, and sell them to the boys and +girls of New York who want them for pets." + +"We have a pet dog named Splash," said Bunny. "He's bigger than any dogs +you have here." + +"Yes, I don't keep big dogs," said the old man. "They take up too much +room, and they eat too much. Mostly, folks in New York want small dogs, +because they live in small houses, or apartments." + +"My Aunt Lu can't have a dog or a parrot or a monkey in her house," said +Sue. "Henry, the colored elevator boy, won't let her. Bunny and me, we +found a dog, and Henry made us tie him down in the hall to feed him." + +"Yes, I suppose so," said the old man. + +"And we found a ragged man," went on Bunny, "and I had to lead him up +stairs--ten flights--'cause Henry maybe wouldn't let him ride in the +elevator." + +"That was too bad," said the old animal store-keeper. "But where do you +children live? Is your home near here, and do your folks know you are +trying to buy a monkey and a parrot?" + +Then, for the first time since they had looked in the window of the +animal store, Bunny and Sue thought of Mother Brown and Aunt Lu. They +remembered they had started for the seashore. + +"Oh, our mother and aunt are with us," said Bunny. "We had our dinner, +and we're going to Coney Island. I guess we'd better go, too, Sue. Maybe +they're waiting for us." + +Bunny and Sue started out of the animal store, but, just then, one +monkey pulled another monkey's tail, and the second one made such a +chattering noise that the children turned around to see what it was. +Then the monkey whose tail was pulled, reached out his paw, through the +wires of his cage, and caught hold of the tail of a green parrot. +Perhaps he thought the parrot was pulling his tail. + +"Stop it! Stop it!" screamed the parrot. "Polly wants a cracker! Oh, +what a hot day! Have some ice-cream! Stop it! Stop it! Pop goes the +weasel!" + +Bunny and Sue laughed, though they felt sorry that the monkey's and +parrot's tails were being pulled. The animal-store man hurried over to +the cages to stop the trouble, and Bunny and Sue stayed to watch. + +So it happened, when Mother Brown and Aunt Lu turned around, to find the +missing children, Bunny and Sue were not in sight, being inside the +store. So, of course, their mother and their aunt did not see them. + +"Oh, where could they have gone?" cried Mother Brown. + +"Perhaps they are just behind us," said Aunt Lu. "We'll find them all +right." + +"But suppose they are lost?" + +"They can't be lost very long in New York," Aunt Lu said. "The police +will find them. Come, we'll walk back and look for them." + +But though Mother Brown and Aunt Lu walked right past the store, they +never thought that Bunny and Sue were inside. + +"Oh, dear!" cried Aunt Lu, "I don't see where they can be!" + +"Nor I," said Mrs. Brown. "Oh, if my children are lost!" + +"If they are we'll soon find them," asserted Aunt Lu, looking up and +down the street, but not seeing Bunny or Sue. "Here comes a policeman +now," she went on. "We'll ask him." + +But, though the policeman had seen many children on the street, he was +not sure he had seen Bunny and Sue. + +"However," he said, "the police station is not far from here. You had +better go there and ask if they have any lost children. We pick up some +every day, and maybe yours are there. Go to the police station. You'll +find 'em there." + +And to the police station went Mother Brown and Aunt Lu. They walked in +toward a big, long desk, with a brass rail in front. Behind the desk sat +a man dressed like a soldier, with gold braid on his cap. + +"Have you any lost children?" asked Mother Brown. + +"A few," answered the police officer behind the brass rail. "You can +hear 'em crying." + +Aunt Lu and Mother Brown listened. Surely enough, they heard several +little children crying. + +"They're in the back room," said the officer. "I'll take you in, and you +can pick yours out." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +HOME AGAIN + + +Mother Brown and Aunt Lu went into the back room of the police station. +Around the room, at a table, sat many policemen, most of them with their +coats off, for it was rather a warm day. These were the policemen who +were waiting for something to happen--such as a fire, or some other +trouble--before they went out to help boys and girls, or men and women. + +But, besides these policemen, there were some little children, three +little boys, and two little girls, all rather ragged, all quite dirty, +and at least one boy and one girl were crying. + +"Oh, where did you get them all?" asked Mother Brown. + +"They are lost children," said the policeman who looked like a soldier, +with the gold braid on his cap. "Our officers find them on the street, +and bring them here." + +"And how do their fathers and mothers find them?" asked Aunt Lu. + +"Oh, they come here looking for them, the same as you two ladies are +doing. The children are never lost very long. You see they're so little +they can't tell where they live, or we'd send them home ourselves. Are +any of these the lost children you are looking for?" + +"Oh, no! Not one!" exclaimed Mother Brown. It took only one look to show +her and Aunt Lu that Bunny and Sue were not among the lost children then +in the police station. + +"Well, I wish some of these were yours," returned the officer. +"Especially those two crying ones. They've cried ever since they came +here." + +"Boo-hoo!" cried two of the lost children. They seemed to be afraid, +more than were the others. The others rather liked it. One boy was +playing with a policeman's hat, while a little girl was trying to see if +she was as tall as a policeman's long club. + +"Will they stay here long?" asked Aunt Lu. + +"Oh, no, not very long," said the officer. + +"Their mothers will miss them soon, and come to look for them. So none +of these are yours?" he asked. + +"No, but I wish they were," said Mother Brown. "Oh, what has happened to +Bunny and Sue?" she asked, and there were tears in her eyes. + +"They'll be all right," said the officer in the gold-laced cap. "Maybe +they haven't been found yet. As soon as a policeman on the street sees +that your children are lost he'll bring them here. You can sit down and +wait, if you like. Your little ones may be brought in any minute now." + +But Aunt Lu and Mother Brown thought they would rather be out in the +street, looking for Bunny and Sue, instead of staying in the police +station, and waiting. + +"If you leave the names of your children," said the officer to Mother +Brown, "we'll telephone to you as soon as they are found. That is if +they can tell their names." + +"Oh, Bunny and Sue can do that, and they can also tell where they live," +said Aunt Lu. + +"Oh, then they'll be all right," the officer said, with a laugh. "Maybe +they're home by this time. If they told a policeman where they lived he +might even take them home, or send them home in a taxicab. We often do +that," he said, for he could tell by looking at Aunt Lu and Mother Brown +that the two ladies lived in a nice part of New York, maybe a long way +from this police station. + +"Oh, perhaps Bunny and Sue are home now, waiting for us!" said Mother +Brown. "Let's go and see!" + +"And if they're not, and if they are brought here, we'll telephone to +you," the officer said, as he put the names of Bunny and Sue down on a +piece of paper, and also Aunt Lu's telephone number. + +So Mrs. Brown and her sister left the police station, and, after another +look in the street where they last had seen Bunny and Sue, hoping they +might see them (but they did not), off they started for Aunt Lu's house. + +"Maybe they are there now," said Mother Brown. + +But of course Bunny Brown and his sister Sue were not. We know where +they were, though their mother and aunt did not. The children were +still in the animal store, laughing at the funny things the monkeys were +doing. + +After a while, though, one monkey stopped pulling the other monkey's +tail, and the other monkey stopped trying to pull the green feathers out +of the parrot's tail, and it was quiet in the animal store, except for +the cooing of the pigeons and the barking of the dogs. + +"So you don't think you want to buy a monkey or a parrot to-day, +children?" asked the animal-man, with a smile. + +"No, thank you. We haven't the money," said Bunny. "But I would like a +monkey." + +"And I'd like a parrot," added Sue. "But Henry, the elevator boy, +wouldn't let us keep 'em, so maybe it's just as well." + +"We can come down here when we want to see any animals," said Bunny to +his sister. "I like it better than Central Park." + +"So do I," said Sue. + +"Yes, come down as often as you like," the old man invited them. "Are +you going?" he asked, as he saw Bunny and Sue open the door. + +"Yes, we're going to Coney Island with mother and Aunt Lu," Bunny +answered. + +He and Sue stepped out into the street. They had forgotten all about +their mother and their aunt until now, and they thought they would find +them on the sidewalk, waiting. But, of course, we know what Mother Brown +and Aunt Lu had done--gone to the police station, looking for the lost +ones. + +So, when Bunny and Sue looked up and down the street, as they stood in +front of the animal store, they did not see Mrs. Brown or Aunt Lu. + +"I--I wonder where they went?" said Sue. + +"I don't know," answered Bunny. "Maybe they're lost!" + +Sue looked a little frightened at this. The animal-man, seeing the +children did not know what to do, came out to them. + +"Can't you find your mother?" he asked. + +"No," answered Bunny. "She--she's lost!" + +"I guess it's _you_ who are lost," said the animal-man. "But never mind. +Tell me where you live, and I'll have the police take you home." + +Bunny and Sue, when first they came to New York, had been told by their +Aunt Lu that if they ever got lost not to be worried or frightened, for +a policeman would take them home. So now, when they heard the animal-man +speak about the police, they knew what to expect. + +"Where do you live, children?" asked the gray-haired animal-man. "Tell +me where you live." + +But, strange to say, Bunny and Sue had each forgotten. Some days past +their aunt and mother had made them learn, by heart, the number and the +street where Aunt Lu's house stood. But now, try as they did, neither +Bunny nor Sue could remember it. Watching the monkeys and parrots had +made them forget, I suppose. + +"Don't you know where you live?" asked the animal-man. + +Bunny shook his head. So did Sue. + +"Our elevator boy is named Henry," Bunny said. + +The animal-man laughed. + +"I guess there are a good many elevator boys named Henry, in New York," +he said. "I'll just tell the police that I have two lost children here. +They'll come and get you, and take you home. Maybe your aunt and mother +have already been at the police station looking for you." + +It took only a little while for the kind man to telephone to the same +police station where Aunt Lu and Mother Brown had been. Of course they +were not there then. + +But soon a kind policeman came and took Bunny and Sue to the police +station, leading them by the hand. Bunny and Sue thought it was fun, and +persons in the street smiled at the sight. They knew two lost children +had been found. + +"What are your names, little ones?" asked the policeman behind the big +brass railing, when the two tots were led into the station house. + +"I'm Bunny Brown, and this is my sister Sue," spoke up the little boy. +"We're lost, and so is our mother and our Aunt Lu." + +"Well, you won't be lost long," said the officer with a laugh. "Your +mother and aunt have been here looking for you, but they've gone home. +I'll telephone them you are here, and they'll come and get you." + +And that's just what happened. Bunny and Sue sat in the back room, with +the other lost children, though there were not so many now, for two of +them--the crying ones--had been taken away by their mothers. And, pretty +soon, along came Aunt Lu's big automobile, and in that Bunny and Sue +were ready to be taken safely home. + +Then Aunt Lu rode past the kind animal-man's place, and she and Mother +Brown thanked him for his care of the children. + +"We couldn't have a monkey and a parrot, could we, Mother?" asked Bunny, +as they left the animal store. + +"No, dear. I'm afraid not." + +"I didn't think we could," Bunny went on. "But when we get back home, +where Henry, the elevator boy, can't see 'em, Sue and I is going to have +a monkey and a parrot." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +BUNNY FLIES A KITE + + +Mother Brown and Aunt Lu laughed when Bunny said this. Bunny's and Sue's +mother and aunt were glad to have the children safely with them again. +They were soon at Aunt Lu's home. + +"Whatever made you two children go into that animal store?" asked Mrs. +Brown. "Aunt Lu and I thought you were right behind us, going to take +the boat for Coney Island. Now we can't go." + +"We can go some other day," declared Bunny. "You see we just stopped to +look in the animal store window, Mother, and then we thought we'd go in +to see how much a monkey and a parrot cost." + +"But they cost ten dollars," said Sue, "so we didn't get any." + +"I should hope not!" exclaimed Aunt Lu. + +The next day Bunny and Sue went to Coney Island with their aunt and +their mother. This time Aunt Lu and Mother Brown kept close hold of the +children's hands, so they were not lost. They very much enjoyed the sail +down the bay, and they had lots of fun at Coney Island. + +Of course Bunny and Sue were not like some children, who have never seen +the grand, old ocean. Bunny and Sue lived near it at home, and had seen +it ever since they were small children. But, to some, their visit to +Coney Island gives the first sight of the sea, and it is a wonderful +sight, with the big waves breaking on the sandy shore. + +But if Bunny and Sue were not so eager to see the ocean, they were glad +to look at the other things on Coney Island. They rode on a +merry-go-'round, slid down a long wooden hill, in a wooden boat, and +splashed into the water; this was "shooting the chutes," of which you +have heard. + +They even rode on a tame elephant, in a little house on the big animal's +back. Then they had popcorn and candy, and some lemonade, that, if it +was not pink, such as they had at their little circus, was just as good. +In fact Bunny Brown and his sister Sue had a very good time at Coney +Island. + +Coming back on the boat was nice, too. There was a band playing music, +and Bunny and Sue, and some other children, danced around. They reached +home after dark, and Bunny and Sue were glad to go to bed. + +But Bunny was not too sleepy to ask: + +"What are we going to do to-morrow, Mother?" + +"Oh, wait until to-morrow comes and see," she answered. "I hope you +don't get lost again, though." + +But Bunny and Sue were not afraid of getting lost in New York, now. They +knew the police would find them, and be kind to them. + +Their mother and Aunt Lu had made them say, over and over again, the +number of the house, and the name of the street where Aunt Lu lived. The +children also had cards with the address on. But the day they went into +the animal store they had left their cards at home. + +"What shall we do, Bunny?" asked Sue, the day after their trip to Coney +Island. "I want to have some fun." + +"So do I," said Bunny. + +Having fun in the big city of New York was different from playing in the +country, on grandpa's farm, or near the water in Bellemere, as Bunny and +Sue soon found. But they had many good times at Aunt Lu's, though they +were different from those at home. One thing about being in the country, +at grandpa's, or at their own home, was that Bunny and Sue could run out +alone and look for fun. In New York they were only allowed to go on the +street in front of Aunt Lu's house alone. Of course if Aunt Lu, or +Mother Brown, or even Wopsie went with them, the children could go +farther up or down the street. + +"Let's see if we can go out and find Wopsie's aunt to-day," said Bunny +to Sue, after they had eaten breakfast. + +"All right," agreed the little girl. "Where'll we look?" + +"Oh, down in the street," said Bunny. "We'll ask all the colored people +we meet if they have lost a little girl. And we could ask at a police +station, too, if we knew where there was one." + +"Yes," said Sue, "we might ask at the station where we was tooken, after +we saw the monkeys and parrots in the animal store." + +"But we don't know where that police station is," Bunny said. "I guess +we'd just better ask in the street." + +Bunny and Sue were quite in earnest about finding little Wopsie's aunt +for her. For they wanted to make the little colored girl happy. + +And, strange as it may seem, Bunny and Sue had asked many colored +persons they met, if they wanted a little lost colored girl. Bunny and +Sue did not think this was at all strange, for they were used to doing, +and saying, just what they pleased, as long as it was not wrong. + +Of course some colored men and women did not know what to make of the +queer questions Bunny and Sue asked, but others replied to them kindly, +and said they were sorry, but that they had not lost any little colored +girl. + +"But we'll find Wopsie's aunt some time," said Bunny, and Sue thought +they might. So now, having nothing else to do to "have fun," as they +called it, Bunny and Sue started to go down to the street. + +"Don't go away from in front of the house!" their mother called to them. + +"We won't," Bunny promised. + +Henry, the colored elevator boy, took them down in his car. + +"We're going to find Wopsie's aunt," said Bunny. + +"Well, I hopes you do," replied Henry. For, all this while, though Aunt +Lu had tried her best, nothing could be found of any "folks" for the +little colored girl. She still lived with Aunt Lu, helping keep the +apartment in order, and looking after Bunny and Sue. + +Down on the sidewalk went Bunny and his sister. For some time they sat +on the shady front steps, watching for a colored man or woman. But it +was quite long before one came along. Then it was a young colored man. +Up to him ran Bunny. + +"Is you looking for Wopsie?" he asked. For the colored man was looking +up at the numbers on the houses. + +"No, sah, little man. I'se lookin' fo' Henry," was the answer. "He's a +elevator boy, an' he done lib around yeah somewheres." + +"Oh, he lives in here!" cried Sue. "Henry's our elevator boy. We'll show +you!" + +She and Bunny ran into the hall, calling: + +"Henry! Henry! Here's your brother looking for you!" + +And so it was Henry's brother. He worked as an elevator boy in another +apartment house, and, as he had a few hours to spare, he had come to see +Henry. + +The two colored boys talked together, riding up and down in the sliding +car, while Bunny and Sue went back to the street. + +"Well, we didn't find anyone looking for Wopsie," said Bunny, "but we +found someone looking for Henry, and that's pretty near the same." + +"Yes," said Sue. "Maybe we'll find Wopsie's aunt to-morrow." + +But no more colored persons came along, and, after a while, Bunny and +Sue grew tired of waiting. Looking up in the air Bunny suddenly gave +a cry. + +"Oh, Sue! Look!" he shouted. "There's a boy on the roof of that house +across the street, flying a kite. I'm going to get a kite and fly it +from our roof!" + +"Do you think mother will let you?" asked Sue. + +"I'm going to tell her about it!" Bunny exclaimed. + +At first Mrs. Brown would not hear of Bunny's flying a kite from the +roof of the apartment house. But Aunt Lu said: + +"Oh, the boys here often do it. That's the only place they have to fly +kites in New York. There is a good breeze up on our roof, and it's safe. +I don't know anything about a kite though, or how we could get Bunny +one." + +"You can buy 'em in a store," said the little boy. "There's a store just +around the corner, and the kites cost five cents." + +Mrs. Brown, hearing her sister say it was safe, and all right, to fly +kites from the roof, said Bunny might get one. So he and Sue, with +Wopsie, went to the little store around the corner. There Bunny got a +fine red, white and blue kite, with a tail to it. + +"Now we'll take it up on the roof and fly it," he said to his sister and +the little colored girl, after he had tied the end of a ball of string +to his kite. + +There was a good wind up on the roof, and the railing was so high there +was no danger of the children sliding off. Bunny's kite was soon flying +in the air, and he and Sue took turns holding the string, as they sat on +cushions on the roof. Wopsie stood near, looking on. + +[Illustration: "I NEVER FLIED A KITE LIKE THIS BEFORE," LAUGHED +BUNNY--"UP ON A HOUSE ROOF." + +_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home._ _Page 192._] + +"I never flied a kite like this before," laughed Bunny--"up on a house +roof." + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE PLAY PARTY + + +High up in the air flew Bunny Brown's kite. The wind blew very hard on +the high roof of Aunt Lu's house, harder than it blew down in the +street. And, too, on the roof, there were no trees to catch the kite's +tail and pull it. I think a kite doesn't like its tail pulled any more +than a pussy cat, or a puppy dog does. Anyhow, nothing pulled the tail +of Bunny's kite. + +"Doesn't it fly fine!" cried Sue, as Bunny let out more and more of the +ball of cord. + +"Yes," he answered. "I'll let you hold it awhile, Sue, after it gets up +higher." + +"And will you let Wopsie hold it, too?" asked the little girl. + +Sue was very kind hearted, and she always wanted to have the lonely +little colored girl share in the joys and pleasures that Bunny and his +sister so often had. + +"Sure, Wopsie can fly the kite!" Bunny answered. "It's almost up high +enough now. Pretty soon it will be up near the clouds. Then I'll let you +and Wopsie hold it awhile." + +Up and up went the kite, higher and higher. The wind was blowing harder +than ever, sweeping over the roof, and Bunny moved back from the high +rail for fear that, after all, the kite might pull him over. Pretty soon +he had let out all the cord, except what was tied to a clothes pin his +aunt had given him, and Bunny said: + +"Now you can hold the kite, Sue. But keep it tight, so it won't pull +away from you." + +Sue did not come up to take the string, as Bunny thought she would. +Instead, Sue said: + +"I--I guess Wopsie can take my turn, Bunny. I don't want to hold the +kite. Let Wopsie." + +"Why, I thought you wanted to," the little boy said. + +"Well, I--I did, but I don't want to now," and Sue looked at the kite, +high up in the air above the roof. + +"Come on, Wopsie!" called Bunny to the little colored girl. "You can +hold the kite awhile." + +Wopsie shook her kinky, black, curly head. + +"No, sah, Bunny! I don't want t' hold no kite nohow!" she said. + +"Why not?" Bunny wanted to know. + +"Jest 'case as how I don't!" Wopsie explained. + +"Is--is you afraid, same as I am?" asked Sue. + +"Why, Sue!" cried Bunny. "You're not afraid to hold my kite; are you?" + +"Yes I is, Bunny." + +"What for?" + +"'Cause it's so high up," Sue told him. "The wind blows it so hard, and +we're up on such a high roof, and the kite pulls so hard I'm afraid it +might take me up with it." + +"That's jest what I'se skeered ob, too!" cried Wopsie. "I don't want t' +git carried off up to no cloud, no sah! I wants t' find mah aunt 'fore I +goes up to de sky!" + +Bunny Brown laughed. + +"Why this kite wouldn't pull you up!" he said. "It can't pull hard +enough for that. Come on, I'll let both of you hold it together. It +can't pull you both up." + +"Shall we?" asked Sue, looking at Wopsie. + +"Well, I will if yo' will," said the colored girl slowly. + +Slowly and carefully Sue and Wopsie took hold of the kite string. No +sooner did they have it in their hands than there came a sudden puff of +wind, harder than before, and the kite pulled harder than ever. + +"Oh, it's taking us up! It's taking us up!" cried Sue, and she let go +the string. + +"I can't hold it all alone! I can't hold it all alone!" cried Wopsie. "I +don't want to go up to de clouds in de sky!" + +And she, too, let go the cord. As it happened, Bunny did not have hold +of it just then, thinking his sister and Wopsie would hold it, so you +can easily guess what happened. + +The strong wind carried the kite, string and all, away through the air, +the clothes pin, fast to the end of the cord, rattling along over the +roof. + +"Oh, look!" cried Sue. "Your kite is loose, Bunny!" + +"Cotch it! Cotch it!" shouted Wopsie, now that she saw what had +happened. + +Bunny did not say it was the fault of his sister and the little colored +girl that the kite had gone sailing off by itself, though if the two +girls had held to the string it never would have happened. But Bunny was +too eager and anxious to get back his kite to say anything just then. + +With a bound he sprang after the rolling clothes pin. But it kept just +beyond his reach. He could not get his hand on it. Faster and faster the +kite sailed away. Bunny was now running across the roof after the +clothes pin that was tied on the end of his kite cord. + +Then, all of a sudden, the clothes pin was pulled over the edge of the +roof railing. Bunny could not get it. He stopped short at the edge of +the roof, and looked at his kite sailing far away. + +"It--it's gone!" said Sue, in a low voice. + +"It--it suah has!" whispered Wopsie. "Oh, Bunny. I'se so sorry!" + +"So'm I!" added Sue. + +Bunny said nothing. He just looked at his kite, growing smaller and +smaller as it sailed away through the air. It was too bad. + +"Never mind," said Bunny, swallowing the "crying lump" in his throat, as +he called it. "It--it wasn't a very good kite anyhow. I'm going to get a +bigger one." + +"Den we suah will be pulled offen de roof!" said Wopsie, and Bunny and +Sue laughed at the queer way she said it. + +However, nothing could be done now to get the kite. Away it went, +sailing on and on over other roofs. The long string, with the clothes +pin on the end of it, dangled over the courtyard of the apartment house. +Then the wind did not blow quite so hard for a moment, and the kite sank +down. + +"Oh, maybe you can get it!" cried Sue. + +"Let's try!" exclaimed Bunny. "Come on, Wopsie. We'll go down to the +street and run after my kite." + +Down to Aunt Lu's floor went the children. Quickly they told Mother +Brown and Aunt Lu what had happened. + +"We're going to chase after my kite," said Bunny. "That's what we do in +the country when a kite gets loose like mine did." + +"But I'm afraid it won't be so easy to run after a kite in the city as +it is in the country," said Mother Brown. "There are too many houses +here, Bunny. But you may try. Wopsie will go with you, and don't go too +far away." + +Wopsie knew all the streets about Aunt Lu's house, and could not get +lost, so it was safe for Bunny and Sue to go with her. A little later +the three were down on the street, running in the direction they had +last seen the kite. But they could see it no longer. There were too many +houses in the way, and there were no big green fields, as in the +country, across which one could look for ever and ever so far. + +For several blocks, and through a number of streets, Bunny Brown and his +sister Sue, with Wopsie, tried to find the kite. But it was not in +sight. They even asked a kind-looking policeman, but he had not seen it. + +"I guess we'll have to go back without it," said Bunny, sighing. "But +I'll buy another to-morrow." + +The children turned to go back to Aunt Lu's house. Bunny and Sue looked +about them. They had never been on this street before. It was not as +nice as the one where their aunt lived. The houses were just as big, but +they were rather shabby looking--like old and ragged dresses. And the +people in the street, and the children, were not well dressed. Of course +that was not their fault, they were poor, and did not have the money. +Perhaps some of them did not even have money enough to get all they +wanted to eat. + +"I--I don't like it here," whispered Sue to Wopsie. "Let's go home." + +"There's more children here than on our street," said Bunny. "Look at +those boys wading in a mud puddle. I wish I could." + +"Don't you dare do it, Bunny Brown!" cried Sue. "You know we can't go +barefoot in the city. Mother said so." + +"Yes, I know," Bunny answered. + +The three children walked on. As they passed a high stoop they saw a +number of ragged boys and girls sitting around a box, on which were +some old broken dishes and clam shells. One girl, larger than the +others, was saying: + +"Now you has all got to be nice at my party, else you won't git nothin' +to eat. Sammie Cohen, you sit up straight, and don't you grab any of +that chocolate cake until I says you kin have it. Mary Mullaine, you +keep your fingers out of dat lemonade. The party ain't started yet." + +"I--I don't see any party," said Bunny, looking at the empty clam +shells, and the empty pieces of broken dishes on the soap box. + +"Hush!" exclaimed Sue in a whisper. "Can't you see it's a _play_-party, +Bunny Brown. Same as we have!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE REAL PARTY + + +The poor children on the stoop (I call them poor just so you'll know +they didn't have much money) these poor children were pretending so hard +to have a party, that they never noticed Bunny Brown, and his sister +Sue, with Wopsie, watching them. + +"When are we goin' to eat?" asked a ragged little boy, who sat on the +lowest step. + +"When I says to begin, dat's when you eat," said the big, ragged girl, +who seemed to have gotten up the play-party. "And I don't want nobody to +ask for no second piece of cake, 'cause there ain't enough." + +"Is there any pie?" asked a little boy, whose face was quite dirty. +"'Cause if there's pie, I'd just as lief have that as cake." + +"There ain't no pie," said the big girl. "Now we'll begin. Mikie Snell, +you let that ice-cream alone, I tells you!" + +"I--I was jest seein' if it was meltin'," and Mikie drew back a dirty +hand he had reached over toward a big empty clam shell. That shell was +the make-believe dish of ice-cream, you see. + +"Say, dis suah am a funny party," whispered Wopsie to Sue. "I--I don't +see nuffin to eat!" + +"Hush!" whispered Sue. "You never have anything to eat at a +_play_-party; do you, Bunny?" + +"Nope. But when we have one we always go in the house afterward, and +mother gives us something." + +"Let's watch them play," whispered Sue. + +And so, not having found Bunny's kite, he and his sister Sue, and +Wopsie, stood by the stoop, and watched the poor, ragged children at +their play-party. + +It was just like the ones Bunny and Sue sometimes had. There was make +believe pie, cake, lemonade and ice-cream. And the children on the +stoop, in the big, busy street of New York, had just as much fun at +their play-party as Bunny and Sue had at theirs, in the beautiful +country, or by the seashore. + +"Now we're goin' to have the ice-cream," said the big girl, as she +smoothed down her ragged dress. "And don't none of you eat it too fast, +or it'll give you a face-ache, 'cause it's awful cold." + +Then she made believe to dish out the pretend-ice-cream, and the +children made believe to eat it with imaginary spoons. + +"I couldn't have no more, could I?" asked a little girl. + +"Why Lizzie Bloomenstine! I should say not!" cried the big girl. "The +ice-cream is all gone. Hello, what you lookin' at?" she asked quickly as +she saw Bunny, Sue and Wopsie. + +For a moment Bunny did not answer. The big girl frowned, and the others +at the play-party did not seem pleased. + +"Go on away an' let us alone!" the big girl said. "Can't we have a party +without you swells comin' to stare at us?" + +Bunny and Sue really were not staring at the play-party to be impolite. + +"What they want?" asked another of the ragged children. + +"Oh, jest makin' fun at us, 'cause we ain't got nothin' to play real +party with, I s'pose," grumbled the big girl. "Go on away!" she ordered. + +Then Sue had an idea. I have told you of some of the ideas Bunny Brown +had, but this time it was Sue's turn. She was going to do a queer thing. + +"If you please," she said in her most polite voice to the big ragged +girl, "we only stopped to look at your play-party, to see how you did +it." + +"'Cause we have 'em like that ourselves," added Bunny. + +"And they're lots of fun," went on Sue. "We play just like you do, with +empty plates, and tin dishes and all that. Do you ever have cherry pie +at your play parties?" + +The big girl was not scowling now. She had a kinder look on her face. +After all she had found that the "swells," as she called Bunny and Sue, +were just like herself. + +"No, we never have cherry pie," she said, "it costs too much, even at +make-believe parties. But we has frankfurters and rolls." + +"Oh, how nice!" Sue said. "We never have them; do we Bunny?" + +"Nope." + +"But we will, next time we have a play-party," Sue went on. "I think +they must be lovely. How do you cook 'em?" + +"Well, we just frys 'em--make believe," said the big girl, who was +smiling now. "But I can cook real, an' when we has any money at home, +an' me ma buys real sausages, I boils 'em an' we eats 'em wit mustard +on." + +Sue thought the big girl talked in rather a queer way, but of course we +cannot all talk alike. It would be a funny world if we did; wouldn't it? + +"It must be nice to cook real sausages," said Sue. "I wish I could do +it. But will all of you children come to my party to-morrow?" she asked. + +"Are you goin' to have a party?" inquired the big girl. + +"Yes," nodded Sue. "We're going to have a party at our Aunt Lu's house; +aren't we, Bunny? We are, 'cause I'm going to ask her to have one, as +soon as we get back," Sue whispered to her brother. "So you say 'yes.' +We are going to have a party; aren't we, Bunny?" Sue spoke out loud this +time. + +"Yes," answered the little boy. "We're going to have one." + +"A real party?" the big girl wanted to know. + +Bunny looked at Sue. He was going to let her answer. + +"Yes, it will be a real party," said Sue, "and we'll have all real +things to eat. Will you come?" + +"Will we come?" cried the big girl. "Well, I guess we will!" + +"Even a policeman couldn't keep us away!" said the boy who had wanted to +feel the ice-cream, to see if it was melting. + +"Then you can all come to my Aunt Lu's house to-morrow afternoon," Sue +went on. "I'll tell her you're coming." + +"Where is it?" asked the big girl. + +Sue felt in her pocket and brought out one of Aunt Lu's cards, which +Miss Baker had given the little girl in case she became lost. + +"That's our address," said Sue. "You come there to-morrow afternoon, +and we'll have a real party. I'm pleased to have met you," and with a +polite bow, saying what she had often heard her mother say on parting +from a new friend, Sue turned away. + +"Will you an' your brother be there?" the big, ragged girl wanted to +know. + +"Yes," said Bunny. "I'll be there, and so will Wopsie." + +"Is she Wopsie?" asked the big girl, pointing to the colored piccaninny. + +"Dat's who I is!" Wopsie exclaimed. "But dat's only mah make-believe +name. Mah real one am Sallie Jefferson. Dat name was on de card pinned +to me, but de address was tored off." + +"Well, Sallie or Wopsie, it's all de same to me," said the big girl. +"We'll see you at de party!" + +"Yes, please all come," said Sue once more. Then she walked on with +Wopsie and her brother. + +"Say, Miss Sue, is yo' all sartin suah 'bout dis yeah party?" asked +Wopsie, as they turned the corner. + +"Why, of course we're sure about it, Wopsie." + +"Well, yo' auntie don't know nuffin 'bout it." + +"She will, as soon as we get home, for I'll tell her," said Sue. "It +will be fun; won't it, Bunny?" + +"I--I guess so." + +Bunny did not know quite what to make of what Sue had done. Getting up a +real party in such a hurry was a new idea for him. Still it might be all +right. + +"It's a good thing I lost my kite," said Bunny. "'Cause if I hadn't we +couldn't have seen those children to invite to the party." + +"Yes," said Sue, "it was real nice. We'll have lots of fun at the party. +I hope they'll all come." + +"Oh, dey'll _come_ all right!" said Wopsie, shaking her head. "But I +don't jest know what yo' Aunt Lu's gwine t' say." + +"Oh, that will be all right," answered Sue easily. + +When the children reached home, they rode up in the elevator with Henry, +and Sue found her aunt in the library with Mother Brown. + +"Aunt Lu," began Sue, "have you got lots of cake and jam tarts and jelly +tarts in the house?" + +"Why, I think Mary baked a cake to-day," Sue. "What did you ask that +for?" + +"And can you buy real ice-cream at a store near here, or make it?" Sue +wanted to know. + +"Why, yes, child, but what for?" Aunt Lu was puzzled. + +"Then it's all right," Sue went on. "You're going to give a real +play-party to a lot of ragged children here to-morrow afternoon. I +invited them. I gave them your card. And now, please, I want a jam tart, +or a piece of cake, for myself. And then we must tell Henry when the +ragged children come, to let them come up in the elevator. They're +little, just like me, and they never could walk up all the stairs. I +hope your real play-party will be nice, Aunt Lu," and Sue, smoothing out +her dress, sat down in a chair. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +IN THE PARK + + +Aunt Lu looked first at Sue, and then at Bunny Brown. Mother Brown did +the same thing. Then they looked at Wopsie. Finally Aunt Lu, in a sort +of faint, and far-away voice asked: + +"What--what does it all mean, Sue?" + +Sue leaned back in her chair. + +"It's just like I told you," she said. "You know Bunny's kite got away, +and we ran after it. We didn't find it, but we saw some poor children +having a play-party, with broken pieces of dishes on a box, same as me +and Bunny plays sometimes. We watched them, and I guess they thought we +was makin' fun of 'em." + +"Yes," said Bunny, "that's what they did." + +"But we wasn't makin' fun," said Sue. "We just wanted to watch, and when +they saw us I asked them to come here to-morrow to a _real_ party." + +"Oh, Sue, you never did!" cried her mother. + +"Yes'm, I did," returned Sue. "I gave 'em Aunt Lu's card, and they're +coming, and we're going to have _real_ cake and _real_ ice-cream. That +one girl can cook real, or make-believe, sausages, but we don't need to +have _them_, 'less you want to, Aunt Lu! Only I think it would be nice +to have some jam tarts, and I'd like one now, please." + +Aunt Lu and Mrs. Brown again looked at one another. First they smiled, +and then they laughed. + +"Well," said Aunt Lu, after a bit. "I suppose since Sue has invited them +I'll have to give them a party. But I wish you had let me know first, +Sue, before you asked them." + +"Why, I didn't have time, Aunt Lu. I--I just had to get up the real +party right away, you see." + +"Oh, yes, I see." + +So Aunt Lu told Mary, her cook, and her other servants, to get ready for +the party Sue had planned. For it would never do to have the big girl, +and the little boys and girls, come all the way to Aunt Lu's house, and +then not give them something to eat, especially after Sue had promised +it to them. + +Bunny and Sue could hardly wait for the next day to come, so eager were +they to have the party. They were up early in the morning, and they +wanted to help make the jam and jelly tarts, but Aunt Lu said Mary could +better do that alone. Wopsie helped dust the rooms, though, and she +lifted up to the mantel several pretty vases that had stood on low +tables. + +"Dem chilluns might not mean t' do it," said the little colored girl, +"but dey might, accidental like, knock ober some vases an' smash 'em. +Den Miss Lu would feel bad." + +Bunny and Sue spoke to Henry, the elevator boy, about the ragged +children coming to the party. + +"You'll let them ride up with you; won't you, Henry?" asked Sue. + +"Oh, suah I will!" he said, smiling and showing all his white teeth. +"Dey kin ride in mah elevator as well as not." + +And, about two o'clock, which was the hour Sue had told them, the ragged +children came, the big girl marching on ahead with Aunt Lu's card held +in her hand, so she would find the apartment house. But the children +were not so ragged or dirty now. Their faces and hands were quite clean, +and some of them had on better clothes. + +"I made 'em slick up, all I could," said the big girl, who said her name +was Maggie Walsh. "Is the party all ready?" + +"Yes," answered Sue, who with Bunny, had been waiting down in the hall +for the "company." + +Into the elevator the poor children piled, and soon they were up in Aunt +Lu's nice rooms. The place was so nice, with its satin and plush chairs, +that the children were almost afraid to sit down. But Aunt Lu, and Mrs. +Brown soon made them feel at home, and when the cake, ice-cream, and +other good things, were brought in, why, the children acted just like +any others that Bunny and Sue had played with. + +"Say, it's _real_ ice-cream all right!" whispered one boy to Maggie +Walsh. "It's de real stuff!" + +"Course it is!" exclaimed the big girl. "Didn't she say it was goin' to +be real!" and she nodded at Sue. + +"I t'ought maybe it were jest a joke," said the boy. + +Aunt Lu had not had much time to get ready for Sue's sudden little +party, but it was a nice one for all that. There were plenty of good +things to eat, which, after all, does much to make a party nice. Then, +too, there was a little present for each of the children. And as they +went home with their toys, pleased and happy, there was a smile on every +face. + +They had had more good things to eat than they had ever dreamed of, they +had played games and they had had the best time in their lives, so they +said. Over and over again they thanked Sue and her mother and Aunt Lu, +and Bunny--even Henry, the elevator boy. + +"We'll come a'gin whenever you has a party," whispered a little +red-haired girl, to Sue, as she said good-bye. + +"And youse kin come to our make-believe parties whenever you want," said +the big girl. + +"Thanks." Sue waved her hands to the children as they went down the +street. She had given them a happy time. + +For a few days after Sue's party she and Bunny did not do much except +play around Aunt Lu's house, for there came several days of rain. The +weather was getting colder now, for it was fall, and would soon be +winter. + +"But I like winter!" said Bunny. "'Cause we can slide down hill. Are +there any hills around here, Aunt Lu?" + +"Well, not many. Perhaps you might slide in Central Park. We'll see when +snow comes." + +One clear, cool November day Bunny and Sue were taken to Central Park by +Wopsie. They had been promised a ride in a pony cart, and this was the +day they were to have it. + +Not far from where the animals were kept in the park were some ponies +and donkeys. Children could ride on their backs, or sit in a little +cart, and have a pony or donkey pull them. + +"We'll get in a cart," said Bunny. "I'm going to drive." + +"Do you know how?" asked the man, as he lifted Bunny and Sue in. Wopsie +got in herself. + +"I can drive our dog Splash, when he's hitched up to our express wagon," +said Bunny. "I guess I can drive the pony. He isn't much bigger than +Splash." This was so, as the pony was a little one. + +So Bunny took hold of the lines, but the man who owned the pony carts +sent a boy to walk along beside the little horse that was pulling Bunny, +Sue and Wopsie. + +"Giddap!" cried Bunny to the pony. "Go faster!" For the pony was only +walking. Just then a dog ran out of the bushes along the park drive, and +barked at the pony's heels. Before the boy, whom the man had sent out to +take charge of the pony, could stop him, the little horse jumped +forward, and the next minute began trotting down the drive very fast, +pulling after him the cart, with Bunny, Sue and Wopsie in it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +OLD AUNT SALLIE + + +"Bunny! Bunny! Isn't this fun?" cried Sue, as she looked across at her +brother in the other seat of the pony cart. "Don't you like it?" + +"Yes, I do," Bunny answered, as he pulled on the reins. "Do you, +Wopsie?" + +The colored girl looked around without speaking. She looked on the +ground, as though she would like to jump out of the pony cart. But she +did not. The little horse was going faster than ever. + +"Don't you like it, Wopsie?" asked Sue. "It's fun! This pony goes faster +than our dog Splash, and Splash couldn't pull such a nice, big cart as +this; could he, Bunny?" + +"No, I guess not," Bunny answered. He did not turn around to look at Sue +as he spoke. + +For, to tell the truth, Bunny was a little bit worried. The dog that +had jumped out of the bushes, to bark at the pony's heels, was still +running along behind the pony cart, barking and snapping. And, though +Bunny and Sue did not mind their dog Splash's barking, when he pulled +them, this dog was a strange one. + +Then, too, the boy, who had started out with the pony cart, was running +along after it crying: + +"Stop! Stop! Wait a minute. Somebody stop that pony!" + +But there was no one ahead of Bunny, Sue and Wopsie on the Park drive +just then, and no one to stop the pony, which was kicking up his heels, +and going faster and faster all the while. + +"He's running hard; isn't he, Bunny?" asked Sue. + +"Yes, he--he's going fast--very fast!" panted Bunny, in a sort of jerky +way, for the cart rattled over some bumps just then, and if Bunny had +not been careful how he spoke he might have bitten his tongue between +his teeth. + +"Don't--don't you li--like it--Wop--Wopsie?" asked Sue, speaking in the +same jerky way as had her brother. + +Wopsie did not open her mouth. She just held tightly to the edge of the +pony cart, and shook her head from side to side. That meant she did not +like it. Sue and Bunny wondered why. + +True, they were going a bit fast, but then they had often ridden almost +as fast when Splash, their big dog, drew them in the express cart. And +this was much nicer than an express cart, though of course Bunny and Sue +liked Splash better than this pony. But if they had owned the pony they +would have liked him very much, also, I think. + +Now the pony swung around a corner of the drive, and he went so fast, +and turned so quickly, that the cart was nearly upset. + +Sue held tightly to the side of her seat, and called to her brother: + +"Oh, Bunny! Don't make him go so fast! You'll spill me and Wopsie out!" + +"I didn't make him go fast," Bunny answered. "I--I guess he's in a hurry +to get away from that dog." + +"Make the dog go 'way," pleaded Sue. + +Bunny looked back at the barking dog, who was still running after the +pony cart. + +"Go on away!" Bunny cried. "Let us alone--go on away and find a bone to +eat!" + +But the dog either did not understand what Bunny said, or he would +rather race after the pony cart than get himself a bone. At any rate he +still kept running along, barking and growling, and the pony kept +running. + +The boy who had started out with the children, first walking along +beside the pony, was now far behind. He was a small boy, with very short +legs, and, as the pony's legs were quite long, of course the boy could +not run fast enough to keep up. So he was now far behind, but he kept +calling: + +"Stop that pony! Oh, please someone stop that pony!" + +Bunny and Sue heard the boy calling. So did Wopsie, but the colored girl +said nothing. She just sat there, holding to the side of the seat and +looking at Bunny and Sue. + +"I wonder what that boy's hollering that way for?" asked Sue, as the +pony swung around another corner, almost upsetting the cart again. + +"I don't know," said Bunny. "Maybe he likes to holler. I do sometimes, +when I'm out in the country. And this park is like the country, Sue." + +"Yes, I guess it is," said the little girl. "But what's he saying, +Bunny?" + +They listened. Once more the boy, running along, now quite a long way +behind the pony cart, could be heard crying: + +"Stop him! Stop him! He's running away! Stop him!" + +Bunny and Sue looked at one another. Then they looked at Wopsie. The +colored girl opened her mouth, showing her red tongue and her white +teeth. + +"Oh! Oh!" she screamed. "De pony's runnin' away! Dat's what de boy says. +I'se afeered, I is! Oh, let me out! Let me out!" + +Wopsie, who sat near the back of the cart, where there was a little +door, made of wicker-work, like a basket, started to jump out. But +though Bunny Brown was only a little fellow, he knew that Wopsie might +be hurt if she jumped from the cart, which the pony was pulling along +so fast, now. + +"Sit still, Wopsie!" Bunny cried. "Sit still!" + +"But we's bein' runned away wif!" exclaimed Wopsie. "Didn't yo' all done +heah dat boy say so? We's bein' runned away wif! I wants t' git out! I +don't like bein' runned away wif!" + +"It won't hurt you," said Sue. She did not seem at all afraid. "It won't +hurt you, Wopsie," Sue went on. "Me and Bunny has been runned away with +lots of times, with our dog Splash; hasn't we, Bunny?" + +"Yes, we have, Sue. Sit still, Wopsie. I'll stop the pony." + +Bunny began to pull back on the lines, and he called: + +"Whoa! Whoa there! Stop now! Don't run away any more, pony boy!" + +But the pony did not seem to want to stop. Perhaps he thought if he +stopped, now, the barking dog would bite his heels. But the dog had +given up the chase, and was not in sight. Neither was the running boy. + +The boy had found that his short legs were not long enough to keep up +with the longer legs of the pony. Besides, a pony has four legs, and +everybody knows that four legs can go faster than two. So the boy +stopped running. + +"Can you stop the pony?" asked Sue, after Bunny had pulled on the lines +a number of times, and had cried "Whoa!" very often. "Can you stop him?" + +"I--I guess so," answered the little boy. "But maybe you'd better help +me, Sue. You pull on one line, and I'll pull on the other. That will +stop him." + +Bunny passed one of the pony's reins to his sister and held to the +other. The children were sitting in front of the cart, Bunny on one side +and Sue on the other. Both of them began to pull on the lines, but still +the pony did not stop. + +"Pull harder, Bunny! Pull harder!" cried Sue. + +"I am pulling as hard as I can," he said. "You pull harder, Sue." + +But still the pony did not want to stop. If anything, he was going +faster than ever. Yes, he surely was going faster, for it was down hill +now, and you know, as well as I do, that you can go faster down hill, +than you can on the level, or up hill. + +"Oh, I want to git out! I want to git out!" cried Wopsie. "I don't like +bein' runned away wif! Oh, please good, kind, nice, sweet Mr. Policeman, +stop de pony from runnin' away wif us!" + +"Where's a policeman?" asked Sue, turning half way around to look at +Wopsie. "Where's a policeman?" + +"I--I don't see none!" said the colored girl, "but I wish I did! He'd +stop de pony from runnin' away. Maybe if we all yells fo' a policeman +one'll come." + +"Shall we Bunny?" asked Sue. + +"Shall we what?" Bunny wanted to know. He had been so busy trying to get +a better hold on his rein that he had not noticed what Sue and Wopsie +were talking about. + +"Shall we call a policeman?" asked Sue. "Wopsie says one can stop the +pony from running away. And I don't guess _we_ can stop him, Bunny. +We'd better yell for a policeman. Maybe one is around somewhere, but I +can't see any." + +"All right, we'll call one," Bunny agreed. He, too, was beginning to +think that the pony was never going to stop. "But let's try one more +pull on the lines, Sue. Now, pull hard." + +And then something happened. + +Without waiting for Sue to get ready to pull on her line, Bunny gave a +hard pull on his. And I guess you know what happens if you pull too much +on one horse-line. + +Suddenly the pony felt Bunny pulling on the right hand line, and the +pony turned to that side. And he turned so quickly that the harness +broke and the cart was upset. Over it went on its side, and Bunny Brown +and his sister Sue, as well as Wopsie, were thrown out. + +Right out of the cart they flew, and Bunny turned a somersault, head +over heels, before he landed on a soft pile of grass that had been cut +that day. Sue and Wopsie also landed on piles of grass, so they were not +any more hurt than was Bunny. + +The pony, as soon as the cart had turned over, looked back once, and +then he stopped running, and began to nibble the green grass. + +"Well, we aren't being runned away with now," Bunny finally said. + +"No," answered Sue. "We've stopped all right. Wopsie, is you hurted?" + +The colored girl put her hand up to her kinky head. Her hat had fallen +off into her lap. Carefully she felt of her braids. Then she said: + +"I guess I isn't hurted much. But I might 'a' bin! I don't want no mo' +pony cart rides!" + +Before the children and Wopsie could get up they heard a voice calling +to them: + +"Bress der hearts! Po' li'l lambs! Done got frowed out ob de cart, an' +all busted t' pieces mebby. Well, ole Aunt Sallie'll take keer ob 'em! +Po' li'l honey lambs!" + +Glancing up, Bunny and Sue saw a motherly-looking colored woman coming +across the grass toward them. She held out her fat arms to the children +and said: + +"Now don't cry, honey lambs! Ole Aunt Sallie will tuk keer ob yo' all!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +WOPSIE'S FOLKS + + +The nice old colored woman, who called herself Aunt Sallie, bent first +over Sue, helping the little girl stand up. + +"Is yo' all hurted, honey?" asked Aunt Sallie, brushing the pieces of +grass from Sue's dress. + +"Oh, no, I'm not hurt at all, thank you," Sue replied. "It was a soft +place to fall." + +"An' yo', li'l boy; am yo' all hurted?" she asked Bunny. + +"No, thank you, I'm all right. I used to be in a circus, so I know how +to turn somersaults, you see." + +"What's dat! A li'l boy like yo' in a circus?" + +Aunt Sallie seemed very much surprised. + +"Oh, it wasn't a _real_ circus," explained Sue. + +"No, it was only a make-believe one," Bunny said, as he began to brush +the grass off his clothes. "We had one circus in grandpa's barn," he +said, "and another in some tents. Say, Wopsie, is you hurted?" Bunny +asked. + +By this time the colored girl had found out there was nothing the matter +with her. Not even one of her tight, black braids of kinky hair had come +loose. She stood up, smoothed down her dress, and said: + +"No'm, I'se not hurted." + +"Dat's good," said Aunt Sallie. "It's lucky yo' all wasn't muxed up an' +smashed, when dat pony cart upset. Now yo' all jest come ober t' my +place an' I'll let yo' rest. I guess heah comes de boy what belongs t' +de pony." + +The short-legged boy came running across the field. He was very much out +of breath, for he had run a good way. + +"Any--anybody hurt?" he asked. + +"No," said Bunny, "we're all right, and your pony's all right too, I +guess." + +It seemed so, for the pony was eating grass as if he had had nothing to +chew on in a long while. But then perhaps running made him hungry, as it +does some boys and girls. + +The boy, with the help of Aunt Sallie, turned the cart right side up, +fixed the harness, and then got in to drive back to the place where the +other ponies and donkeys were kept. + +"Wait a minute!" cried Wopsie. "I done didn't pay yo' all fo' de +chilluns' ride yet." + +"Oh, never mind," said the boy. "I guess the man won't charge you +anything for this ride, because the pony ran away with you. It wasn't a +regular ride. I won't take your money." + +"Oh, then we can save it for ice-cream cones!" cried Sue, for Wopsie had +been given the money to pay for the children's rides in the pony cart. + +"Ice-cream cones!" cried Bunny. "I guess you can't get any up here!" + +"Oh, yes yo' kin, honey lamb!" exclaimed Aunt Sallie, as she called +herself. "I keeps a li'l candy an' ice-cream stand right ober dere," and +she pointed across the grassy lawn. "I was in my stand when I seed yo' +all bein' runned away wif, so I come ober as soon as I could. I sells +candy an' ice-cream cones, but I won't sell ice-cream much longer, +'cause it'll soon be winter. Den I'll sell hot coffee an' chocolate. +But I got ice-cream now, ef yo' all wants to buy some." + +"Yes, I guess we do," stated Bunny. "Come on, Sue and Wopsie. We'll have +some fun anyhow, even if we did get runned away with." + +"We's mighty lucky!" said Wopsie, as she watched the boy driving back in +the pony cart. The little horse was going slowly now. "I guess we'll +walk back," went on the colored girl. "It isn't so awful far." + +Following Aunt Sallie, who was quite fat, the children and Wopsie walked +across the green, grassy lawn, for it was still green though it was now +late in the fall. Soon the green grass would be covered with snow. + +Just as she had said, Aunt Sallie kept a little fruit, candy and +ice-cream stand in the park. Soon the children and Wopsie were eating +cones. + +"Does yo' chilluns lib 'round yeah?" asked Aunt Sallie, as she stood +back of her little counter, watching Bunny and Sue. + +"We live at Aunt Lu's house--that is we're paying her a visit," said +Bunny. "We live a good way off, and we were on Grandpa Brown's farm all +summer. We're going to stay here in New York over Christmas." + +"Dat's jest fine!" exclaimed Aunt Sallie. "An' I suah hopes dat Santa +Claus'll bring yo' all lots ob presents. Be yo' dere nuss maid?" Aunt +Sallie asked of Wopsie. + +"No, Wopsie's a lost girl," said Bunny. + +"Lost? What yo' all mean?" asked Aunt Sallie. "She don't look laik she's +lost." + +"But I is," Wopsie said. "I'se losted all mah folks. Miss Baker, dat's +de Aunt Lu dey speaks ob, she tuck me in. She's awful good t' me." + +"We all like Wopsie," explained Sue. "She takes care of us." + +"Wopsie!" exclaimed Aunt Sallie. "Dat suah am a funny name. Who gib yo' +all dat name, chile?" + +"Oh, dat's not mah real name," Wopsie explained. "Miss Lu jest calls me +dat fo' short. Mah right name am Sallie Alexander Jefferson!" + +The old colored woman jumped off the chair on which she had been +sitting. She looked closely at Wopsie. + +"Say dat ag'in, chile!" she cried. "Say dat ag'in!" + +"Say what ag'in?" Wopsie asked. + +"Yo' name! Say yo' name ag'in!" + +"Sallie Alexander Jefferson. Dat's mah name." + +To the surprise of Bunny Brown, and his sister Sue, Aunt Sallie threw +her arms around Wopsie. Then the nice old colored woman cried: + +"Bress de deah Lord! I'se done found yo'!" + +She hugged and kissed Wopsie, who did not know what it all meant. She +tried to get away from Aunt Sallie's arms, but the old colored woman +held her tightly. + +"Bress de deah Lord! Bress de deah Lord!" Aunt Sallie cried over and +over again. "I'se done found yo'!" + +Somehow or other Bunny understood. + +"Is you Wopsie's aunt that we've been looking for?" he asked. "She lost +her folks, you know, when she came up from down South. I heard Aunt Lu +say so. Are you her aunt?" + +"I suttinly believe I is, chile! I suttinly believe I is!" cried Aunt +Sally. "Fo' a long time I'se bin 'spectin' de chile ob mah dead sister +t' come t' me. Mah folks down Souf done wrote me dat dey was sendin' +li'l Sallie on, but she neber come, an' I couldn't find her. But bress +de deah Lord, now I has! I suttinly t'inks yo' suah am mah lost honey +lamb! Her name was Sallie Jefferson. Jefferson was de name ob mah sister +what died, an' she say, 'fore she died, dat she'd named her chile after +me. So yo' all mus' be her." + +"Maybe I is! Oh, maybe I is! An' maybe I'se found mah folks at last!" +cried Wopsie, or Sallie, as we must now call her. There were tears of +joy in her eyes, as well as in the eyes of Aunt Sallie. + +"If you ask Aunt Lu maybe she could tell you if Wopsie is the one you're +looking for," said Bunny. + +"Dat's what I'll do, chile! Dat's what I'll do!" cried Aunt Sallie. +"I'll shut up mah stand, an' go see yo' Aunt Lu." + +And, a little later, they were all in Aunt Lu's house. + +"Well, what has happened now?" asked Aunt Lu, as she saw the strange +colored woman with Wopsie and the children. + +"Oh, we was runned away with in the pony cart," explained Sue, "and we +got spilled out, but we fell on some piles of grass and didn't get hurt +a bit. And Aunt Sallie found us, and we bought ice-cream cones of her +and--" + +"And--and she's Wopsie's aunt, what we've been looking for," interrupted +Bunny, fearing Sue would never tell the best part of the news. "This is +Wopsie's aunt," and he waved his hand toward fat Aunt Sallie. "She's +been looking for a lost girl, and her name is Sallie, and--" + +"Dat's it--Sallie Jefferson," broke in the colored woman. "Mah name is +Sallie Lucindy Johnson, an' I had a sister named Dinah Jefferson down +Souf. So if dis girl's name am Sallie Jefferson den she may be mah +sister's chile, an', if she am--" + +"Why, den I'se found mah folks! Dat's what I has!" cried Wopsie, unable +to keep still any longer. "Oh, I do hope I'se found mah folks!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +A HAPPY CHRISTMAS + + +Aunt Lu and Mother Brown were very much surprised when Bunny Brown and +his sister Sue came in with Aunt Sallie; and when they heard the story +told by the nice, old colored woman, they were more surprised than +before. + +"Do you really think she can be Wopsie's aunt?" asked Mrs. Brown. + +"It may be," answered Aunt Lu. "We can find out." + +"Oh, I do hope I'se got some folks at last!" said Wopsie, over and over +again. "I do hope I's gwine t' hab some folks like other people." + +Aunt Lu asked Aunt Sallie many questions, and it did seem certain that +the old colored woman was aunt to some little colored girl who had been +sent up from down South, but who had become lost. + +And if Aunt Sallie had lost a niece, and if Wopsie had lost an aunt, it +might very well be that they belonged to one another. + +"We can find out, if you write to your friends down South," said Aunt Lu +to the old colored woman. + +"An' dat's jest what I'll do," was the answer. + +It took nearly two weeks for the letters to go and come, and all this +while Wopsie was anxiously waiting. So was Aunt Sallie, for Bunny and +Sue learned to call her that. She would come nearly every day to Aunt +Lu's house, to learn if she had received any word about Wopsie. + +And, every day, nearly, Bunny and Sue, with Wopsie, or Sallie, as they +sometimes called her, would go to Central Park. They would walk up to +Aunt Sallie's stand, and talk with her, sometimes buying sticks of +candy. + +For now it was almost too cold for ice-cream. Some days it was so cold +and blowy that Bunny and Sue could not go out. The ponies and donkeys +were no longer kept in the park for children to have rides. It was too +cold for the little animals. They would be kept in the warm stables +until summer came again. + +Wopsie, or Sallie, still stayed at Aunt Lu's house, with Bunny and Sue. +For Aunt Lu did not want to let the little colored girl go to live with +Aunt Sallie, until it was sure she belonged to her. Aunt Sallie had made +money at her little candy stand, which she had kept in the park for a +number of years, and she was well able to take care of Sallie and +herself. + +"As soon as I hear from down South, that Aunt Sallie is your aunt, you +shall go to her, Wopsie," Aunt Lu had said. + +"Well, Miss Baker, I suttinly wants t' hab folks, like other chilluns," +said the little colored girl, "but I suah does hate t' go 'way from yo' +who has bin so good t' me." + +"Well, you have been good, and have helped me very much, also," said +Aunt Lu. + +One day there was a flurry of snow flakes in the air. Bunny and Sue +watched them from the windows. + +"Oh, soon we can ride down hill!" cried Sue. "Won't you be glad, +Bunny?" + +"I sure will!" Bunny said. Then, coming close to Sue he whispered: "Say, +maybe if we went up on the roof now, we could have a slide. Let's go. +The roof is flat, and we can't fall off on account of the railing around +it. Come on and have a slide." + +"I will!" said Sue. + +Putting on their warm, outdoor clothes, the children went up on the flat +roof. There was plenty of snow up there, and soon they were having a +fine slide. It was rather funny to be sliding up on the roof, instead of +down on the ground, as they would have done at home, but, as I have told +you, New York is a queer place, anyhow. + +After a while Bunny and Sue grew tired of sliding. It was snowing harder +now, and they were cold in the sharp wind. + +"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue, "I wonder if Santa Claus can get down this +chimney? It's the only one there is for Aunt Lu's house, and it isn't +very big. Do you think Santa Claus can climb down?" + +"We'll look," Bunny said. + +But the chimney was so high that Bunny and Sue could not look down +inside. They were very much worried as to whether St. Nicholas could get +into Aunt Lu's rooms to leave any Christmas presents. + +"Let's go down and ask her how Santa Claus comes," said Sue. + +"All right," agreed Bunny, and down they went. + +But when they reached Aunt Lu's rooms, Bunny and Sue found so much going +on, that, for a while, they forgot all about Santa Claus. + +For Aunt Lu was reading a letter, and Wopsie was dancing up and down in +the middle of the floor, crying out: + +"Oh, I'se got folks! I'se got folks!" + +"Is Aunt Sallie really your aunt?" asked Bunny. + +"Yes'm! She is. She is! I'se got folks at last!" and up and down danced +Wopsie, clapping her hands, the "pigtails" of kinky hair bobbing up and +down on her head. + +And so it proved. The letters from down South had just come, and they +said that Sallie Lucindy Johnson, or "Aunt Sallie," as the children +called her, was really the aunt to whom Wopsie, or Sallie Jefferson, +had been sent. The card had been torn off her dress, and so Sallie's +aunt's address was lost. But that meeting in the park, after the pony +runaway, had made everything come out all right. + +The letters which Aunt Lu had written before, and the messages she had +sent, had not gone to the right place. For it was from Virginia, that +Wopsie came, not North or South Carolina, as the little colored girl had +said at first. You see she was so worried, over being lost, that she +forgot. But Aunt Sallie knew it was from a little town in Virginia that +her sister's child was to come, and, writing there, she learned the +truth, and found out that Wopsie was the one she had been so long +expecting. So everything came out all right. + +"Oh, but I suah is glad I'se found yo' at last!" said the nice old +colored woman, as she held her niece in her arms. + +"I suppose you are going to take her away from us?" said Aunt Lu. + +"Yaas'm. I'd like t' hab mah Sallie." + +"Well, now she can go. But I want you both to come back for Christmas." + +"We will!" promised Aunt Sallie and little Sallie. + +The word Christmas made Bunny and Sue think of what they were going to +ask their Aunt Lu. + +"Where does Santa Claus come down?" + +"Is that chimney on the roof big enough for him?" asked Sue. "And hasn't +you got an open fireplace, Aunt Lu?" + +"No, we haven't that. But I think Santa Claus will get down the chimney +all right with your presents. If he doesn't come in that way, he'll find +some other way to get in. Don't worry." + +So Bunny Brown and his sister Sue waited patiently for Christmas to +come. Several times, when it was not too cold, or when there was not too +much snow, the children went up on the roof. Once they took up with them +a box, so Bunny could stand on it. He thought perhaps he could look down +the chimney that way. + +But the box was not high enough, and Bunny slipped off and hurt his leg, +so he and Sue gave it up. + +[Illustration: THE CHILDREN SAW MANY WONDERFUL THINGS IN THE STORES. +_Page 243._ + +_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home._] + +Two weeks passed. It would soon be Christmas now. Bunny and Sue were +taken through the New York stores by their mother and aunt, and the +children saw the many wonderful things Santa Claus's workers had made +for boys and girls--dolls, sleds, skates, toy-airships, Teddy bears, +Noah's arks, spinning tops, choo-choo cars, electric trains, dancing +clowns--little make-believe circuses, magic lanterns--so many things +that Bunny and Sue could not remember half of them. + +The children had written their Christmas letters, and put them on the +mantel one night. + +In the morning the letters were gone, so, of course, Santa Claus must +have taken them. + +Then it was the night before Christmas. Oh, how happy Bunny and Sue +felt! They hung up their stockings and went to bed. Their rooms were +next to one another with an open door between. + +"Bunny," whispered Sue, as Mother Brown went out, after turning low the +light; "Bunny, is you asleep?" + +"No, Sue. Are you?" + +"Nope. I don't feel sleepy. But does you think Santa Claus will surely +come down that little chimney, when Aunt Lu hasn't got a fireplace for +him?" + +"I--I guess so, Sue." + +"Come, you children must get quiet and go to sleep!" called Mother +Brown. "It will be Christmas, and Santa Claus will be here all the +quicker, if you go to sleep." + +And at last Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did go to sleep. The sun was +not up when they awoke, but it was Christmas morning. + +"Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" cried Bunny and Sue as they ran to +where they had hung their stockings. + +They found many presents on the chairs, over the backs of which hung +their stockings, which were filled with candy and nuts. + +"Oh, Santa Claus came! Santa Claus came!" cried Sue. + +"Yep! He found the chimney all right!" laughed Bunny. + +And such a Merry Christmas as the children had! There were presents for +Mother Brown, and Aunt Lu, and some for Mary the cook, and Jane, the +housemaid, and later in the day, when Sallie and her aunt came, there +were presents for them, also. + +And when dinner time came, and the big turkey, all nice and brown, was +taken from the oven, and put on the table, Mother Brown said: + +"And now for the best present of all!" + +She opened a door, and out stepped Daddy Brown! + +"Merry Christmas, Bunny! Merry Christmas, Sue!" he cried, as he caught +them up in his arms and hugged and kissed them. + +And a very Merry Christmas it was. Mr. Brown had come to spend the +holidays with his family in New York. And such fun as Bunny and Sue had +telling him all their adventures since coming to Aunt Lu's city home. I +couldn't begin to tell you half! + +"I don't believe we'll ever have such a good time anywhere else," said +Sue, as she hugged her new doll in her arms. + +"Oh, maybe we will," cried Bunny, as he ran his toy locomotive around +the room. + +And whether the children did or not you may learn by reading the next +book of this series, which will be named: "Bunny Brown and His Sister +Sue at Camp Rest-a-While." In that I will tell you all that happened +when the children went out in the woods, to live in a tent, near a +beautiful lake. + +"And so you two found Wopsie's aunt for her, did you?" asked Mr. Brown +as he sat down, after dinner, with Bunny on one knee and Sue on the +other. + +"Well, I guess it was the runaway pony that did it," said Bunny, with a +laugh. And I, myself, think the pony helped; don't you? + +"Oh, Bunny!" whispered Sue that night, as she went to bed, hugging her +new doll. "Hasn't this been a lovely Christmas?" + +"The best ever," said Bunny, sleepily. + +And so, for a little while we will say Merry Christmas, and good-bye, to +Bunny Brown and his sister Sue. + + +THE END + + + + * * * * * + + + +_This Isn't All!_ + +Would you like to know what became of the good friends you have made in +this book? + +Would you like to read other stories continuing their adventures and +experiences, or other books quite as entertaining by the same author? + +On the _reverse side_ of the wrapper which comes with this book, you +will find a wonderful list of stories which you can buy at the same +store where you got this book. + + +_Don't throw away the Wrapper_ + +_Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want some day to have. But +in case you do mislay it, write to the Publishers for a complete +catalog._ + + + + +THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES + +By LAURA LEE HOPE + +Author of the Popular "Bobbsey Twins" Books, Etc. + +Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding. + +Every Volume Complete in Itself. + +These stories are eagerly welcomed by the little folks from about five +to ten years of age. Their eyes fairly dance with delight at the lively +doings of inquisitive little Bunny Brown and his cunning, trustful +sister Sue. + + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP-REST-A-WHILE + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR SHETLAND PONY + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE GIVING A SHOW + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CHRISTMAS TREE COVE + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE SUNNY SOUTH + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE KEEPING STORE + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR TRICK DOG + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT A SUGAR CAMP + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON THE ROLLING OCEAN + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON JACK FROST ISLAND + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK + + + + +THE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS + +For Little Men and Women + +By LAURA LEE HOPE + +Author of "The Bunny Brown Series," Etc. + +Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding. + +Every Volume Complete in Itself. + +These books for boys and girls between the ages of three and ten stands +among children and their parents of this generation where the books of +Louisa May Alcott stood in former days. The haps and mishaps of this +inimitable pair of twins, their many adventures and experiences are a +source of keen delight to imaginative children everywhere. + + THE BOBBSEY TWINS + THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE + THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME + THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY + THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND + THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA + THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE GREAT WEST + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT CEDAR CAMP + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE COUNTY FAIR + THE BOBBSEY TWINS CAMPING OUT + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AND BABY MAY + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK + + + + +SIX LITTLE BUNKERS SERIES + +By LAURA LEE HOPE + +Author of The Bobbsey Twins Books, The Bunny Brown Series, The Blythe +Girls Books, Etc. + +Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding. + +Every Volume Complete in Itself. + +Delightful stories for little boys and girls which sprung into immediate +popularity. To know the six little Bunkers is to take them at once to +your heart, they are so intensely human, so full of fun and cute +sayings. Each story has a little plot of its own--one that can be easily +followed--and all are written in Miss Hope's most entertaining manner. +Clean, wholesome volumes which ought to be on the bookshelf of every +child in the land. + + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT GRANDMA BELL'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT AUNT JO'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT COUSIN TOM'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT GRANDPA FORD'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT UNCLE FRED'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT CAPTAIN BEN'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT COWBOY JACK'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT MAMMY JUNE'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT FARMER JOEL'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT MILLER NED'S + SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT INDIAN JOHN'S + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK + + + + +THE HONEY BUNCH BOOKS + +By HELEN LOUISE THORNDYKE + +Individual Colored Wrappers and Text Illustrations Drawn by + +WALTER S. ROGERS + +Honey Bunch is a dainty, thoughtful little girl, and to know her is to +take her to your heart at once. + +Little girls everywhere will want to discover what interesting +experiences she is having wherever she goes. + + HONEY BUNCH: JUST A LITTLE GIRL + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST VISIT TO THE CITY + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST DAYS ON THE FARM + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST VISIT TO THE SEASHORE + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST LITTLE GARDEN + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST DAYS IN CAMP + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST AUTO TOUR + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST TRIP ON THE OCEAN + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST TRIP WEST + HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST SUMMER ON AN ISLAND + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK + + + + +CAROLYN WELLS BOOKS + +Attractively Bound. Illustrated. Colored Wrappers. + +THE MARJORIE BOOKS + +Marjorie is a happy little girl of twelve, up to mischief, but full of +goodness and sincerity. In her and her friends every girl reader will +see much of her own love of fun, play and adventure. + + MARJORIE'S VACATION + MARJORIE'S BUSY DAYS + MARJORIE'S NEW FRIEND + MARJORIE IN COMMAND + MARJORIE'S MAYTIME + MARJORIE AT SEACOTE + +THE TWO LITTLE WOMEN SERIES + +Introducing Dorinda Fayre--a pretty blonde, sweet, serious, timid and a +little slow, and Dorothy Rose--a sparkling brunette, quick, elf-like, +high tempered, full of mischief and always getting into scrapes. + + TWO LITTLE WOMEN + TWO LITTLE WOMEN AND TREASURE HOUSE + TWO LITTLE WOMEN ON A HOLIDAY + +THE DICK AND DOLLY BOOKS + +Dick and Dolly are brother and sister, and their games, their pranks, +their joys and sorrows, are told in a manner which makes the stories +"really true" to young readers. + + DICK AND DOLLY + DICK AND DOLLY'S ADVENTURES + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + Obvious punctuation errors repaired. + + Page 227, "Sallie'l" changed to "Sallie'll". (ole Aunt Sallie'll) + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT +AUNT LU'S CITY HOME*** + + +******* This file should be named 20133.txt or 20133.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/1/3/20133 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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