Bully and Bawly No-Tail | Page 4

their fingers.
"That's a fine wheel!" cried Dickie. "I wonder if we could ride on it?"
"I guess we could," spoke Bully. "It's like a merry-go-round, only it's
turned up the wrong way. I'll see if I can ride on it, and if it goes all

right with me you can try it."
So Bully hopped on the moving water-wheel, and, surely enough, he
had a fine ride, only, of course, he got all splashed up, but he didn't
care.
"Do you mind getting your feathers wet?" he asked of Dickie as he
hopped off, "because if you don't mind the wet, you can ride."
"Oh, I don't mind the wet a bit," said the sparrow boy. "In fact, I take a
bath every morning and I wet my feathers then. So I'll ride on the wheel
and get wet now."
Well, he got on, and around the wheel went, splashing in the water, and
then Bully got on, and they both had a fine ride, just as if they were in a
rainstorm with the sun shining all the while.
But listen. Something is going to happen, I think. Wait a minute--yes,
it's going to happen right now. What's that animal sneaking along
through the woods, closer and closer up to where Bully and Dickie are
playing? What is it, eh? A cat! I knew it. A bad cat, too! I could just
feel that something was going to happen.
You see that cat was hungry, and she hoped to catch the sparrow and
the frog boy and eat them. Up she sneaked, walking as softly as a baby
can creep, and just then Dickie and Bully got off the wheel, and sat
down on the bank to eat a cookie, which Bully found in his water-proof
pocket.
"Now's my chance!" thought the cat. "I'll grab 'em both, and eat 'em!"
So she made a spring, but she didn't jump quite far enough and she
missed both Bully and Dickie. Dickie flew up into a tree, and so he was
safe, but Bully couldn't fly, though he hopped away.
After him jumped the cat, and she cried:
"I'll get you yet!"

Bully hopped some more, but the cat raced toward him, and nearly had
the froggie. Then began quite a chase. The cat was very quick, and she
kept after Bully so closely that she was making him very tired. Pretty
soon his jumps weren't as long as they had been at first. And the cat
was keeping him away from the pond, too, for she knew if he jumped
into that he would get away, for cats don't like water, or rain.
But finally Bully managed to head himself back toward the pond, and
the cat was still after him. Oh, how savage she looked with her sharp
teeth, and her glaring eyes! Poor Bully was much frightened.
All of a sudden, as he hopped nearer and nearer to the pond, he thought
of a trick to play on that cat. He pretended that he could hardly hop any
more, and only took little steps. Nearer and nearer sneaked the cat,
lashing her tail. At last she thought she could give one big spring, and
land on Bully with her sharp claws.
She did spring, but Dickie, up in the tree, saw her do it, and he called to
his friend Bully to look out. Then Bully gave a great big hop and
landed on the water-wheel, and the cat was so surprised that she
jumped, too, and before she knew it she had leaped on the wheel also.
Around and around it went, with Bully and the cat on it, and water
splashed all over, and the cat was so wet and miserable that she forgot
all about eating Bully. But Bully only liked the water, and didn't mind
it a bit.
Then the frog boy hopped off the wheel to the shore and hurried away,
with Dickie flying overhead, and the cat, who was now as wet as a
sponge, and very dizzy from the wheel going around so fast, managed
to jump ashore a little while afterward. But her fur was so wet and
plastered down that she couldn't chase after Bully any more, and he got
safely home; and the cat had to stay in the sun all day to dry out. But it
served her right, I think.
Now in case the little boy next door doesn't take our baby carriage and
make an automobile of it, I'll tell you next about Bawly and Uncle
Wiggily.

STORY III
BAWLY AND UNCLE WIGGILY
Bawly No-Tail, the frog boy, was hopping along through the woods
one fine day, whistling a merry tune, and wondering if he would meet
any of his friends, with whom he might have a