It was a little later that same afternoon, when Rose, who was out on the porch, getting her doll dressed for supper, as she said, came running in, looking very much excited.
"Well, what is it now?" asked her mother. "Has Mun Bun or any of the others, ridden off on a junk wagon?"
"Oh, no," answered the little girl. "But Laddie went off down the street with his peanuts in his pocket, and now he"s come back and he has a funny riddle."
"A funny riddle!" exclaimed Mrs. Bunker. "What do you mean? Is it a riddle about the peanuts?"
"I don"t know," answered Rose. "But Laddie has something hid under his coat, and he asked me to guess what it was, so it must be a riddle. And it makes a funny squeaking noise."
"My goodness!" exclaimed Mrs. Bunker. "I must see what Laddie"s riddle is this time!"
CHAPTER XVI
ROSE BREAKS HER SKATE
Out on the porch Mrs. Bunker found her six children, for Rose had followed her mother out of the house, finally running ahead of her to see if any one had yet guessed Laddie"s latest riddle.
"What have you there, Sonny?" asked Laddie"s mother, as she saw him standing in front of Russ, Rose and the others, with something under his coat.
"He says it"s a riddle," explained Russ.
"It is, sort of!" declared Laddie. "Yet "tisn"t zactly a riddle. I just told "em to guess what I had under my coat."
"Where"d you get it?" asked Aunt Jo, who came out to see what the fun was about.
"I got it with the peanuts I had in my pocket," the little boy answered.
"Oh, then it"s a squirrel!" guessed Rose.
"No, it isn"t a squirrel," said Laddie, shaking his head.
"It"s got a tail! I can see it!" cried Vi, as she stooped down and looked under her brother"s coat. "I can see it sticking out. It"s brown."
"Yes, it"s got a tail," admitted Laddie.
"Is it a kite?" asked Russ, for he had not yet finished the one he was making.
"Nope! "Tisn"t a kite!" Laddie answered. "It"s alive, and kites aren"t that way!"
"They wiggle around as if they were alive, sometimes," said Rose.
"Oh, I heard it squeak!" cried Mun Bun. "Is it a little kittie?"
Again Laddie shook his head.
"Nope," he answered, ""tisn"t a kittie. But it"s got fur on. Now I"ll give you each one more guess for my riddle, and----"
But Laddie"s "riddle" seemed to think the fun had gone on long enough, and it didn"t want to be guessed about any more. All at once the little boy began to wiggle and try to hold something still beneath his coat--something which seemed very much alive indeed.
"Oh! Oh! Oh, dear!" cried Laddie, but he was laughing.
"What"s the matter?" asked his mother.
"It--it"s _tickling_ me!" he exclaimed. "Oh--there it is!"
As he spoke a funny little wrinkled black face, followed by a little brown furry body and a long tail, scrambled out from under Laddie"s b.u.t.toned coat and sat on his shoulder.
"Oh, look!" cried Rose.
"It"s a black p.u.s.s.y with a long tail!" cried Violet.
"No, it isn"t!" Russ exclaimed. "It"s a monkey! That"s what it is! A monkey!"
"A monkey!" repeated Mrs. Bunker. "Why, so it is. Oh, Laddie boy! where did you get a monkey?"
Laddie put up his hand to stroke the funny little creature, which seemed to like it, crouching down on Laddie"s shoulder and nestling close to him. The monkey was not much larger than a cat.
"Where"d you get it?" repeated the children"s mother.
"Have they got any more? Can I get one?" cried Russ. "I"ll go and find some peanuts!"
"Don"t let him wind his tail on me!" begged Mun Bun, hiding behind his mother"s skirts.
"Can he play a hand-organ?" asked Violet.
The children were laughing so hard, and asking so many questions as they crowded around Laddie, that their mother exclaimed:
"Oh, my dear six little Bunkers! please be quiet a minute until I can hear what Laddie has to say. Tell us where you got such a cute little riddle!"
"I got him with peanuts," Laddie said. "He was up in a tree and I saw him, and I held out some peanuts in my hand and he came down and sat on my shoulder and ate "em and then I put him under my coat and he liked it and I brought him home."
"But where did you find him?" asked Aunt Jo. "In what tree?"
"Oh, just down by the corner at the end of this street," answered Laddie with a wave of his hand.
"Mercy," gasped Aunt Jo, "are monkeys beginning to make their homes in the trees of the Boston streets?" and she and Mother Bunker laughed.
"But was he up a tree?" asked Russ.
"Yes, he was," Laddie went on. "First I thought it was a cat, but when I saw him hang by his tail I knew it wasn"t a cat."
"Oh, we"re finding lots of things!" cried Rose. "I found a pocketbook, and now Laddie finds a monkey."
"And I"m going to keep it and get a hand-organ and then I"m going around and take in pennies," said the little boy, on whose shoulder the monkey was still perched, looking here and there at the other children, and wrinkling up his funny black face.