Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue on Grandpa's Farm Part 6

"Oh, Bunny! The frogs hopped out! They got away!"

"Oh, dear!" the little boy said. "What made you let 'em go?"

"I didn't. They wented themselves! They swimmed right out!"

"Oh, well, never mind. I can get more." Bunny was real nice and cheerful about it; wasn't he? Some boys would have made a fuss if their sister let their frogs go, but Bunny Brown was different.

Soon he caught four more frogs, and this time he helped Sue put water in the can, scooping it up with his hands. So the frogs did not get out.

But catching frogs gets tiresome after a while, and, after a bit, Bunny and Sue were ready to stop. They looked about for something else to do.

Not far from the pond was a high bank of clay, partly dug away. It was like a little hill, and sloped down to the edge of the pond.

"Oh, Sue, I know what let's do!" cried Bunny.

"What?"

"Let's go up to the top of the clay-hill and roll stones down into the water."

"All right--let's!"

Sue set down her can of frogs, and Bunny laid aside his net. The clay-hill was too slippery to climb, so the children went around to the side, on a part where the gra.s.s grew. Soon Bunny and Sue stood at the top of the hill. It was not very high, nor very steep, and at the top were a number of stones.

"We'll roll 'em down, and watch 'em splash in the water," said Bunny.

Down the slippery clay slide the children rolled the stones, watching them splash into the little pond at the bottom of the hill.

All of a sudden, as Sue rolled one stone, larger than any of the others she had yet played with, she gave a cry.

"Oh, Bunny! Bunny! I'm slipping! I'm falling!" she called.

Bunny gave a jump toward Sue, hoping he could catch her. But he, too, slipped on the smooth clay at the top of the hill.

And the next second Bunny and Sue went sliding down. Right down the clay-hill toward the shallow pond at the bottom they slid, like Jack and Jill, who went up the hill, after a pail of water, and then tumbled down.

CHAPTER V

OFF TO GRANDPA'S FARM

"Bunny! Bunny!" cried Sue, as she slid along. "Oh, Bunny! I can't stop!"

"I--I can't, either," answered her brother. "But don't be afraid! You won't get hurt, Sue!"

"No, but, Bunny, if I go into the water I'll get all--all wet!"

"Well, I'll get wet too, and then mamma will know it was an accident.

Say, we're sliding fast, Sue! Aren't we?"

Bunny Brown and his sister Sue were certainly sliding fast. The clay-hill was wet with rain that had come down in the night, and the clay was as slippery as gla.s.s. The little boy and girl dug their heels in, or they tried to, but the clay was hard, as well as slippery.

Down and down they went, faster and faster. Sue tried to dig her fingers into the clay, but she could not, any more than Bunny, neither of them could stick the heels of their shoes in. On and on they slid, faster and faster.

"Oh, dear!" cried Sue. "I wish our dog Splash were here!"

"He couldn't stop us!" replied Bunny. "He'd slide too, same as we're sliding."

"Well--well, anyhow!" said Sue, almost ready to cry, "he--he could pull me out when I fall in the water--an'--an' I'm goin' to fall in, Bunny! I know I am! I'm goin' to fall in! Oh, dear!"

"Never mind, Sue. I'll fall in with you, and I'll pull you out. It isn't deep."

"No, but it's aw--awful muddy, Bunny!"

Bunny did not have time to answer. He only had time to yell:

"Look out, Sue! Here we go in!"

And--"splash!" in went Bunny Brown and his sister Sue. Right in the shallow pond of muddy water they slid, sitting down. It did not hurt them, for the clay was soft and smooth where the water covered it. But, though the two children were not hurt--oh, so dirty and muddy as they were! They had made such a hard splash into the puddle that the water was sprinkled all over them, like a shower from a fountain.

For a moment, after sliding in, and coming to a stop, Bunny and Sue looked at one another, not saying a word.

"Well," said Bunny, after a bit, with a long breath, "you didn't get hurt; did you, Sue?"

"No, not hurt, Bunny--but--but look at my--my dress!"

Sue's lips quivered, and her eyes filled with tears.

"Don't care," said Bunny kindly. "I'm all mud, too."

"Le--let's go home," Sue went on. "I must get a clean dress. And I don't want any more frogs, Bunny."

"I guess I don't, either. We'll let 'em go."

Bunny tried to get up from where he was sitting in the puddle of muddy water and clay, but it was so slippery that, almost as soon as he stood on his feet, he went down again.

"Oh! Oh!" cried Sue. "You're splashing me more, Bunny!"

"I--I couldn't help it," he said. He looked at Sue and laughed.

"What are you laughin' at?" she asked.

"At you. You do look so funny! There's a lump of clay right on the end of your nose!"

"Oh, is there?" Sue reached for her pocket handkerchief to wipe off the mud, for she did not like a dirty face. But she found that her pocket was under water, and of course her handkerchief was wet through.

"Lend me yours, Bunny," she begged. And Bunny, who had his handkerchief in his waist pocket, up above the wetness, wiped the clay from his sister's nose. Then, by being careful, he managed to stand up. He helped Sue to her feet, and the children waded to sh.o.r.e. The water was not more than a few inches deep, but it was very muddy.