Naughty Miss Bunny | Page 9

down her
frock.
"Dear old Frisk," she cried, patting his neck, "there's a little cousin
coming all the way from India to stay with us. Sophie is not glad, but I
am, and Miss Kerr is, and you must be glad too, old man. And he's not
black at all, Frisk, oh, no, and it is very, very silly of you to think so, sir.
You must be good to him, dear little pony, and give him nice rides, and
then he'll love you, just as I do, and we'll all be friends together. So
now eat this, little Frisk," she continued, and breaking off a piece of the
bread, she held it up to the pony's nose.
But suddenly Bunny gave a little shriek, and drew her hand quickly
away; for without intending it, Frisk had actually bitten his kind little
mistress. The bread she offered him was so small, and his mouth was
so big, that the child's fingers got rather far in among his teeth, and
when Frisk's white grinders came down upon the dainty offered him,
they met rather sharply upon poor Bunny's thumb. The skin was
slightly cut, and as a little stream of blood ran down her finger the child
grew frightened and began to cry.
"Oh, Frisk, Frisk, why did you bite? I never thought you would do such
a thing," she cried reproachfully. "I never, never knew you do such a

thing before;" and sinking down on the straw by his side, she tried to
stop the blood by rolling her finger tightly up in the corner of her
pinafore. "Just when I wanted to tell the new cousin that you were a
good, kind pony, you go and bite me--oh dear, oh dear, I am very sorry,
Frisk, I am indeed."
But in spite of the little girl's sorrowful lecture, Frisk did not in the least
know that he had done anything wrong, and poking his soft nose into
Bunny's lap, he carried off the remaining piece of bread and ate it with
much relish.
"You artful old thing," cried Bunny, delighted with his cleverness, and
smiling through her tears, "if you hadn't bit me I'd have said you were
the best and dearest little pony alive;" and forgetting her anger at him
for hurting her, she jumped up and patted and kissed his soft silky nose.
"Where is Mademoiselle Bunny? Ah! that child will be the death of me.
Jean, have you seen Meess Bunny anywhere about?" cried Sophie, just
outside the stable door; and the little girl knew that her hour was come
and that she was going to get a good scolding.
"Oh, Miss Bunny is in there, talking to Frisk, Mamzelle Sophie,"
answered the groom.
"Little naughty one! Ah, these English children are so dreadful!" cried
Sophie, and in a moment Bunny was dragged out from her seat on the
straw and carried away to the nursery.
"Oh!" she screamed as soon as they were inside the door, "what is that I
see on your dress, mademoiselle? Blood, I declare! Oh, what will your
mama say? She will send away that beast of a pony I am sure, and then
you will not make such early walks to the stable."
"Oh, Sophie, Sophie, don't tell! don't tell!" cried Bunny, "Frisk did not
mean to hurt me I am sure, and it's nearly well now. Look, it has
stopped bleeding already, so don't tell mama, pray don't," and the little
girl raised her eyes full of tears to the maid's face.

"Well, I won't tell if you will promise me never to slip out of your bed
and away out of the house again as you have done just now."
"Oh, I never will, I never will, Sophie!" cried Bunny, "but do say you
won't tell. I couldn't bear to see Frisk sent away."
"Well, well, don't cry any more," said Sophie good-naturedly. "Be a
good enfant, and I will say not anything about it."
"Oh! you dear, darling Sophie, I'll be so good, so good!" cried the little
girl, "I'll be so good that you'll never have to scold me any more."
"Ma foi, what a change that will be!" cried Sophie, "if you get so good
as all that I will send for the doctor."
"For the doctor!" exclaimed Bunny in surprise. "Why would you send
for him?"
"Good gracious, mademoiselle, because I will surely think you are ill if
you get to be an angel like that; but I am very certain I shall have to
scold you many times before this evening comes."
"Very likely, Sophie, but still I'm good now," said Bunny with a merry
little laugh, and as the maid gave the last touch to her hair, the last pull
to her sash, she