Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue Playing Circus | Page 7

her about it, anyhow. But we'll have to get some
other boys and girls to help us. And we'll have to make a cage to keep
Splash in. He's going to be the wild tiger, you know."
"Oh, but I don't want Splash shut up in a cage!" cried Sue. "I sha'n't let
you put my half of him in a cage! And I do own half of him, right down
the middle; half his tail is mine, too. You can't put my half of him in
any old cage!"
Bunny did not know what to say. It was easy enough to put
make-believe tiger stripes on one side, or on half a dog, but it was very

hard to put half a dog in a cage, and leave the other half outside. Bunny
did not see how it could be done.
"Oh, it won't hurt Splash," said the little boy. "Come on, Sue. Please let
me put your half with my half of Splash in a cage."
"No, sir! Bunny Brown! I won't do it! You can't put my half of Splash
in a cage. He won't like it."
"But, Sue, it's only a make-believe cage, just as he's a make-believe
tiger."
"Oh, well, if it's only a make-believe cage, then, I don't care. But you
mustn't hurt him, and you can't put any paint stripes on my half."
"No, I won't, Sue. Now let's go out to the barn and look to see where
we can put up the trapezes and rings and things like that, and where I
can hang by my feet and by my hands."
"Oh, Bunny! Are you going to do that?"
"Sure!" cried the little boy, as though it was as easy as eating a piece of
strawberry shortcake. "You just watch me, Sue."
"Well, I don't want to do that," said Sue. "I'm just going to be a pretty
lady and ride a white horse."
"But grandpa hasn't any white horses, Sue. They're brown."
"Well, I can sprinkle some talcum powder on a brown horse and make
him white," said the little girl. "Can't I?"
"Oh, yes!" cried Bunny. "That will be fine! But it will take an awful lot
of talcum powder to make a big horse all white, Sue."
"Well, I'll just make him spotted white then. I've got some talcum
powder of my own, and it smells awful good. I guess a horse would
like it; don't you, Bunny?"

"I guess so, Sue. But come out to the barn."
Grandpa Brown had two barns on his farm. One was where the horses
and cows were kept, and the other held wagons, carriages and
machinery. It was in the horse-barn where the children went--the barn
where there were big piles of sweet-smelling hay.
"I can fall on the hay, 'stead of falling in a net, like the circus men do,"
said Bunny.
"Anyhow, we haven't any circus net," suggested Sue.
"No," agreed Bunny. "But the hay is just as bouncy. I'm going to jump
in it!"
He climbed up on the edge of the hay-mow, or place where the hay is
kept, and jumped into the dried grass. For hay is just dried grass, you
know.
Down into the hay bounced Bunny, and Sue bounced after him. The
children jumped up and down in the hay, laughing and shouting. Then
they played around the barn, trying to pretend that they were already
having the circus in it.
"Oh, it will be such fun!" cried Sue.
"Jolly!" cried Bunny.
"Let's go and ask mother now," said Sue.
The children started for the house. On the way they had to pass a little
pond of water. On the edge of it stood a hen, clucking and making a
great fuss. She would run toward the water and then come back again,
without getting her feet wet.
"Oh, the poor old hen!" cried Sue. "What's the matter? Oh, see, Bunny!
All her little chickens are in the water. Oh, Bunny! We must get them
out for her. Oh, you poor old hen!"

CHAPTER IV
A STRANGE BOY
Bunny Brown and his sister Sue stood on the shore of the little pond,
looking at the old hen, who was fluttering up and down, very much
excited, clucking and calling as loudly as she could.
And, paddling up and down in the water in front of her, where the hen
dared not go, for chickens don't like to get wet you know, paddling up
and down in front of the hen were some soft, fluffy little balls of downy
feathers.
"Oh, her chickens will all be drowned!" cried Sue. "We must get them
out, Bunny. Take off your shoes and stockings and wade in. I'll help
you save the little chickens for the poor old hen."
Sue sat