 CHAPTER ONE OF BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS. Sue, Sue, where are you, called a lady, as she stood in the opening of a tent which was under the trees in the big woods? Where are you, Sue, and where is Bunny? For a moment no answers came to the call, but presently from behind a clump of bushes not far from the tent stepped a little girl. She held a finger over her lips, just as your teacher does in school when she does not want you to say anything. Then the little girl whispered, Shhh, Mother, I can't come now. Then let Bunny come, he can do what I want. Bunny can't come either. Why not? And Mrs. Brown smiled at her little girl, who seemed very much in earnest as she stood in front of the bushes, her finger still across her lips. Bunny can't come, because we're playing soldier and Indian, said Sue. Bunny's been shot by an Indian arrow, and I'm his nurse. He's just got over the fever. Same as I did when I had the measles, and he's asleep. And it's awful dangerous to wake anybody up that's just got to sleep after a fever. That's what our doctors said I remember. Okay. Oh, Bunny is just getting over a fever, is he? Asked Mrs. Brown. Of course it's only a make-believe fever, Mother, said the little girl. We're only pretending, you know. And she cut her words short, leaving off a G here and there, so she could talk faster, I suppose. Oh, if it's only a make-believe fever, it's all right, said Mother Brown with a laugh. How long do you think Bunny will sleep, Sue? Oh, not very long. Maybe five minutes, because you see when he wakes up he'll be hungry, and I've got some pie and cake and some milk for him to eat. Sick folks gets awful hungry when their fever goes away, and it's real things to eat, too, Mother. And when Bunny got make-believe shot with an Indian arrow, he said he wasn't going to play fever more than five minutes, because he saw what I had for him to eat. Oh, well, if he's going to be better in five minutes, I can wait that long, said Mrs. Brown. Go on and have your fun. What do you want Bunny to do, or me ask, Sue, as she turned to go back behind the bush where she and Bunny were having their game? I'll tell you when you finish playing, said Mrs. Brown with a smile. She sometimes found this a better plan than telling the children just what she wanted when she called them from some of their games. You see, they were so anxious to find out what it was their mother wanted that they hurried to finish their fun. Bunny Brown and his sister, Sue, were at camp rest a while with their father and their mother. They had come from their home in Belmere to live for a while in the forest on the shore of Lake Wanda, where they were all enjoying the life in the open air. They had journeyed to the woods in an automobile, carrying two tents which were set up under the trees. One tent was used to sleep in, and the other for a dining room. There was also a place to cook. With the Brown family was Uncle Tad, who was really Mr. Brown's uncle, but the jolly old soldier was as much an uncle to Bunny and Sue as he was to their father. Bunker Blue, a boy, had also come to camp rest a while with the Brown family. But after having many adventures with them he had gone back to Belmere, where Mr. Brown had a fish and a boat business. With him went Tom Vine, a boy whom the Browns had met after coming to camp. Bunny Brown and his sister, Sue, liked it in the big woods that stretched out all about their camp. They played many games under the trees and in the tents and had great fun. Mrs. Brown liked it so much that when the time when they had planned to go home came, she said to her husband, Oh, let's stay a little longer. I like it so much and the children are so happy. Let's stay. And so they stayed. And they were still camped on the edge of the big woods that morning, when Mrs. Brown called Bunny and Sue to do something for her. After telling her mother about the pretend fever which Bunny had, Sue went back to where her brother was lying on a blanket under the bushes. She made believe feel his pulse as she had seen the doctor do, when once Bunny had been really ill, and then the little girl put her hand on Bunny's cheek. Say, what you doing that for? He asked. I was seeing how hot you were answered, Sue. I guess your fever's most gone, isn't it, Bunny? She asked. Is it time to eat? He asked quickly. Yes, I think it is. And I think mother has a surprise for us, too. Then my fever's all gone, exclaimed Bunny. I'm all better and I can eat. Then we'll see what mother has. Never did an ill person get well so quickly as did Bunny Brown just then. He sat up, threw to one side a blanket Sue had spread over him, and called, Where's the pie and cake? Here they are, Sue answered as she took them from a little box under the bushes. And where's the milk, asked Bunny? Fevers always make folks thirsty, you know. I'm awful thirsty. Here's the milk, said Sue. I didn't ask mother if I could take it, but I'm sure she won't care. No, I guess not, said Bunny, taking a long drink which Sue poured out for him from a pitcher into a glass. Then Bunny and his sister ate the pie and the cake which their mother had given them that morning, when they said they wanted to have a little picnic in the woods. Instead Bunny and Sue had played Indian and soldier as they often did. First Bunny was a white soldier and then an Indian, and at last he made believe he was shot so he could be ill. Sue was very fond of playing nurse, and she liked to cover Bunny up, feel his pulse and feed him bread pills, rolled in sugar. Bunny liked those pills, too. Well, now we've got everything eaten up, said Bunny, as he gathered up the last crumbs of the pie his mother had baked in the oil stove which they had brought to camp. Let's go and see what the surprise is. I'm not so sure it is a surprise, returned Sue slowly. Mother didn't say so. She just said she wouldn't tell us until you got all make-believe well again. So I suppose it's a surprise. Don't you think so, too? I guess I do, answered Bunny, but come on. We'll soon find out. As the children came out from under the bush where they had been playing, there was a crashing in the brush. And Sue cried, oh, maybe that's some more of those Indians. Poo! We're not playing Indians now, said Bunny. That game's all over. I guess it's Splash. Oh, that's nice, cried Sue. I was wondering where he'd gone. A big happy-looking and friendly dog came bursting through the bushes. He wagged his tail and his big red tongue dangled out of his mouth, for it was a warm day. Oh, Splash, you came just too late, cried Sue. We've eaten up everything. All except the crumbs, said Bunny. Splash saw the crumbs almost as soon as Bunny spoke, and with his red tongue the dog licked them up from the top of the box which the children had used for a table, under the bushes. Come on, called Bunny after a bit. Let's go and find out what Mother wants. Maybe she's baked some cookies for us. Didn't you have enough with the cake pie and milk, Sue asked? Oh, I could eat more, replied Bunny Brown. In fact, he seemed always to be hungry, his mother said, though she did not let him eat enough to make himself ill. Well, come on, called Sue. We'll go and see what Mother has for us. Through the woods ran the children toward the lake and the white tents gleaming among the green trees. Mr. Brown went to the city twice a week, making the trip in a small automobile he ran himself. Sometimes he would stay in the city overnight, and Mother Brown and Uncle Tad and the children would stay in the tents, in the big woods where they were not far from a farmhouse. Splash, the happy-go-lucky dog, bounded on ahead of Bunny Brown and his sister Sue. The children followed as fast as they could. Now and then Splash would stop and look back as though calling. Come on, hurry up and see the surprise. We're coming, Bunny would call. What do you suppose it is, he would ask, Sue? I can't even guess who would answer. But I know it must be something nice, for she smiled. When I told her I was your nurse and you had an Indian fever. It wasn't an Indian fever, protested Bunny. Well, I mean a make-believe Indian fever, said the little girl. No, it was a make-believe arrow, fever, said Bunny. I got shot with an Indian arrow, you know. Oh, yes, Sue answered. But anyhow, you're all well now. Oh, look out Splash, she cried, as the big dog ran into a puddle of water and splashed it so that some got on Sue's dress. That is how Splash got his name, from splashing into so many puddles. But this time the water was from a clean brook that ran over green mossy stones and it did Sue's dress no harm, for she had on one that Mrs. Brown had made purposefully, for wearing in the woods. Here we are, mums, he called Sue as she and Bunny came running up to the camp where the tents were. What's the surprise, asked Bunny? Just then they heard the honk honk of an automobile and as a car came on through the woods and up to the white tents Bunny and Sue cried together, Oh, it's Daddy, Daddy has come home. Yes, and he's brought us something, added Bunny. Look at the two big bundles, Sue. Oh, Daddy, Daddy Brown, what have you brought? cried the two children. Just a minute now and I'll show you, said Mr. Brown, as he got out of the automobile and started for a tent, a big bundle under each arm. The children danced about in delight and Splash barked. End of Chapter 1 Chapter 2 of Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue in the Big Woods by Laura Lee Hope This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Pale of Milk Oh, Mother, is this the surprise you had for us, asked Sue, as she hopped about first on one foot, then on the other. Of course, she was so excited she could not keep still. No, this isn't exactly what I meant, said Mrs. Brown with a smile. Still, this is a very nice surprise, isn't it? Just the very nicest, said Bunny. It's nice to have Daddy home and it's nice to have him bring something. Oh, please, tell us what it is. You have two things went on, Sue, as she looked at the two bundles which Mr. Brown carried, one under each arm. Is there something for each of us, Daddy? Well, yes, I think so, Sue, answered her father, but just wait. Oh, my dears, give your father a chance to get his breath, laughed Mrs. Brown. Remember, he has come all the way from the city in the auto, and he must be tired. Come into the tent and I'll make you a cup of tea, she went on. And then will you tell us what you brought us, asked Bunny? Yes, said Mr. Brown. Then let's go in and watch him drink his tea, said Sue, as she took hold of Bunny's hand and led him toward the dining tent. We'll know the minute he has finished, she went on, and we'll be there when he opens the bundles. All right, said Mr. Brown, come in, if you like. And while he was sipping the tea which Mrs. Brown quickly made for him, the two children sat looking at the two bundles their father had brought. One was quite heavy, Bunny noticed, and something rattled inside the box in which it was packed. The other was lighter. They were both about the same size. And while the children are sitting there waiting for their father to finish his tea, so they can learn what the surprise is, I'll take just a few minutes to tell my new readers something about the Brown family, especially Bunny Brown and his sister Sue. As I have already mentioned, the family, which was made up of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Brown and the two children, lived in the town of Bellmere, which was on Sandport Bay near the ocean. Mr. Brown was in the fish and the boat business hiring to those who wanted row boats, fishing boats, or motor boats. In the first book of this series, Bunny Brown and his sister Sue, the story was about the little boy and his sister and what fun they had getting up a Punch and Judy show. Bunny Brown and his sister Sue on Grandpa's farm was the name of the second book, and you can easily guess what that was about. The two children had much fun in a big automobile moving van, which was fitted up just like a little house, and in which they lived while going to the farm. Bunker Blue, who worked for Mr. Brown, and the children's dog Splash, went with them. While at their Grandpa's farm, Bunny and Sue got up a little show, at which they had lots of fun. And seeing this, Bunker and some of the older boys made up a larger show. They gave that in two tents, one of which had belonged to Grandpa Brown when he was in the army. The Brown children were so delighted with the shows that they decided to have another, and in the third book, named Bunny Brown and his sister Sue playing circus, you may read how they did it. Something happened in that book which made Bunny and Sue feel bad for a while, but they soon got over it. In the next book, Bunny Brown and his sister Sue at Aunt Lou's city home, I told the story of the two children going to the big city of New York and of the queer things they saw and the funny things they did while there. Bunny and Sue had played together as long as they could remember. Bunny was about six or seven years old and Sue was a year younger. Wherever one went, the other was always sure to be seen, and whatever Bunny did, Sue was sure to think just right. Everyone in Belmere knew Bunny and Sue, from old Miss Hollyhawk to Wango, a queer little monkey owned by Jed Winkler the sailor. Wango often got into mischief, and so did Bunny and Sue, and the children had much fun with Uncle Tad, who loved them as if they were his own. After Bunny and Sue had come back from Aunt Lou's city home, the weather was very warm and Daddy Brown thought of camping in the woods, so that is what they did, and the things that happened are related in the fifth book in the series called Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Camp Rest awhile. For that is what they named the place where the tents were set up under the trees, on the edge of the big woods and by a beautiful lake. Neither Bunny nor Sue had ever been to the end of these big woods, nor had Mr. Brown, though some day he hoped to go. The summer was about half over. Mrs. Brown liked it so much that she said she and the children would stay in the woods as long as it was warm enough to live in a tent. And now, this afternoon, Mr. Brown had come home from the city with the two queer big bundles, and the children were so excited thinking what might be in them that they watched every mouthful of tea Mr. Brown sipped. When will you be ready to show us, Ask Sue? Please be quick, Big Bunny. I'm getting awful anxious. Well, I guess I can show you now, said Mr. Brown. Bring me the heaviest package, Bunny. It was all the little boy could do to lift it from the chair, but he managed to do it. Slowly Mr. Brown opened it. Bunny saw a flash of something red and shining. Oh, it's a fire engine, he cried. Not quite, said his father, though that was a good guess. Then Mr. Brown lifted out the things in the paper, and all at once Bunny saw what it was, a little toy train of cars with an engine and tracks on which it could run. Did it go, asked the little boy eagerly? Yes, it really goes, said Mr. Brown. It's an electric train and it runs by electricity from these batteries, and he held up some strong ones. I'll fix up your train for you so it will run, but you must be careful of it, Bunny. Oh, I'll take fine care of it, cried the little boy, and I won't let Splash bite it. Didn't you bring me anything, Daddy, asked Sue slowly? I have to play with Bunny's train. And she looked at the little boy who was trying to fit together the pieces of the track. Oh, I have something for you alone, Sue, her father said. Look and see if you like this. He held up a great big teddy bear. Oh, ah, murmured Sue, that's something I've been wishing for. Oh, Daddy, how good you are to us! And she threw her arms around her father's neck. I love you too, called Bunny Brown, leaving his toy train and track and running to his father for a hug and a kiss. Well, now, how do you like this, Sue? And Mr. Brown handed the big teddy bear over to his little girl. Oh, I just love it, she cried. It's the nicest doll ever. Let me show you something, said Mr. Brown. He pressed a button in the toy bear's back and all of a sudden its eyes shone like little lights. Oh, what makes that, Daddy, asked Bunny, leaving his toy train and coming over to see his sister's present? Behind the bear's eyes, which are of glass, explained Mr. Brown, are two little electric lights. They are lighted by what are called dry batteries, like those that ring our front doorbell at home, only smaller. And the same kind of dry batteries will run Bunny's train when I get it put together. See, Sue, when you want your bear's to glow, just press this button in Teddy's back. And her father showed her a little button or switch, hidden in the toy's fur. Oh, isn't that fine, cried Sue, with shining eyes. She pushed the button. The bear's eyes lighted and gleamed out. And Splash, seeing them, barked in excitement. Oh, let me do it, big Bunny. I'll let you run my toy train if you let me light your bear's eyes, Sue, all right, agreed the little girl. So Bunny played with the teddy bear a bit, while Sue looked at the toy engine and cars, and then Mrs. Brown said, Well, children, I think it is about time for my surprise. Oh, have you something for us too, asked Sue quickly? Well, I'll have something for you if you will go and get something for me, said Mother Brown. I want you to go to the farmhouse and get me a pail of milk. Someone took what I was saving to make a pudding with, so I'll have to get more milk. We took it to play soldier and nurse with, confessed Sue. I'm sorry, Momzie. Oh, it doesn't matter, dear, said Mrs. Brown. I like to have you drink all the milk you want. But now you'll have to get more for me as there is not enough for supper and the pudding. We'll go for the milk, said Bunny, and when we get back we'll have the toy train running for you when you come back with the milk, said Mr. Brown. Trot along now. Mrs. Brown gave Bunny the milk pail and soon he and Sue, leaving Splash behind this time, started down the road to the farmhouse where they got their milk. The farmer sent his boy every day with milk for those at camp rest awhile, but this time Bunny and Sue had used more than usual and Mrs. Brown had to send for some extra. They did not take Bunny and Sue long to reach the farmhouse where their pail was filled by the farmer's wife. We've got a surprise at our camp, said Bunny. As they started away, the little boy carefully carrying the pail of milk. Indeed, is that so? What is it? asked the farmer's wife. We've got two surprises, said Sue. Daddy brought them from the city. Bunny has a toy train of cars that runs with a city. She means electricity, explained Bunny with a laugh, but saying the big word very slowly. I don't care, it sounds like that, declared Sue, and I've got a teddy bear and its eyes are little electric city lamps and they shine like anything when you push a button in his back. Those are certainly two fine surprises, said the farmer's wife. Now be careful not to spill your milk. We'll be careful, promised Bunny. He and Sue walked along the country road toward their camp. Suddenly on a fence Sue saw a squirrel running along. Oh, look Bunny, she cried. Where? asked her brother. On that fence a big gray squirrel. Oh, what a fine big one, cried Bunny. Maybe we can catch him and put him in a cage with a wheel that goes around. Bunny carefully set the pail of milk down at the side of the road, out of the way in case any wagons would come along. Then he ran after the squirrel that had come to a stop on top of the fence and stood looking at the children. But as soon as the squirrel with the big tail saw Bunny running toward him he scampered away and Bunny followed. So did Sue leaving the pail of milk standing in the grass beside the road. The squirrel could run on the fence much faster than Bunny Brown and his sister Sue could run along the road and soon they saw him scamper up a tree. Now we can't get him, said Sue sorrowfully. No, I guess not, answered Bunny. We'd better go back to camp and play with your teddy bear and my toy train. Come on!" They walked back toward the place they had left the pail of milk. As they came inside of it, Sue cried, Oh, Bunny, look! Bunny looked. And at what he saw he cried, Oh, dear! He had his nose down in the pail of milk. And as he looked up, at hearing Bunny's cry, he knocked the pail over, spilling what he had not taken himself. Oh, our milk's all gone, cried Bunny. What shall we do, asked Sue in dismay? End of Chapter 2 Chapter 3 of Bunny Brown and his sister Sue in the Big Woods by Laura Lee Hope This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Old Man For a moment the two children did not know what to do. They stood still looking at the dog who had just drunk the milk from the pail, which they had set down in the road, so they could chase the squirrel. Then Bunny made bold by thinking of what might happen if he and his sister went home with the empty pail, thinking also of the pudding, which his mother could not make if she had no milk, gave a loud cry. Your bad dog, cried the little boy, leave our milk alone, and he started to run toward the shaggy creature. Oh, come back, come back, cried Sue. Don't go near him, Bunny. Why not, her brother asked in some surprise, because he might bite you. Ha! I'm not afraid of him, declared Bunny. He doesn't look as savage as our splash, and he never bites anybody, though he barks a lot at tramps. So Bunny ran on toward the shaggy dog. The animal stood looking at the little boy for a moment, and then with a sort of woof, as if to say, well, I've taken all the milk, what are you going to do about it? Away he trotted down the road. Bunny ran on and picked up the milk pail. Only a few drops were in the bottom. See, I told you he wouldn't bite me. I'm not afraid of that dog, the little boy called to his sister. Yes, you did drive him off, said Sue, you are awful, brave Bunny, just as brave as when you played soldier and I cured you of the Indian fever, and it was arrow fever I keep telling you, insisted Bunny. Well, arrow fever, then, agreed Sue. But is there any milk left, Bunny? Not a drop, Sue. And Bunny turned the pail upside down to show. Well, said the little girl with a sigh, then I guess you weren't brave in time, Bunny. You didn't save the milk. Huh, the dog had it all drunk up before I saw him, declared her brother. If I'd seen him I'd have stopped him quick enough. I wasn't afraid of him. But what about more milk, asked Sue. That was all she could think of now that the pail was empty. We've got to get more milk, Bunny Brown. Yes, I suppose we have, he agreed. But we can easy go back to the farmhouse. No, we can't, said Sue. Why not, Bunny demanded? You are, and if you're afraid of the dog you can stay here and I'll go for the milk. Nope, cried Sue, shaking her head until her hair flew into her eyes. Mother said you mustn't ever leave me alone to go anywhere when we were on the road or in the big woods that got to stay with you and you've got to stay with me. And she went up and took Bunny by the hand. All right, Sue, said he, I want you to stay with me. But come along to the farmhouse and we'll get more milk. I'll take a stick if you want me to and keep the dog away. I don't believe he'll come back anyhow. Don't you know how afraid dogs are to come back to you when they've done something bad? That time Splash ate the meat bunker blue brought in and left on the table. Why, that time Splash was so ashamed for what he'd done that he didn't come into the house all day. This dog won't bite you. Who, I'm not afraid of the dog, Bunny Brown, said Sue. Then what are you afraid of? I'm not afraid of anything. But you know what the farm lady said. She said this was the last quart of milk she could spare and she didn't have any more. Oh, so she did, agreed Bunny. Then what are we going to do? I don't know, said Sue. We've got to do something, said Bunny gravely. Yes, said Sue. There isn't any more milk at the camp lady hasn't any and mother wants some to make the surprise pudding added, Bunny. I guess we didn't ought to have took in that for our play game, he went on. All mixed up in his English. No, said Sue. Maybe we oughtn't. Let me think now. What are you going to think, asked Bunny. Though he was a little older than Sue, he knew that she often thought more than he did about what they were going to do or play. Sue was a good thinker. She usually thought first and did things afterward while Bunny was just the other way. He did something first and then thought about it afterward and sometimes he was sorry for what he had done. But this time he wanted to know what Sue was going to think. Aren't you going to think of something he asked after a bit? Sue stood looking up and down the road. I'm thinking now, she said. Please don't bother me, Bunny. Bunny remained silent now and then looking into the empty milk pail and tipping it upside down as though that would fill it again. Finally Sue said, Well we can't get any milk at the farm house. I don't know any other place around here where we can go. So the only thing to do is to go back to camp rest a while. But there's no milk there, said Bunny. I know there isn't. But we can tell Daddy and Mother and ask them what to do. They wouldn't want us to go off somewhere else without telling them and maybe Daddy can go off in the automobile and get some milk at another farm. Maybe, said Bunny slowly. And if we go with him, he added and he does get more milk we won't set the pail down in the road when we chase a squirrel. We'll put it in the auto. I guess by the time we get the milk it will be too dark to see to chase squirrels, said Sue. Come on, Bunny. The two children started down the road toward the camp and as they did so they heard a crackling in the bushes on the side of a hill that led up from the road. Oh, here comes that milk dog back again, cried Sue and she snuggled up close against her brother, though the sinking sun was still shining across the highway. I won't let him hurt you, said Bunny. Wait until I get a stone or a stick. Oh, you mustn't do anything to strange dogs, cried the little girl. If you do, they might jump at you and bite you. Just don't notice him or speak to him. And he'll think we're stylish and he'll pass right by. Oh, well, if you want me to do it that way, said Bunny, looking up toward the place the sound came from. Why, I will only. He stopped speaking suddenly and pointed up the hill. Sue looked in the same direction. They saw coming toward them not a dog, but an old man dressed in rather ragged clothes. He looked like what the children called a tramp, though since they had arrived at the camp they had come to know that not all persons who wore ragged clothes were tramps. Some of the farmers and their helpers wore their raggedest garments to work in the dirt of the fields. This man might be a farmer. He had long white hair that hung down under the brim of his black hat, and though he did not have such a nice face as did the children's father or their uncle Tad, still they were not afraid of him. Going after milk little ones asked the old man and his voice was not unpleasant. No, sir, we've just been, said Bunny. Well, I'm afraid you'll spill your milk if you swing your pail that way went on the old man, for Bunny was moving the pail too with wide swings of his arms. It would spill if there was any in the pail, said Sue. But there isn't, added Bunny. It spilled already and we don't know where to get any more, explained Sue. It wasn't exactly spilled, Bunny added, for he and Sue always tried to speak the exact truth. A dog drank it up. While we were chasing a squirrel, added his sister. But I would have driven him away if Bunny declared positively. He put his nose right in the pail and licked up all the milk. And what he didn't eat, he spilled and then he ran away. And the lady at the farmhouse hasn't any more milk, Sue explained. And there isn't any at the camp, and mother can't make the pudding, finished Bunny. Oh, dear well, Sue. My, you have a lot of trouble, said the ragged man. But if you'll come with me, I can help you. Where do you want us to come, asked Bunny, remembering that his mother had told him never to go anywhere with strangers and never to let Sue go, either. If you'll come up to my little cabin in the woods I can let you have some milk, said the ragged man. I keep a cow and I have more milk than I can use or sell. It isn't far. Come with me. And he held out his hands to the children. Chapter three Chapter four of Bunny Brown and his sister Sue in the big woods by Laura Lee Hope. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. A noise at night. Bunny Brown and his sister Sue were not sure whether or not they should go with the old man. They remembered what their mother had said to them about walking off with strangers and they hung back. But when Bunny looked at the empty milk-pale and remembered that there was no milk in camp for supper and none with which his mother could make the pudding, he and his sister liked so much he made up his mind it would be all right to go to the little cabin in the woods. Come on, urged the old man. Do you sell milk, asked Sue? Oh yes, little girl, though my cow with the crumpled horn does not give such a lot of milk there is more than I can use. I sell what I can I have some left over. I have plenty to sell to you. We only want a quart, said Bunny, that's all we have money for. Mother gave us some extra pennies when we went for milk to the farmhouse but we have only six cents left. Will that buy a quart of milk? It will here in the woods and the country answered the old man but it wouldn't in the city. However, my crumpled horn cow's milk is only six cents a quart. Has your cow really got a crumpled horn, asked Sue eagerly for she loved queer things. Yes, she has a crumpled horn but she isn't the one that jumped over the moon, said the old man with a smile. The children liked him better after that, though when Bunny found a chance to whisper to his sister as they walked through the woods along the path and behind the old man the little boy said, I guess he means to be kind but he's kind of funny, isn't he? A little bit answered Sue. The old man walked on ahead the children hand in hand following and the bushes clinked against the empty tin pail that Bunny carried. Here you are, said the old man as he turned on the path and before them Bunny and his sister saw a log cabin. Near it was a shed and as the children stopped and looked from the shed came a long low moo. A crumpled horn cow asked Sue. Yes, answered the old man. I'll get some of her milk for you. I keep it in a pail down in the spring so it will be cool. Let me take your pail and I'll fill it for you while you go and see the cow. She is gentle and won't hurt you. Letting the old man take the pail Bunny and Sue went to look at the cow. The door of the shed was in two parts and the children opened the upper half. There was a cow as she stuck out her head. Oh, see, one of her horns is crumpled, cried Bunny. Let's wait and maybe she'll jump over the moon, suggested Sue, who remembered the nursery rhyme of hey, diddle, diddle. But though the children remained standing near the cow shed for two or three minutes, the cow, one of whose horns was twisted, or crumpled, made no effort to jump out of her stable and leap over the moon. Bunny and Sue were not afraid of cows, especially when they were kept in a stable, so they were soon rubbing the head of the ragged man's bossy. Well, you have made friends, I see, came a voice behind the children and there stood the ragged man with their pail full of milk. I am glad you like my cow, he said. She is a good cow and gives rich milk. Any time you spill your milk again come to me and I'll sell you some. We didn't spill this milk, explained Bunny carefully. A dog drank it. Well, then come to me whenever you need milk, and you can't get any at the farmhouse when on the old man, as Bunny gave him the six pennies. All right, sir, said Bunny. Where do you live? asked the ragged man. At camp rest a while, answered Sue. Oh, you're the children who live in the tents. I know where and tonight my father brought me a toy electric train from the city, said Bunny Brown. It runs on a track with batteries and you can switch it on and off and it's wonderful. So is my teddy bear, exclaimed Sue. It has real lights for eyes and they burn bright when you press a button in Teddy's back. Those are fine toys, said the ragged man. We never had such toys as that when I was a boy. It runs by an electrical battery, does it, my boy? He asked Bunny, and he seemed anxious to hear all about it. Yes, and a strong one. Daddy said I must be careful not to get a shock. That's right, electric shocks are not very good, except for folks that have rheumatism, said the old man. I have a touch of that myself now and then, but I haven't any battery. But now you'd better run along or the mother may be worried about you. Do you know your way back to camp all right? Oh yes, thank you, said Bunny. And we're much obliged to you for letting us have the milk at it, Sue. Oh, you paid me for it and I was glad to sell it. I need the money because I can't earn much anymore. I should thank you as a storekeeper thanks his customers. And I'll say come again. And with a smile and a wave of his hand, the ragged man, the children. Now we mustn't set our pale down again, said Bunny, not even if we see a squirrel. That's right, agreed Sue. In a little while they were safely back at camp again, just as Uncle Tad was about to set off in search of them. What kept you so long, children, asked Mrs. Brown anxiously. Oh, we saw a squirrel, said Bunny. And we set the milk pale down and chased it. And then a dog drank up the milk, went on Bunny. And we couldn't get any more at the farmhouse, said Sue, speaking next. But the ragged man who lives in a cabin in the woods and has a cow with a crumpled horn though she didn't jump over the moon, he gave us more milk for six cents, said Bunny, all in one breath. What's this about a ragged man, asked Mr. Brown quickly and where does he live? The children explained. Mr. and Mrs. Brown looked at one another and Mr. Brown said, Well, the ragged man meant all right and he was very kind, but I wouldn't go off into the woods with strangers again, Bunny and Sue. They might get lost, or you might, and there would be a dreadful time until we found you again. After this don't set your milk pale down and you won't have to hunt around for milk for supper. Now wash and get ready to eat the surprise. Can't I play with my electric train my last, Bunny? Can't I play with my teddy bear? Yes, I guess so, answered Mrs. Brown. I've got your train in running order, said Mr. Brown. You can play with it outside near the campfire, but at night we'll have to take it into the tent, for there might be rain. Mr. Brown soon showed Bunny how to start and stop the electric train by turning a switch. The train was pulled by a little locomotive made of steel and tin. It was a tiny electric motor which was worked by a current from the dry battery cells, such as make your doorbell ring, except that they were stronger. All aboard for the city on track five, cried Bunny, as he had heard the starter in the railroad station cry. Wait a minute, wait a minute, cried Sue. I want to get on the train with my teddy bear that makes her eyes all light. Make believe, you mean, don't you? You answered, Sue. I couldn't sit on your little cars. Maybe the teddy bear could, she added. Oh, let's try, said Bunny. Then we could give him a truly, really ride. The teddy bear was quite large, but not very heavy, and by stretching it along three cars it could get on the train very nicely. It was even too long for three cars, but hanging over a little bit did not matter, Sue said. At the top of the train turned on its electric eyes and then Bunny turned on the switch that made the current go into the motor of his engine. At first the train would not start for the bear was a bit heavy for it, but when Bunny gave the engine a little push with his hand for way it went as nicely as you please, pulling the bear around and around the shiny track which was laid in a circle. Whoa, called Sue, here is where my teddy gets off. You mustn't say, whoa, when you stop a train, objected Bunny, whoa, is to stop a horse. Well, how do you stop a train, Sue asked? Just say ding, that's one bell, and the engineer knows that means to stop. I thought Bell stopped trolley-cars, said Sue. They do, but they stop trains, too, especially as mine is an electric train. All right, ding, called Sue sharply. Bunny turned the switch the other way to shut off the current, and the train stopped. Sue took off the teddy bear and said, thank you, to conductor Bunny Brown. Then the little boy played with his toy train by himself, while Sue pretended her teddy bear was visiting in Sue's Aunt Lou's city home and kept winking its electric light eyes at Wopsie, a little colored girl Bunny and Sue had known in New York where Lou lived. Supper suddenly called Mother Brown and the two hungry children hurried into the dining-tent where Mr. Brown and Uncle Tad were waiting for them. Well, how did your electric train go, asked Bunny's father. Fine, it's the best ever. And my teddy is just lovely, said Sue. Well, be careful of your toy, said Mr. Brown. Better bring in the tracks and engine and cars right after Supper. I will, Bunny promised, after I played with them a bit. It was dusk when he and Sue took up the shiny track and carried the batteries and other parts of the toy railroad into the sleeping-tent. Poor Bunny said he wanted it near him. The children sat up a little later than usual that night as they always did when their father had come to the camp from the city. Bunny talked of nothing but his railroad, planning fun for the morrow, while Sue said she was going to get some little girls who lived in a nearby farmhouse and have a party for her teddy bear. Time to go to Slumberland now called Mrs. Brown when it was nearly nine o'clock. Go to bed early and you'll get up so much the earlier. So off to their little cots behind the hanging curtains went Bunny and Sue, and soon after saying their prayers they were asleep. They went to the doctor on a big electric train while the other dreamed of carrying a big crying teddy bear upside down through the woods with a milk-pail hanging to its nose. Just what time it was Bunny and Sue did not know but they were both suddenly awakened by feeling the tent on the side nearest to which they slept, being pushed in. The canvas walls bulged as though someone were trying to find the key-cride Sue as she saw the tent move in the light of a lantern that burned dimly beyond the curtains behind which she and Bunny slept. Oh, Daddy, something is after us. Yes, and it's an elephant-cride Bunny as he too saw the tent sway. It's an elephant got loose from the circus and he's after us. With that he bound it out of bed and waning only long enough to clasp each other by the hand and burst into that part of the tent where Mr. and Mrs. Brown slept. End of Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Of Bunny, Brown, and His Sister, Sue in the Big Woods by Laura Lee Hope This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Bunny Rolls Down Hill What's the matter, ask Mr. Brown thrusting his head out from between the two curtains while his wife and he had their cots. Why are you two children up at this time of night? We couldn't sleep in our part of the tent, explained Sue, snuggling up closer to Bunny. Couldn't sleep, my dear. Was it the mosquitoes, asked Mrs. Brown? No, ma'am, it was an elephant, explained Bunny. A burglar elephant, added Sue. He poked his head into the tent right over our bed, went on Bunny. But we didn't stay at it, Sue. And Daddy were all right. Burglar elephants aren't nice at all. One in the world are they talking about, asked Mr. Brown. A burglar elephant, what does it mean? It must have been some sound they heard outside the tent, said Mrs. Brown, or perhaps they dreamed something. No, ma'am, we didn't dream, cried Bunny while his sister, Sue, nodded her head to show that she thought as he did. It was something as big as an elephant head down. I felt something move the tent from the outside, said Mrs. Brown, but I thought it was the wind. I'll soon see what it was, cried Mr. Brown. You two kitties jump into bed with your mother, and I'll take a look outside. He put on his dressing down in slippers, and while Bunny and his sister, Sue, went behind the curtains to snuggle down in the bed with their mother, they went. He had just reached the flaps, the ropes of which he was loosening, and Bunny and his sister were hardly in their mother's cot, a tight fit for three. When the canvas house was violently shaken, and within the very tent itself sounded aloud, moo, moo. Oh, it's a cow, cried Bunny, and I can see it, cried Sue, poking her head out between it. Is it an elephanty cow, eagerly asked Bunny from his side of the cot? No, it's a cow with a crumpled horn. Two crumpled horns, and daddy's pushing its face out of the tent at it, Sue. Let me see, cried Bunny, and in spite of his mother's call to get back into bed, out he popped to stand near the curtains that hung down in front of his mother's cot. Yes, it's only a cow, Bunny announced after he had taken a look. But it pushed hard enough to be an elephant, didn't it, asked Sue. That's what it did. I thought the tent would come down, agreed Bunny. What makes you say it was a crumpled horn, cow, asked Mrs. Brown, as she too looked through the crack of the curtain, and saw her husband pushing the animal outside. Because it's got crumpled horns like the ragged man's cow. The man that gave us milk after said Bunny, only his cow had only one crooked horn, and this cow has two, hasn't it, Sue? Yes, but it looks like a nice cow. Well, we don't want cows in our sleeping tent at night, said Mr. Brown. I'll start this one down hill, and in the morning someone who comes for it will have to hunt for it. We haven't anything here with which to feed cows. What's the matter up there called a voice, and the children knew it was that of Uncle Tad, who slept in a little tent by himself, near the one where the cooking was done. What's the matter up there, he called? Oh, a cow tried to take up quarters with us, explained Mr. Brown, and trying to shove her out of the tent, but she seems to want to stay. I'll lead her away and tie her, said Uncle Tad. Bunny and Sue heard him tramping up from his tent to theirs, crumpled horn-cow away, the animal now and then getting voiced to, Moo! Moo! Isn't it too bad she couldn't sleep here, asked Sue? She's too big, declared Bunny, but Sue, did you see two of her horns crumpled or only one? Why, Bunny, I guess it was two, but I'm not sure. What makes you ask me that? Before Bunny could answer, long enough, get back to bed or you'll want to sleep so late in the morning that it will be dinnertime before you get up. The elephant-cow has gone away. Uncle Tad will lead her to the foot of the hill, near the brook where she can get a drink of water, and she won't bother you any more, so go back to your cots. Bunny and Sue went. They could hear Uncle Tad leading the elephant-cow as well. Come, bossy, come on now, that's a good cow. The cow seemed to lead along easily enough, and pretty soon no more noises could be heard in camp, except the chirping of the crickets or the songs of the katydids and katydiddens. Bunny and Sue covered themselves up in their cots, for it was cool getting up in the middle of the night. They both tried to go to sleep but found it was not so easy Oh, Sue whispered Bunny after a while. Yes, what is it? Are you asleep? No, of course not. How could I answer you if I was? That's so, you couldn't. Well, I just wanted to know. There was silence for a few seconds and then Sue whispered, Are you asleep, Bunny? No, of course not. If I was, how could I talk to you? Well, I thought maybe you might have gone to sleep. Say, Bunny. I'm not quite sure about that cow having two crumpled horns or one. Neither am I, said Bunny. That's what I woke you up to find out about. You didn't wake me up because I wasn't asleep, but I think the cow had two crumpled twisted horns. That's what I thought, said Bunny, and if she did, and she didn't belong to the raggedy man, for his cow had only one. That's so, admitted Sue, with her horn, pushing her way through the bushes to our tent. Bushes aren't strong enough to twist a cow's horn, replied Bunny, trying to set his little sister right. Yes, they are too, Bunny Brown, especially a wild grapevine that's strong enough to make a swing. Sue was growing sleepy in a little cross. Well, maybe. But now the voice of Mrs. Brown broke in on the talk of the two children. Stop talking right away, both of you, my dear, she ordered, and Bunny and Sue knew she meant it. All right, mother, they said, while Sue whispered just before she closed her eyes, we'll find out whose cow it is in the morning. But they did not, at least, right away for when they ran down to the brook before breakfast, to wash their hands and face as they always did, they saw nothing of the cow. Where did you tie her, Uncle Ted? they asked. The big willow tree, he answered. Maybe she broke away in the night and tried to get back to the tent. The cow certainly had broken away for there was one end of the rope still tied to the tree, while the other end was broken and frazzled, showing it had not been cut. Well, I guess whoever owns her will find her, said Mr. Brown, as he sat down to a breakfast of bacon and eggs. He had to go back to the city that day, and the children were sorry they had counted on having good times with him. But I'll come back Friday night, he promised, and I'll stay until Monday morning that will give us two whole days together. Oh, then we'll have fun, cried Bunny. And will you help me play with my electric city teddy bear as Sue? I surely will, answered Mr. Brown with a smile. And may I play with my electric train while you're away, asked Bunny? Very careful of it, said his father. It is strong, but it can be broken or put out of order. So if you play with it, take it to some level place in the woods and be careful how you set up the track. Don't make too big a one. Bunny promised that he would not, and soon after Mr. Brown had gone away in his automobile, the children, Sue, taking her teddy bear and Bunny, his toy train, started into the woods to play. Don't go too far, called their mother. You must hear me when I call you to dinner. These woods are very big, you know. The children wandered off on a woodland path until, after trying, they found they could just hear their mother's voice. And here will be a fine place to play, said Bunny, when they reached a shady level place on top of a little hill that led down to the lake that was near camp, rest awhile. Right if we don't fall down the hill, said Sue. Oh, we'll keep away back from the edge, decided Bunny. Then he began setting up the track for his toy train of cars, while Sue made a comfortable place for her teddy bear to sleep, first showing the animal with the electric eyes all about the woods in which were the big trees and the low bushes. Bunny set his track around in a circle, and after connecting the strong batteries of the track, he put the electric locomotive on and coupled together the cars. Then, when he turned the switch, the engine and train ran along the rails very swiftly. But Bunny soon grew tired of making the train go around in a circle. He wanted it to run along on a straight track as the real trains do, and having plenty of straight lengths of track in his box, he soon set up more rails that stretched off in a straight line. Oh, you're getting awful near the edge of the hill that goes down to the lake, warn Sue, as she made believe to feed her teddy bear some huckleberries. But I'm putting a curve at the end of the track so the engine and cars will turn back toward me, said Bunny. Then I'll shut off the power before they can run off on the ground. Bunny started his train the new way. At first the engine and the cars rolled slowly over the rails, for the ground was a little uphill. Then they came to a part that was downhill. Now see them go, cried Bunny in delight. They're going awful fast, cried Sue. You'd better look out. This is an express train, explained Bunny. Express trains are very fast. Indeed the toy locomotive did seem to be going very fast. It rocked and swayed on the tin rails, and it was soon near the end of the line where there was a curve. And there is where the accident happened. The curve was so sharp and the electric train was going so fast that instead of turning around it kept on straight, jumped over the rails and began to run downhill on the dirt and stone path that led to the lake. Oh, gasp, Sue. Oh, my, cried Bunny. And then before Sue could stop him her brother ran to the edge of the hill. His toy engine and cars rolling over and over toward the lake at the bottom of the hill. And without stopping for a second over the hill went Bunny Brown himself, slipping, sliding, and falling down. Oh, Bunny, come back, come back, cried Sue, very much excited. But Bunny was rolling over and over down the hill after his train and he could not answer. End of Chapter 5 Chapter 6 of Bunny Brown and his sister Sue in the Big Woods by Laura Lee Hope This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. After the Lost Cow Bunny Brown was thinking of two things when he started to roll downhill. One was that his train might roll into the water and be spoiled, for his father had told him that there were bits of electrical machinery on the engine that would be spoiled if water touched them. He was himself rolling into the water, for the hill was steep on this shore of the lake. And anyone rolling down if he were not stopped before he reached the bottom would be almost sure to go into the lake. But I don't mind so much about my self-thought, Bunny. My clothes will get wet, but I've got on an old suit and water won't hurt that. It won't hurt me, either, for I get wet when I go in swimming. And I can swim now if I have to. Bunny can't swim, because that's iron. And iron will sink, daddy told me. So I've got to catch the train before it goes into the lake. The thought of this made Bunny try to roll over and over faster so he could win in the race down the hill between himself and the train. If he could get hold of the train before it touched the water all would be well, he hoped. He could toss the train to one side out of harm's way, even if he fell into the water himself. But can I get it, thought Bunny, as he rolled over and over? He could hear Sue calling to him at the top of the hill, on the very edge of which he had made the curve of his track. He realize now that it was too near the edge. What Sue was saying Bunny could not hear, but he imagined she was begging him to stop rolling downhill and come back to her. As if I could, thought Bunny, to himself. This rolling downhill isn't any fun. I didn't really mean to do it but I couldn't help it. I wanted to run or slide down. There are too many stones for rolling. Indeed there were for the slope of the hill down to the lake was not of soft grass. Instead it was of gravel and stone and these were very rough for a small boy to roll on. Still Bunny did not mind if he could get his locomotive and train of cars. He could see them just ahead of him rolling over and over just as he was doing. Of course there was no electricity in the toy locomotive now. The current, as the electricity is called, was all in the rails, going into them from the batteries and from there it went into the motor of the wheels, gears and other things inside the engine that made it roll along. I guess it's rolling faster than I am, thought Bunny. It will get to the bottom first this seemed to be what would happen for the engine and cars had started ahead of Bunny and too they were not so big as he. It took him some time to turn over for there was more of him. It was not the first time Bunny had rolled down hill. Often he and Sue finding a nice smooth grassy slope in the country had started at the top and rolled all the way to the bottom over and over getting up slightly dizzy but Bunny had never rolled down such a long steep and rough hill as this and he really did not mean to do it. He had started out to run to the bottom or slide along his feet buried in the soft sand and gravel but he had slipped and the only thing now to do was to roll just as the train was doing. Bunny looked down the slope again he saw that the train was almost in the water and he was wondering how much spoiled it would be and whether it could be fixed again so it could be run when he suddenly saw a man step from the fringe of bushes at the edge of the lake and pick up the engine and cars just as they went into the water getting only a little wet in the edge of the lake. The man was roughly dressed and for a moment Bunny thought he was the old hermit who lived in the lonely log cabin and who had sold Bunny and Sue some milk the day before when the dog had taken their pail full. But another look as Bunny tried to slow up his rolling told him it was another man he was just as ragged as the hermit who kept a cow but he did not have long hair nor a long white beard and his face was very dark. Oh, that's one of the Indians quickly thought Bunny well he saved my train all right I'm glad of that with a slide and a roll he reached the foot of the hill and by catching hold of a small tree he saved himself from slipping into the water. The Indian looked up from the toy train at which he was gazing in puzzled fashion that's mine said Bunny speaking slowly he knew some of the Indians who lived on a reservation in the big woods not far from camp rest awhile some of them could speak fairly good English and understand it others knew only a few words and Bunny wanted to make sure this Indian understood him ha this you asked the red man as the Indians are sometimes called yes that's mine said Bunny it's a train of cars oh puff puff train eagle feather ride and puff puff train once how him go and he set Bunny's train down on a smooth rock while the little boy shook the dust from his clothes and his hair with his fingers it can't go now no track no electric current explained Bunny track up there on top of hill he went on motioning and speaking as slowly as he could and with few words so the Indian would understand oh go electricity same as like lights in big city said eagle feather which seemed to be the Indians name me know come back that's it laugh Bunny Brown he was not afraid of the Indian the men and the squaws or women used often to come to camp rest awhile to sell their baskets their beadwork or bows and arrows that's your train puff puff cars you take said the Indian handing the toy to the little boy Indians see him ready to swim in water no tink good catch them as you did said Bunny thank you I nearly went into the water myself water good for boy good for muskrat too maybe said eagle feather maybe not so good for mick believe puff puff train that's right said Bunny if my toy train had fallen into the lake and stayed there very long it might never have run again but I can run after I've been in the water then Bunny heard a voice calling to him on top of the hill Bunny Bunny Brown are you all right Bunny looked up quickly and so did the Indian Sue was standing on top of the hill holding her teddy bear with the little electric eyes I'm all right Sue called up Bunny come down if you want to but come down by the path my train is all right too Eagle feather saved it for me he's one of the Indians from the reservation they'll decide certain land for the Indians on which they must live Bunny and Sue with their father or mother or uncle had often been to the place where the Indians lived are you all right Bunny asks Sue again yep of course but I'm all dirty don't you roll down I won't promise the little girl and she started for the path which was an easier way of getting to the bottom of the hill Bunny and when Sue stood beside the two Eagle feather gave a sort of grunt of welcome for Indians are not great talkers Bunny has an electric train said Sue for she was no more afraid of the red man than was her brother Bunny has an electric train and I have an electric teddy bear see Eagle feather she pushed the button or switch in the back of her toy and at once the eyes flashed out brightly ha that much like real bear when you see him in dark by campfire said the Indian much funny let Eagle feather see Sue showed the Indian how to make the eyes gleam by pressing the button in the toy bears back and Eagle feather did this several times he seemed to think the toy bear was a more wonderful toy than the train he had saved from the lake he gave this back to Bunny and kept the bear flashing again and again you mustn't do it too much or you'll wear out the batteries inside the bear said Bunny the same kind of electric batteries make the eyes of the bear bright as run my train ha Indian no want to make little girls toy bad send the Indian handing it back great toy much very good to have what are you doing so far away from your camp as Bunny have you some bows and arrows to sell no got to sell today Indian come to hunt lost cow have you lost a cow as Bunny and Sue together yes maybe you see him he got two horns funny twisted so an Eagle feather picked up a crooked branch like a fork or crotch both parts of which were gnarled and twisted horns like him yes just like that said Bunny the cow came to our tent in the night and we thought it was an elephant was it your cow we thought it belonged to the white hermit who sold us milk last night no two crooked horn cow belong Eagle feather where you see him Bunny and Sue told of Uncle Tad having tied the cow in the night and of her having broken loose but maybe we can see which way she went by her hoof prints in the mud said Bunny come on Eagle feather let's go to the lake where maybe I couldn't get it up so we'll help you find your lost cow End of Chapter 6 Chapter 7 of Bunny Brown and his sister Sue and the big woods by Laura Lee Hope this LibriVox recording is in the public domain the missing train for a moment Eagle feather the Indians stood looking at the two children and yet not so much at them at their two toys the electrical train and at the teddy bear with the queer electric eyes it was hard to say of which the Indian was most fond you ought to see my train run on the track exclaimed Bunny as he shook some drops of water off the cars and engine I guess I'll have to put oil on it now to keep it from getting rusty as Uncle Tad does when I leave his tools out all night and you ought to see my doll at night at Sue my eyes shine like anything and once after I got to bed and wanted a drink of water that was on a chair near my bed I just lighted Sally Melinda's eyes and I found the drink without calling mother ha, heap big medicine both of them grunted the Indian Eagle feather was one of the oldest of the tribe of Anandagas who lived on the reservation and though he usually spoke fairly good English sometimes he talked as his grandfather had done when he was a boy and the early settlers first had to do with the Indians and when Eagle feather called the children's toys heap big medicine he did not mean exactly the kind of medicine you have to take when you are sick the Indians have two kinds of medicine as they call it one is made of the roots and barks of trees berries and bushes which they take and some of which we still use like witch hazel and asapras but they also have another kind of medicine which is like what might be called a charm as some pretty stone, a feather a bone or two or anything they might have picked up in the woods as it took their fancy these things they wear around their necks or arms and think they keep away sickness and bad luck so when Eagle feather called the toy train and the teddy bear of Bunny Brown and his sister Sue with big medicine he meant they would be good not only to cure sickness without medicine but also keep bad luck away from whoever had them now we'll help find your cow Eagle feather said Bunny for he was no more afraid of the Indian than you would be of the fireman down in the engine house at the end of your street or the policeman on your block Bunny and Sue had lived in the big woods so long now and so often even to learning the names of some of them that they thought no more of them than of some of the farmers round about all right we go find cow said Eagle feather no milk for little Papoose if cow no come home Papoose was the word the Indians use for baby and in the log cabin where Eagle feather lived were two or three Papooses it must have been your cow that poked her head into our tent said Sue for she had two crumpled horns and the farmers had only one that right said Eagle feather with a sort of grunt my cow have two horns twist like so and he held up two fingers and made a sort of corkscrew motion in the air with his hands and that was your cow all right said Bunny Uncle Tad tied her to a tree but maybe we can find her sure we find grunted Eagle feather heap big medicine little boy and girl have soon find cow what the Indian meant was that he believed the toy train and the electrical teddy bear would bring such good luck that the lost cow would soon be found Mr. Brown had gone back to the city when Bunny and Sue each one carrying a toy and followed by Eagle feather came back to camp rest a while Bunny was in worse condition than his sister for he had rolled down the steep hill Sue's dress was torn a little why Bunny why Sue cried Mrs. Brown as she saw the two children where in the world have you been in the woods playing with our toys answered Bunny Sue made her teddy's eyes flash to scare away the tigers and lions all around us oh you were playing make-believe said mother Brown for well she knew the different games the children made up but Bunny's runaway train was real said Sue did your train run away asked Mrs. Brown not paying much attention to the Indian at first as it was common to see them around the camp whether they came to beg for scraps of food the remains of a ham bone and such things did your train really run away Bunny asked Mrs. Brown oh Bunny you've been in the dirt yes and it's a good thing he didn't get wet went on Sue for both children always told everything that happened to them as soon as they got back home only sometimes it took a little longer than usual to think up all the happenings he almost rolled into the lake Bunny did you did cried Mrs. Brown how did it happen oh I made the track straight instead of in a circle going so fast in a straight line that it ran off the end of the rails downhill I ran after it but I slipped and rolled then the train rolled into the water but only a teensy little way an eagle feather got it out wasn't he good he was indeed and we must thank him said Mrs. Brown but did he stop you from going into the water also Bunny no mom see I stopped myself by catching hold of a tree but I almost went in I'd have gone in after my train anyhow if eagle feather hadn't got it for me thank you eagle feather said Mrs. Brown I must give you some of the nice soup I have made the papooses will like it Squaw like it and Indian like it he too said eagle feather yes but the Squaw as you call your wife and the little children must have some first oh yes give a milk too if so he can find cow oh is your cow lost and was it she who poked her head in our tent last night asked Mrs. Brown I think it was mother said Bunny she had two crumpled horns and the one the farmer owns has only one Sue and I are going to help eagle feather find his cow well you mustn't go very deep into the big woods said Mrs. Brown but then I think the cow can't be foundered far for there is good feeding near where Uncle Tad tied her you show me where cow broke loose I find her said eagle feather Indian have heap good medicine to find cow medicine you don't need medicine to find a cow said Mrs. Brown you might need medicine if your cow were sick but she didn't look sick when she poked her nose into the tent cow no sick but all same replied eagle feather smiling he means our toys mother said Bunny he called my train of cars and Sue's doll heap good medicine oh I see exclaimed Mrs. Brown it's a sort of charm but you mustn't believe in that sort of nonsense children even if some of the more ignorant Indians do but mother asked Bunny mayn't I show eagle feather how it works he didn't see it and I know he'd like to mayn't I show him the train and how it runs oh yes I suppose so but be quick about it if you are going to help him hunt for his cow Bunny relayed the track in a circle this time so the engine and cars would not roll off to where they were not intended to go meanwhile Sue flashed the eyes of her teddy bear so eagle feather could see them he looked very closely at the toy but when Bunny had his train on the circular track the batteries connected and had started the little locomotive pulling the cars after it the eyes of eagle feather grew big with wonder great medicine he exclaimed heap big powerful Indian do anything with that medicine bring him along and soon find cow oh I couldn't bring my whole train the track the batteries into the woods said Bunny but I'll take one car with me well maybe one car helps some said the Indian little gal bring baby bear whose eyes light up same as in dark by campfire yes I'll bring Sally Melinda promise Sue that's my teddy's name she explained well don't lose your toys caution their mother and don't be gone too long for dinner we'll soon be ready the eagle feather don't forget to come back for the soup she concluded me no forget said the Indian then with the children he went to the place where Uncle Tad had tied the stray cow and from where she had broken loose that was the starting place for the search Mrs. Brown was not at all nervous about letting Bunny and Sue go away with the Indian eagle feather all the farmers for miles around spoke of his honesty and kindness he owned several farms as well as horses and cows he did business with the white people and all of them trusted him Mr. Brown often bought things from him Bunny carrying one car of his train and Sue her teddy bear to which he had given such a queer name led the Indian to the tree to which Uncle Tad had tied the cow in the night there was the broken end of the rope still tied around the tree but there was no cow on the other end of it she go this way said eagle feather pointing off toward the west how can you tell, Ask Bunny see feet marks in soft dirt see broken branches where cow go through no look for path and the Indian pointed to several branches broken from the bushes through which the cow had forced her way in the darkness come on Sue called Bunny as he followed the Indian carrying the toy train in his hand uncoming answered his sister but the thorns catch in the fuzzy wool of Sally Melinda and scratch her I've got to go slower than you all right we wait for you said eagle feather who had heard what Sue said no hurry from little gal he said to Bunny maybe her medicine better for finding cows though me think yours very much stronger medicine maybe we see buy and buy that was the way eagle feather said buy and buy Bunny and the Indian went on slowly through the big woods the red man stopping every now and then to look down at the ground for marks of the cow's hooves and also looking at the sides for signs of the broken branches cow been here he would say every while soon we catch her medicine heap good Indian like you'd better get yourself a toy train said Bunny no got money returned eagle feather like him very much for boy Papus when he grow big so like you maybe I'll be tired of mine by that time and give it to him said Bunny too nice you know get tired long while said the Indian heap big medicine come we wait for you as the Indian and Bunny waited they heard often the distance the lowing of a cow hark cried Bunny that my cow said eagle feather I tell you boy and gal medicine heap good find cow soon over this way soon have cow now he hurried on ahead so fast that Bunny and Sue could hardly keep up with him but they managed to do so later they saw in a little glade among the trees a cow with a broken rope trailing from her neck she had two twisted or crumpled horns oh that's the cow that was in our tent cried Sue I'd know her anywhere she my cow give good milk for little Papus what for you run away he asked going up to the cow rubbing her neck and pretending to talk into her ear and appeared glad to see eagle feather well now you got your cow back you can come to our camp get the soup and go to your cabin said Bunny and glad you found her boy and girl with heap good medicine find said eagle feather much thankful to you some day make bow and arrows for boy and moccasins for feet of little girl with bear that makes fire eyes at night Indian glad oh we were only too glad to help you said Bunny now we must be going back to camp me come cow come too said eagle feather as he led the cow by the broken rope they were soon back at the tents telling Mrs. Brown how they had found the lost cow eagle feather spoke much about the toy train and the teddy bear medicine but Mrs. Brown laughed this is better medicine than all the toys in the world she said as she gave eagle feather a big pail of soup take it home to your wife and children me will all much blidged and eagle feather bowed then with a farewell nod to the children the red man went off into the big woods leading his lost cow who seemed glad to be on her way home again Mr. Brown came home that night to stay two or three days out of business and when Bunny's father heard what had happened when Bunny put the toy track too near the edge of the hill the little boy was told not to do it again and promised not to eagle feather was very good to you and you must be kind to him and to all the Indians said Mr. Brown so the wedding didn't seem to hurt your toy engine Bunny no daddy I shook off all the water well we better oil it and all night to take off the rust or if it gets rusty it won't run Bunny did not want this to happen so he left his toy railroad out in the kitchen tent that night near the stove in which a little fire was kindled no cows stuck their heads into the bedrooms of the tent houses that night and Bunny and Sue slept soundly so did Mr. and Mrs. Brown an uncle tad have been around the camp with very soft feet in the darkness or when Bunny awakened early and went out to have a look at his toy railroad he set up a cry it's gone it's gone someone has taken it taken what asked his father my toy locomotive my cars the tracks batteries and everything oh dear my toy train is gone end of chapter 7 chapter 8 of Bunny Brown and his sister Sue in the big woods by Lorely Hope this LibriVox recording is in the public domain where has Sally gone what's the matter Bunny asked uncle tad who as usual had gotten up early to make the fire in the kitchen stove it had gone out during the night though a late fire had been built to make warmth for Bunny's train what's the matter asked uncle tad again have you found some more lost cows no I've lost something instead of finding it this time said the little boy what have you lost asked uncle tad as he began to shake the ashes out of the cook's stove getting ready to make a new fire in it the stove pipe went right out through the tent with an asbestos collar around it so the canvas would not catch fire I've lost my electric train looking around the kitchen tent to make sure his toy was not stuck in some corner I was playing with it yesterday and I had one of the cars when I went with Sue and Indian Eagle feather to find his lost cow then I brought it back to camp and I put it here so the water would dry out now it's gone yes it seems to be gone said uncle tad looking carefully around the tent after he had put a match to the wood kindlings and I know you left it here because I saw it the last thing when I came in to make sure the fire was all right before going to bed then who could have taken it asked bunny well as to that I couldn't say answered uncle tad slowly it might have run off by itself I suppose it couldn't have declared bunny of course it runs by itself when the batteries are connected but they weren't this time and the train wasn't even on the track though the rails were piled up near it and so were the batteries yet everything is gone what's the matter asked Mrs. Brown coming into the kitchen tent to start the breakfast my train is gone said bunny sadly and I didn't hear anybody around camp during the night he added and told a finding out about his loss do you suppose you could have got up in the night walked in your sleep and hid in the train somewhere else yourself asked uncle tad well about a year ago that might have happened said mother brown but bunny is cured of his sleepwalking habits now he hasn't gotten up for several months unless as happened the other night when the cow poked her head in the tent he woke up and cried out but no cow came into the tent last night mother said bunny anyhow a cow wouldn't like to eat a train of cars a cow eat a train of cars cried daddy brown coming into the tent just in time to hear what bunny said say is that a riddle no but it's a riddle to guess who or what took bunny's train of cars said Mrs. Brown he says he left them here in front of the stove to dry out the water as you told him to but they are gone now that's queer said Mr. Brown is bunny's train the only thing that is missing it seems to be as far as we can tell by a hasty look around but we'll have to see said mother brown uncle tad Mr. Brown and bunny and Sue looked carefully about the tent while Mrs. Brown got breakfast they saw several footprints for the children as well as the grown folks had been about the tents all day an eagle feather the Indian had also been there who knew that you had a train of cars asked Mr. Brown of his son when a long search had failed to find the toy well I told the boy who brings the milk the butter and egg man and I guess that's all said bunny you told eagle feather put in Sue yes but he wouldn't take them said bunny he thinks they are big medicine for finding his lost cow he wouldn't take them for sure of that said uncle tad Indians like bright and pretty things and that electrical train must have been a great wonder to them especially to eagle feather who was a smart Indian then why didn't he take my teddy bear Sally Melinda asked Sue my bear with the blinking eyes helped find the lost cow as well as bunny's train did of course it did agreed mother brown the thing to do with it if the train was stolen by tramps we'd better get another dog daddy brown to keep them away oh don't get a dog cried bunny and Sue together splashes the best dog that ever was yes but he is so friendly with everybody that he would just as soon a tramp came up to the tent as one of the farm peddlers said Mrs. Brown he hardly ever barks unless he is playing with you children and he is so good natured oh we never could give up splash said bunny and soon nodded her head to show that she felt the same way about it maybe you can get another dog who will bark mother then we could hitch splash and him up together and have a team went on bunny splash would never pull the way the other dog wanted to go said uncle tad I guess before we think of more dogs would just go over to the Indian village and find out what they know about the missing toy train yes that would be a good plan said Mr. Brown suppose we go together uncle tad so after breakfast when another search had been made about the camp to make sure the train was not hidden behind something the two men started off bunny kept on searching about the tents for his missing toy and Sue played with her teddy bear tying her on the back of splash the dog to make believe Sally Melinda was having a pony ride when father brown and uncle tad came back the children ran eagerly to them Mr. Brown took his head no he said slowly there is no trace of the toy train in the Indians village an eagle feather and his men say they know nothing about it they say they were not away from their camp all night they even let us search their tents and cabins and were very good natured about it that doesn't prove anything said uncle tad if they had hidden the toy train it would be in a place where we could never find it I guess we'll have to let it go could anyone else have taken it asked Mrs. Brown yes of course but one of the Indians seems most likely they probably heard what eagle feather told about how the train ran her men crawled up in the night and took it from the tent while we were all asleep well maybe so but I don't believe eagle feather did any such thing as that said mother brown nor I said bunny and soon nodded her head it was a tramp Mr. Brown promised bunny a new train as soon as he should go back to the city but that would not be for a few days oh dear cried bunny how can I wait that long you can play with my teddy bear sometimes said Sue kindly bunny thanked her but it was easy to see he did not care much for such a girl's toy my Sally Melinda teddy bear is as good as your toy train said Sue she's better for I have her and you haven't your train of cars well I'm glad you like her said bunny but maybe your teddy will go away in the night just as my train did my teddy can't run even if her eyes can light up said Sue making the bear's eyes blink my train didn't run away it was took and said bunny and some day I'm going to find the one that took it bunny did not speak as his school teacher would have had him but he meant the same thing as if he had spoken correctly well they shan't touch my teddy bear said Sue I'll take her to bed with me every night she did two or three times then one night Sue forgot and left her wonderful teddy bear out in the kitchen and in the morning what do you suppose it happened in the morning Sue awakened early and missing her toy which she thought she had taken to bed with her she happened to remember that Sally was left out in the kitchen I'll bring her to bed with me and tell her a story said the little girl eagerly she ran out to the kitchen she looked in the chair where the teddy bear had been left then Sue's eyes filled with tears as she cried where has Sally gone oh where has Sally Melinda gone someone has took in my teddy bear bunny brown heard his sister's cry and up from his cot he jumped end of chapter 8 chapter 9 of bunny brown and his sister Sue in the big woods by Laura Lee Hope this LibriVox recording is in the public domain the search what's the matter Sue asked bunny as he saw his sister standing in the middle of the dining room part of the tent which was separated by curtains from the sleeping rooms oh my teddy bear's been taken someone has taken Sally Melinda cried the little girl I don't believe I'll ever be happy again oh dear maybe we'll find her again said bunny shivering for the morning was cool and he had on only his night clothes no I'll never find her so she's been took away same as your train of cars this thought of his own missing toy made bunny feel sad but he wanted to cheer Sue up oh maybe your teddy bear just walked off in the night to get something to eat the little boy went on in the night lots of times I get up and eat a sweet cracker if I've left one on the chair by my bed now let me think what it is bear's like best it's honey answered Sue how do you know her brother asked because I read it in the animal book it told about a bear climbing a bee tree what's a bee tree interrupted bunny it's a hollow tree where a bee makes its nest and lays honey eggs in a very funny way you see and the bear climbed that tree and got the bee's honey wouldn't the bee sting him I was stung by a bee once on grandpa's farm and I wasn't climbing the bee tree either oh well that was an accident declared Sue besides a bear has thick fur on him and the only place where a bee can hurt him is on his soft and tender nose and before he climbs a bee tree the bear puts thick mud on his nose like a plaster so the bee can't sting that so he's all right hmmm said bunny then we'll go and find a bee tree and maybe your teddy bear will be there but my teddy bear Sally Melinda can only make believe Walk exclaimed Sue she can only make believe eat honey too then we'll look for a make believe honey tree said bunny come on Sue back come on cried bunny again always ready to start something let's get dressed and go to hunt for the teddy bear it was very early and Mr. and Mrs. Brown were not yet awake Mrs. Brown however soon heard the children moving about and she called to them what's the matter Sue's doll is gone said bunny my nice teddy bear one added Sue my bear ain't a he she's a she and her name is Sally Melinda well no matter what her name is she is lost said bunny we're going to find her look here children called Mr. Brown who was now awake don't go off on any wild goose chase we're not after wild geese we're going after Sue's bear replied bunny what is Sue's bear taken to cried Mr. Brown whether taken or else she walked away bunny said Sue's bear wasn't the walking kind though they did have some of that sort said the children's father but if your bear is gone someone must have taken it just as they did bunny's train of cars I must look into this you children stay right where you are until I get dressed and we'll make a search meanwhile look around the tent and see if you can't find Sally Jane her name is Sally Melinda said Sue with some indignation well take a look around for Sally Melinda Teddy Brown bear while I'm getting dressed at her father the children soon slipped into their clothes and then began to look around the tent inside and out Sue thought perhaps she had left her teddy bear with its flashing electrical eyes in a chair near the kitchen tent table she had had her there after her own supper she even pointed out where she had put a small plate of cracker crumbs near the teddy bear the plate of crumbs was still there but the doll was gone we'll look outside said bunny and when he and Sue were outside the tent waiting for their father bunny began walking slowly along bent over as though he had a peddler's pack on his back what are you doing that for ask Sue in surprise we aren't playing any game I know it but I'm looking for the marks of the bear's tracks in the mud just as Eaglefeather looked for the hoof prints of his lost cow in the sand he found his cow that way and maybe we'll find Sally Melinda this way but his cow was bigger than my teddy bear and made bigger tracks that doesn't matter I've been talking to the Indians about trailing animals this way and you can trail a squirrel as easily as you can if you only know how to look for the feet marks see Sue and bunny pointed to marks in the soft earth aren't those the prints of your teddy bear's feet Sue looked to where bunny pointed there were marks plainly enough but in a minute Sue knew what they were why that's where Splash our dog walked said the little girl oh so it is agreed bunny well I made a mistake that time we'll try again so the children went on seeking for marks of the toy bear's paws until Mr. Brown came out it's of no use to look that way children he said if Sue's bear is missing someone took it away it never walked for it couldn't that's what I said cried Sue but how did it get away asked bunny somebody must have taken it the same one who took your train of cars you must look farther off than just around the tent say daddy you suppose some of the Indians could have done it as Sue in a whisper I hardly think so answered Mr. Brown still they are not all as honest as eagle feather we'll have a look around their camp and maybe we'll find my train at the same time said bunny hopefully we'll look for it replied Mr. Brown all of a sudden bunny began to run around in a circle bending down toward the ground what are you doing asked Sue playing stoop tag no I'm looking for the marks of Indians feet answered bunny if Indians came around here to take your doll they'd leave some mark I'm trying to find it Sue shook her head what's the matter asked bunny Indians don't leave any tracks return the little girl they are very cunning it says in my book and they can slip through a forest leaving no more trace than that of the wind I don't know what trace is but it must be true for it's in my book oh those were old fashioned Indians said bunny that kind wouldn't leave any marks but these Indians wear shoes and they'd leave a mark in soft ground wouldn't they daddy I believe they would but I don't want to think in your things but we will search and see come on now bunny and Sue we'll have a little hunt before breakfast end of chapter 9 chapter 10 of bunny brown and his sister Sue in the big woods by Laura Lee Hope this LibriVox recording is in the public domain lost in the woods holding the hands of bunny and his sister Sue one on either side Mr. Brown started on a little search around the tents they were trying to find the footprints of someone who did not belong to the camp someone other than Mr. and Mrs. Brown Uncle Tad and the children themselves of course Bunker Blue came to the camp once in a while and so did various peddlers and some people from neighboring farms but most of these footprints were known to Mr. Brown about the place ever since he and his family had been living at camp rest awhile what I want to see is a strange footprint said the children's father an Indians footprint is stranger than ours said Sue of course if they wear moccasins agreed Bunny no if they wear shoes said Sue our teacher told us about it what is different in an Indians footprint than ours Sue asked Mr. Brown why an Indian who wears shoes like ours turns his toes in instead of out as we do went on the little girl ha ha laugh Bunny who ever heard of such a thing but it's true isn't it daddy ask Sue yes it is true said Mr. Brown a real Indian has a sort of pigeon toe as it is called that is instead of pointing his toes out when he walks he turns them in at least most Indians do though there may be some who do not so if you are looking for Indians tracks Bunny look for the kind that turns in I will the little boy agreed I didn't know you knew so much about Indians Sue our teacher used to live out west among the Indians and she taught them explain Sue she tells us lots of Indian stories goodness I wish I could be in your class cried Bunny even though I am a grade ahead of you at it does she tell about Indian fights with bows and arrows I'm taking prisoners and all that no she tells about tame Indians not the wild kind explains Sue the tame ones are just like the ones who live on the preservation here the onondagas but I like tame Indians though I hope none of them has taken my teddy bear I hope not either said her father for eagle feather and his Indians are good friends of ours and I would not like to feel that they would take anything from our camp still we must look everywhere Sue you said the Indians lived on a preservation you meant reservation corrected Bunny I don't care they live there whatever it is declared the little girl they circled about the tents but the footprints as far as they could tell were those of white men none of them toad in are you going to the Indians camp as Bunny yes I think we'll go there and also to but just then came the voice of Mrs. Brown calling breakfast is ready and if you wait very long the pancakes will be spoiled hurry oh hooray pancakes cried Sue don't you like them Bunny I should say I do I hope I can have 10 oh Bunny Brown cried Sue you never could eat 10 pancakes at one meal well anyhow I could try he said and I can't eat five I know that's better said Mr. Brown with a smile I can eat a few myself they hurried back to breakfast telling Mrs. Brown they had had no luck in finding the person who had taken Sue's teddy bear for that the toy with the electric eyes had been taken away and had not walked off by herself was now believed even by Bunny who had at first insisted that Sally Melinda had been hungry and had gone off to find honey though some mother bear might have come in and taken her to her den thinking she was her baby said Sue my Sally Melinda looked just like a real bear when her eyes were lighted up but there were no bear tracks around the tents said Bunny and there would have been if there had been any bears here there are no other bears here I'm glad of that said Mrs. Brown teddy bears are the only ones I want to see well maybe no real bears came for Sally Melinda said Sue after a while I guess it was an Indian or some man who wanted my toy for his little girl but I hope I get her back Sally Melinda I mean Bunny managed to eat five of the cakes his mother baked in another only his father called to him to hurry if he wanted to go to search for the missing toy bear Sue and Bunny went with Mr. Brown off into the big woods after breakfast as they walked along they looked on either side of the path for a sight of the missing teddy bear or Bunny's toy train but they saw neither one whoever took them as keeping them well hidden said Mr. Brown now we'll go to the Indian camp though they called it a camp it was more of an Indian village where the Anandangas lived there were many tents log or slab cabins and one or two houses built as the white people build theirs these were owned by the richer Indians who had large farms and many horses and cows some of the Indians were very poor and their cabins had only one room where they cooked, ate and slept Eaglefeather was the head or chief of this particular tribe he was not like the old time or wild Indians he owned a farm and he worked hard to grow fruits and vegetables when Eaglefeather saw Mr. Brown with the two children coming to the Indian village the chief came out to meet them how do he exclaimed in English that could be understood Eaglefeather glad to see you come in and sit down squal make tea for you or maybe coffee coffee better more has taste no thank you we haven't time to eat now said Mr. Brown we came looking for bear for bear cried Eaglefeather in surprise no bear here bear maybe way off in woods why you no go there and shoot him oh this isn't that kind of bear said Mr. Brown funny bear no live in woods said the Indian this bear have eyes go like so and Mr. Brown took from his pocket a small electric flashlight by pressing on a spring he made a light flash up and go out just as had the eyes of Sue's bear oh now Eaglefeather knows said the Indian quickly little gal's heap big medicine doll gone where him go we don't know said Mr. Brown in the night when we were all asleep someone came and took the bear maybe he came to Indian camp not sure but maybe we can look Mr. Brown tried to talk as he thought Eaglefeather would understand and the Indian seemed to your little gal's bear no here at Eaglefeather's camp he said with the shake of his head much big medicine like baby puff puff train doll is but Indian no take little gal's play bear see I and you look in every house oh no that isn't necessary said Mr. Brown if you tell me the bear isn't here I believe you that right for I speak truth but wait we ask other Indians maybe they think no harm to take bear little while for big medicine and bring him back I ask he entered the door of his house and gave a loud whistle in a few minutes there came to him many of the older Indian men Eaglefeather spoke to them in their own Indian language he listened to the answers then turning to Mr. Brown and the children the chief said no have got little gal's play bear nobody here have got you look in all Indian houses and see for yourself no I'll take your word forward I believe the teddy bear is not here it must have been taken by someone else I will look farther but Eaglefeather insisted on some of the head men's hots being searched and this was done but no doll was found oh dear where can Sally Melinda be half sob Sue never mind said her father if you can't find your bear and bunny's cars are still gone in two weeks I'll get you new ones but I think they will come back as mysteriously as they went away now we must go home but I thought you were going to look in the cabin of the hermit said bunny we'll have to do that after dinner answered daddy brown but when dinner was half over there came a telegram for Mr. Brown telling him he was needed back at his business office at once as something had gone wrong about the fish catch well I'll have to go now said the children's father but I'll help you look for the teddy doll and the train of cars when I come back he said it was a little sad in camp rest awhile when Mr. Brown had gone but mother Brown let the children play store with real things to eat and to sell and they were soon happy again finally Sue said bunny do you know where that hermit's hut is the one where you got the dog drank it yes slowly answered bunny I do but what about it let's go there answered Sue maybe he has my Sally Melinda daddy was going to take us there but he had to go away so quickly he didn't have time but you and I can go I'm sure he'd give us my teddy bear if he had her I guess he would agree bunny but what would he want with it we'll go and see so he and Sue saying nothing to their mother except that they were going off into the big woods back of the camp left the tent and headed for the hermit's cabin on and on they went leaving splash behind for of late their dog had not followed them as often as he had done before they had tramped through the woods for about an hour looking at all sorts of places for the missing teddy bear in the toy train when Sue suddenly asked aren't we near his cabin now bunny it seems as if we come an awful long way I was beginning to think so myself said the little boy yet I was sure it was over this way the children walked on a little farther but found themselves only deeper in the big woods finally Sue stopped and said bunny do you know where we are no I don't he answered then we're lost said Sue shaking her head we're lost in the woods bunny brown and we'll never get home end of chapter 10 chapter 11 of bunny brown and his sister Sue in the big woods by Laura Lee Hope this LibriVox recording is in the public domain the hermit again bunny brown was a wise little lad considering that he was only about seven years old but many of those years had been spent with his father going about in the woods and while there Mr. Brown had told him much about the birds bugs and animals they saw under the trees so that the woods were not exactly strange to bunny above all he was not afraid in them except maybe when he was all alone on a dark night and one thing had Mr. Brown especially impressed on bunny this was never get frightened when you think you are lost in the woods if you think you are lost you may be sure you can either find your way out or someone will find you in a little while so the best thing to do when you fear you are lost is to sit quietly down on a log think which way you believe your camp or home is think where the sun gets up in the morning and where it goes to bed in the night and whatever you do don't rush about calling and yelling and forgetting even which way you came so when you are lost keep cool remembering what his father had told him bunny brown as soon as he heard Sue say they were lost looked for a log and finding one not far away he went over and sat down on it why bunny brown cried Sue what in the world are you doing don't you know we are lost in our camp for I never can oh dear I think it's over this way no it must be here oh bunny which is the right way to go that's just what I'm trying to find out he said you are not cried Sue you're just sitting there like a bump on a log as Aunt Lou used to say well I'm doing what father told us to do said bunny I'm keeping cool and trying to think if you run around that way and it may take both of us to think of the way home well of course I want to help said Sue I don't want you to do it all but we're awful much lost bunny are you sure Sue he asked of course I'm sure I was never in this part of the woods before and I can't tell where it is do you know where the sun rises asked bunny for it was just then behind some clouds it rises in the east of course Sue I learned that in our jog free yes but which way is east from here bunny wanted to know if I could tell that I might find our camp as the sun comes up every morning in front of our tent and that faces the east but you can't walk to the sun bunny brown it's millions and millions of miles away or teacher said so I'm not going to walk to the sun said the little boy I just want to walk toward it the way it is first so's to know which way to walk Sue looked about her as did bunny neither of them knew in what part of the big woods they were for they had never been there before they were both looking for some path that would lead them home but they saw none suddenly Sue cried oh there's the sun it's right overhead she pointed upward and bunny saw a light spot in the clouds the clouds had not broken away they were thin enough for the sun to make a bright place in them that must be the east said Sue but how are we ever going to walk that way bunny unless we climb trees it's up in the air that isn't the east said little boy that's right overhead I forget the name of it but I will tell you and bunny brown can look it up in his geography when he gets home the point in the sky when the sun seems to be directly over your head and it's noon and dinner time too and on bunny can you tell by your stomach asks Sue I can for my stomach is hungry it is always hungry at noon I can tell by my stomach for it is hungry just like yours said Sue's brother but I can tell by the sun daddy told me that it was noon and time to eat when the sun was straight over our heads now we'll get out of the woods Sue how will the sun help us bring us something to eat as Sue well the sun will help us in a way for when it begins to go down we will know that this is the west and the east is just opposite from the west so if we walk with our backs toward the west we'll be facing the east and if we keep on that way we'll be at our camp sometime all we'll have to do is to walk away from the sun and will that give us something to eat Sue demanded maybe said Bunny Brown we may come to a farm house and they might give us some cookies and milk how good that would taste cried Sue I wish I had some now we'll walk on away said Bunny maybe we'll come to a place where they'll feed us but be careful to keep your back to the sun Sue said she would and the two lost children were soon walking through the woods together they walked on the path when they saw one and crossed over open glades or through underbrush when they came to such places where they saw no path for the time being they had given up all idea of finding their missing toys all they thought of was getting home every once in a while Sue would ask are we most there Bunny and he would answer not quite but almost just a little farther Sue suddenly there was a noise in the bushes as if someone were coming through in a hurry oh maybe it's our dog Splash coming to find us cried Sue I don't believe so answered Bunny besides Splash would bark and whatever this dog's name is he doesn't make a sound oh look Sue it's a man not a dog a man cried Sue what kind oh I can't tell except that he has a dog and he's very ragged Bunny peaked between some bushes and the next moment uttered a cry of surprise why it's the ragged hermit who gave us the milk and who was so good to us cried Bunny he's the man who lives in the long cabin with a cow now we're all right he'll take us home now we're all right and Bunny danced about oh I'm so glad murmured Sue we're not lost anymore end of chapter 11