The Story of a Monkey on a Stick | Page 4

never even blinked. That's what it is to be a Candy Rabbit, and have
glass eyes. Not all of us are as lucky as that, are we?
A little later Herbert dropped a piece of his buttered roll. It fell near the
Monkey, who was lying on the table near the breakfast plate of the little
boy. Some of the butter from the roll stuck to the stick which the
Monkey climbed up and down.
"Now look what you did, Herbert!" said Madeline. "You'll make the
stick so slippery with butter that the Monkey may fall off."
"Come, children," called Mother, as she again entered the room. "You
must finish your breakfast and go to school. Put your Monkey back in
the box, Herbert. Don't be late for school."
"No'm, we won't!" promised the brother and sister.
A little later they were on their way, walking side by side on the path
that led to the red school house down by the white bridge. Madeline
looked at her brother curiously as they came near the building where
they studied their lessons.
"Have you got your books under your coat, Herbert?" asked Madeline.
"No, I haven't my books," he said.
"Well, what have you?" asked Madeline. "You have something, for I
can see a lump. What is it?"
Before Herbert could answer, if he had wanted to, the bell rang and the
two children, and some others who were straggling along, had to run so
they would not be late. Then, for a time, Madeline forgot what it was
her brother was bringing to school under his coat.
Just before recess, his teacher, looking down toward Herbert, sitting
near Dick and Arnold, called out:

"What have you there, Herbert? What are you showing to the other
boys under your desk?"
"It--it's a Monkey!" answered Madeline's brother.
"A monkey!" exclaimed the teacher.
"Yes. It's my birthday Monkey," went on the little boy.
"Oh! A birthday monkey!" the teacher said again. "I think I had better
call the janitor and have him take care of your monkey for you," and
she started toward the door.
"Oh, no'm! He isn't a live monkey," said Herbert. "He's just a toy one,
on a stick."
"Herbert, you may bring me that Monkey," the teacher said, and
Herbert, very red in the face, walked up to the platform on which stood
his teacher's desk. In his hand Herbert carried his Monkey on a Stick.
"Where did you get this?" his teacher asked, as she took the toy from
Herbert and laid it on top of her desk.
"I got it for my birthday," he answered. "This morning."
"But why did you bring it to school?" went on the teacher. "You are
nearly always a good boy. Why did you bring your Monkey to school,
Herbert?"
"Oh, I--I just wanted to show him to Arnold and Dick," was the answer.
"We're going to have a show, and my Monkey is going to be in it. I
brought him to school under my coat!"
"Oh! Oh!" exclaimed Madeline, before she thought what she was
saying. "I saw something under his coat, and I thought it was his books.
Oh! Oh! And it was his Monkey!"
All the children laughed when Madeline said this, and even the teacher
could not help smiling. But she said:

"Silence, please, children. We must keep on with our lessons. And,
Herbert, it was wrong of you to bring your Monkey to school and take
him out to show to other boys. As a little punishment I shall keep your
toy in my desk until after school to-night. Then you may have him
back."
"Yes'm," returned Herbert, still rather red in the face. He went back to
his desk, and the other children went on with their lessons.
The teacher put the Monkey on a Stick inside a big drawer.
"Well, this is the first of my adventures since I went to sleep in the
store and awakened in Herbert's house," thought the Monkey to himself,
as he found that he was shut up inside the teacher's desk. "I wondered
what Herbert was going to do with me when he slipped me under his
coat at the breakfast table. Now I must see what we have here."
It was not very dark inside the drawer of the teacher's desk. Enough
light came through the keyhole for the Monkey to see, and, among
other things, he noticed a bottle of ink and a small Doll. He was pleased
to see the Doll.
"Oh, here is a toy like myself!" said the Monkey, speaking in a whisper.
"How do you do?" he went on, sitting up and bowing to his new
acquaintance. "Are you any relation to the Sawdust Doll?" he asked
politely.
"I'm a second or third cousin,"