The Bobbsey Twins at the County Fair | Page 2

climbing on the gate!" warned Nan. "If you get rusty
spots on your white dress they won't come out!"
"I'll be careful," Flossie promised, calling back over her shoulder, and,
as she tripped along she sang: "We're going to a picnic! We're going to
a picnic!"
"I think I'd better watch her so she won't soil her clothes," said Nan,
getting up from a bench, where she had been sitting beside the boxes
and baskets of lunch. "It would be too bad if she should get her dress
dirty and couldn't go."
"I'm not going to get my clothes dirty, am I, Nan?" asked Freddie, as he
looked at his white blouse.
"I hope not," Nan answered.
Suddenly there was an exclamation from Bert, as Nan started down the
path toward Flossie.
"Ouch!" cried Bert.
"What's the matter?" Nan asked quickly.

"Cut myself!"
"Oh! Oh, dear!" screamed Freddie, who did not like the sight of the red
blood which oozed from the end of his brother's finger.
"Oh, don't get any on my clean blouse, else I can't go to the picnic!"
Bert, who had popped the cut finger into his mouth as soon as he felt
the hurt, now took it out to laugh.
"That's all you care about me, Freddie!" he joked. "I cut my finger,
while making you a little boat, and all you care about is that I mustn't
dirty your white blouse! I'll make you a lot more ships--I guess not!"
"Oh, but I am sorry for you!" Freddie declared. "Only I do so want to
go to the picnic!"
"Yes, I know," Bert went on, seeing that Freddie was taking his talk too
seriously. "I won't get any blood on you!"
"Is it much of a cut?" asked Nan "Do you want me to get the iodine?"
Their Mother had taught the Bobbsey twins not to neglect hurts of this
kind, and iodine, they knew, was good to "kill the germs," whatever
that meant. Iodine smarted when put into a cut, but it was better to
stand a little smart at first than a big pain afterward, so Daddy Bobbsey
had said.
"Oh, it isn't much of a cut," Bert said. "I guess I don't need any iodine.
You'd better go look after Flossie. The trucks may be along any time
now, and we don't want to keep them waiting."
"All right. But you'd better not whittle any more on that boat or you
may cut yourself so bad you can't go to the picnic."
"Let the boat go!" advised Freddie. "It's good enough, anyhow, and I
want you to go to the picnic, Bert."
"All right. The little ship is almost finished, anyhow. I just have to
make about three more cuts and then I'm done."

His finger had stopped bleeding--indeed the cut was a very small
one--and Bert was soon putting the last touches to the tiny craft which
Freddie wanted to sail in the little lake at the picnic grounds.
Just as Bert handed the homemade toy to his brother, and when Nan
reached Flossie, in time to stop her from climbing on the gate, a noise
of honking horns was heard down the street.
"Oh, here they come! Here come the trucks!" cried Flossie, dancing up
and down.
"Get the lunch!" called Freddie, to make sure they would not go hungry
on the picnic.
"I'll go in and tell mother we're going," called Nan to Bert, who shut up
his knife, brushed the whittlings off his clothes, and began to gather up
the boxes and baskets of lunch. "Watch Flossie!" Nan added, for there
was no telling what the excitable little "fairy" might do at the last
moment.
"All right," Bert answered. "Here, Freddie!" he called. "Don't run with
that sharp-pointed boat in your hand. If you fall on it you'll get hurt."
"But I'm not going to fall!" said Freddie.
"You can't tell what you're going to do! Go easy!" Bert advised, and
Freddie walked as slowly as he could to the gate where Flossie was
eagerly gazing down the road.
The noise of the auto horns sounded more loudly, and soon two big
trucks, filled with children and gay with flags, came into view. Boxes
had been placed in the trucks for seats, and on these boxes, laughing,
shouting, waving their hands and flags, were scores of happy, smiling
boys and girls.
One of the trucks drew up at the gate of the house where lived the
Bobbsey twins, the other auto keeping on, as it was well filled. But
room had been saved in this one for Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie.

"Come on, Nan! Come on!" cried Flossie, still jumping up and down.
"Tell Nan to hurry!" added Freddie to his brother.
"She's coming," Bert said, as he walked