The two girls saw the sand house, all caved in, and they guessed that Buddy and Billie and Johnnie were under it.
"We must dig them out!" cried Sister Sallie.
So she and Brighteyes got some pieces of shingle, and my goodness me, sakes alive! how they did make that sand fly! Percival, the old circus dog, helped them, and pretty soon Buddy and his friends were safely rescued. They were pretty well scared, I can tell you, but they were soon all right again, and then it was time to go to dinner, and after dinner they all went in bathing and had lots of fun.
Now, I"m going to tell you next about Buddy helping Sammie Littletail, that is if the man comes to cut our gra.s.s and lets our puppy dog hide under the door-mat to scare the parrot next door.
STORY XXIX
BUDDY HELPS SAMMIE LITTLETAIL
When Johnnie and Billie Bushytail went home, after having paid a visit to Buddy Pigg that time when they built the sand house that fell in on them, they told Sammie and Susie Littletail, the two rabbits, of what a nice time they had had.
"Oh, I am going over to see Buddy some day, and go in bathing," declared Sammie.
"You had better be careful about bathing in salt water," said Susie, his sister, "it might take all the color out of your eyes, or out of your fur, or your fur might even fall out."
"Oh, I guess not," answered Sammie. "I have heard that salt water keeps hair from falling out. Anyway, if there"s any danger of such a thing, Percival, the old circus dog, doesn"t need to hold the bag of salt in the water when we go in bathing."
"That"s so," agreed Susie, and just then along came Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old gentleman rabbit, and he was eating some peppermint-flavored cabbage, and he gave Sammie and Susie some.
Well, it wasn"t very many days after this before Sammie asked his mamma if he couldn"t go over and play with Buddy Pigg, and, as Sammie had been a very good rabbit boy lately, his mother allowed him to go.
"I am so glad you came, Sammie," said Buddy, "what shall we do, go in bathing, or build a sand house?"
"Let"s do both," answered Sammie. So first he and Buddy went in bathing and, for fear the salt water would make the red color fade out of Sammie"s eyes, Percival didn"t hold the bag of salt in the pond when he made the waves. Sammie and Buddy had a good time splashing around, and then they built a sand house. But they took care to make it strong enough so that it would not cave in. They played together for a long time and then Buddy asked: "What shall we do next?"
"I know," replied Sammie, as he looked at the pond of water which was sparkling in the sun, "let"s play soldier, and we"ll make a plank bridge across the pond and run over it and have lots of fun."
"All right," agreed Buddy, "come on, and help me lift the plank." So they placed a long board across one end of the pond, where it was quite deep, and began to play soldier, while Percival went to sleep in the shade.
Buddy got a tin can, and tied it around his neck with a string. That was for the drum, and when he beat upon the tin can with two sticks, believe me, it did sound just like a drum in the army, when the soldiers beat it softly.
Then Sammie got a long stick, pretending it was a gun, and the two of them marched around and around, and sideways, and up and down, and through the middle, and across the plank, and back again, several times.
Then, Sammie would fire the gun, yelling, "Boom-Boom!" as loudly as he could, and shooting maybe a dozen bad Indians or pirates or robbers, or maybe more, for all I know, and Buddy would beat on the drum louder than ever, and he would cry:
"Charge! Charge on the enemy! Hurrah! Hurrah! The victory is ours!" and he would wave a flag he had made out of a piece of white cloth, red flannel and a bit of Brighteyes" blue hair ribbon, that she had lost.
Oh, it wag great fun, I tell you! But the best of all was rushing across the plank over the deep part of the pond, for then it sounded exactly as if horses and cannon were coming over the bridge, and the plank teetered and tautered up and down, and sometimes Buddy and Sammie almost fell off. But they didn"t mind this; they only thought it all the more fun.
Then, at last, something did happen. Buddy was ahead, waving the flag with one hand, and beating the drum with the other, and Sammie was firing his wooden gun as fast as he could fire it, with ever so many "Boom-Booms!" real loud ones, too, and shooting, oh, ever so many make-believe Indians, when, all of a sudden, poor Sammie Littletail slipped off the plank, and fell into the deep part of the pond!
"Oh, save me; save me, Buddy!" cried Sammie, splashing around.
"I"ll save you!" cried Buddy, and he got so excited that he threw away his drum, and the drumsticks and the flag, only he tossed the flag safely on sh.o.r.e, where it wouldn"t get wet, for he loved the flag, even if it was only a make-believe one. "I"ll save you," he cried. "Can you swim any, Sammie?"
"A--a--lit-tle--bit!" gasped the rabbit boy, as he floundered around in the water. "But I could swim more if nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was here to show me," and then he couldn"t talk any more, for his mouth was full of water.
Well, Sammie was terribly frightened, as he floundered around in the pond, with his wooden gun, and so was Buddy frightened, up on the plank bridge. Buddy looked all around, to see if there was any one coming to help him save Sammie, but there wasn"t. Percival had gone in the house, and Brighteyes and her mother had gone berrying. Then Buddy made up his mind that he would have to save Sammie all by himself.
First he tried to kneel down on the plank, and reach his hand to his little rabbit chum, but he couldn"t reach far enough. Then he called to Sammie to hold up the wooden gun, thinking maybe he could get hold of that, and so drag the rabbit boy out, but the gun wiggled so, when Sammie splashed around that Buddy couldn"t get hold of it.
Then it began to look as if Sammie would drown, but Buddy had one more thing to try. On sh.o.r.e there was a rope. Buddy ran and got it, and in one end he made a loop, just like the cowboys do when they la.s.so a wild steer, or a horse.
Buddy took good aim, tossed the loop of rope over Sammie"s head, and Sammie grabbed hold with his front paws, and then Buddy braced his feet in the sand and gave a long, strong pull, and pulled Sammie safely out of the water, and saved him; just in time, too, let me tell you, for his breath was nearly gone. Well, Sammie soon got over being scared, and when he was dried off the two friends played soldier some more, only they kept off the plank.
Now the next story is going to be about Brighteyes and Jennie Chipmunk--that is, if our hired girl doesn"t leave and make me wash the dishes so I can"t typewrite.
STORY x.x.x
BRIGHTEYES AND JENNIE CHIPMUNK
It happened one day that after Brighteyes Pigg had finished combing her hair, and had put on a nice, pink ribbon, which she tied in two, big bows, that she heard a knock at the door. There was no one home, for her mamma had gone down to the five and ten cent store to get a wash boiler; Dr. Pigg was seeing some friends in the hospital, and Buddy was off playing ball with Bully and Bawly, the two frogs, and some others of his friends. So Brighteyes went to the door herself.
And whom do you suppose she found there?
Well, I don"t believe you"d guess in sixteen minutes, so I"ll tell you.
It was Jennie Chipmunk, the little girl who lived with Grandpa and Grandma Lightfoot, the squirrel grandparents of Johnnie and Billie Bushytail, you know.
Jennie was smiling so that she showed her pretty white teeth, and she was humming a little song, one of those she always sang when she washed the dishes. This is the song, and you are allowed to sing it if you have helped your mamma dry the dishes. It goes to the tune of "Oh fie lum diddle daddy de dum," which is a very nice tune if you can sing it.
Anyhow, Jennie Chipmunk sang:
"I love to wash the dishes, And also dry them, too.
It makes your paws so soft and white, I really think--don"t you?
Some folks are awful fussy, When e"er they dust or sweep.
They"d rather pile the dirt all up In corners, in a heap.
"But I just love my housework, For making beds I sigh.
I love to wash the tablecloth And make a cherry pie.
I knead the bread and bake it, I starch and iron the clothes, I wash the windows Sat.u.r.day--"
"That"s enough, my goodness knows!" finished Brighteyes for Jennie, with a laugh. "Land sakes! Jennie Chipmunk," the little guinea pig girl went on, "I should think you"d be tired with all that work! Come on and we"ll take a walk in the woods."
So the two started, after Brighteyes had locked the door and put the key under the mat, where her mother could find it when she came back from the five and ten cent store, where she had gone to get a diamond ring--no, I mean a dishpan--no, a wash boiler--there, I"ve got it right at last.
Well, Jennie and Brighteyes walked on through the woods and sometimes they found huckleberries to eat, or they found pennyroyal, which is a nice plant to smell, and it keeps the mosquitoes away, when they want to stay away. And the two children found some blackberries, and they found spearmint and peppermint and then they got in a field where there was a lovely apple tree and they were just eating a few of the apples and putting some in their pockets, to take home, when, all of a sudden they heard a voice calling to them from behind the tree.
"Here, what are you doing with those apples?" cried the voice, and oh, such a harsh, ugly, cross voice as it was! It fairly made Brighteyes and Jennie shiver.
First they thought it was the man who owned the tree, and then Brighteyes remembered that he was the kind farmer whose cows she and Buddy had once driven home, when he had cut his foot, and she knew he wouldn"t speak so cross to her. Then she thought it was a bad boy, but she looked, and so did Jennie, and they couldn"t see any boy. Then the voice growled out again: