bunny brown and his sister sue were really surprised at daddy brown’s surprise. never had they been so astonished. they watched the queer little chap with his red, white and blue suit dancing around the room.

“who is he?” cried bunny.

“where did you get him?” sue wanted to know. “is he for us to keep?”

“do you want to keep him?” asked mr. brown, laughing at the surprise of his two children.

“oh, he’s lovely!” cried sue.

“but who is he?” asked bunny again.

and while the children are trying to guess i will tell my new readers a little about bunny and sue so they will, i hope, be better friends from knowing them better.

mr. and mrs. walter brown lived with[14] bunny and sue—their only children—in the eastern city of bellemere, on sandport bay, not far from the ocean. mr. brown owned a boat and fish dock, and bunker blue, the red-haired boy, was one who helped run it. sometimes uncle tad, who had fought “in the war,” as bunny told his chums, worked down at the dock, and often the old soldier would go on little trips with the children.

mr. brown rented boats, and he sold fish when the men he hired were lucky enough to catch any. he also sold clams, crabs, and lobsters. bunny and sue knew how to catch crabs. but to get lobsters the boats had to go far out to sea, and the children were not allowed to do this unless daddy was with them.

in the first book of this series, called “bunny brown and his sister sue,” i related to you some of the many adventures of this pair. after the happenings related in that book, bunny and sue went to grandpa’s farm, they played circus, they went to their aunt lu’s city home and to camp. after some adventures in the big woods, the children were[15] taken on an automobile trip, and when they came back, to their delight, their father bought them a shetland pony.

having a pony, bunny thought it would be a good idea to give a “show,” so he and sue did that, and on their next vacation they were taken to christmas tree cove. a trip to the sunny south was taken just before the children helped mrs. golden, who owned a little grocery, and in the book just before the one you are now reading—a book named “bunny brown and his sister sue keeping store”—i told you all the children did to aid mrs. golden.

and now we come to the present time, when bunny and sue were given a glad surprise by their father.

around and around the room waltzed and danced the funny little chap in his red, white and blue clown suit, and bunny and sue kept asking:

“who is he? what is he?”

bunny was just going to guess that it was a monkey dressed up like a little dwarf when from beneath the cap came a sharp:

[16]“bow-wow!”

“oh, it’s a dog!” cried sue.

“is it a dog, daddy?” asked bunny.

“it sounds like one,” laughed mr. brown.

“and is he ours to keep?” the little boy questioned.

“yes,” answered mr. brown. “he is your dog. down, sir!” he commanded, and the dog dropped to all fours and stood looking at mr. brown as if for further orders.

“dead dog!” cried the children’s father.

instantly the dog stretched out as if he had lost all life.

“oh, he’s a trick dog!” cried bunny.

“is he a trick dog?” asked sue. she wanted her father to tell her for sure. and mr. brown answered:

“yes, he is a trick dog, and rather valuable i think.”

“where did you get him, daddy?” asked bunny.

“i took him for a debt,” was the reply. “a frenchman, who had trained this trick dog, owed me some money for fish and for boat hire. i had about given up all hope of ever[17] getting my money, for the frenchman said he was so poor he thought he could not pay for a long time. then he asked me if i had children and if they loved animals. and when i said i had, and when i told him, bunny and sue, how fond you were of your dog splash, when you had him, and how you liked your shetland pony, toby, the man asked me to take this trick dog in place of the money he owed me.”

“and you did,” said bunny.

“yes, i did,” admitted mr. brown. “it was the only way to get anything from the poor frenchman. so i had him bring the dog to the dock this afternoon, and then he showed me how to make him go through some of his tricks. then i telephoned to you about the surprise.”

“it’s a lovely surprise,” said sue.

“who brought the dog up from the dock?” bunny asked.

“i left him for bunker blue to bring,” explained mr. brown. “and when that old man, who inquired about the circus, rang the bell, i thought that was bunker. but he[18] came a little later. and now, do you like your new trick dog?”

“oh, i love him!” cried sue.

“so do i!” declared bunny. “may i pat him?” he asked.

“oh, yes, the dog is quite friendly and tame,” said mr. brown, and soon bunny brown and his sister sue had made friends with their new pet given up by the poor frenchman in payment of his debt.

“what’s his name?” asked bunny, as he took the cap off the dog’s head in order to see the animal better.

“who’s, the frenchman?” asked mr. brown. “his name is jean baptiste foulard.”

“no, i mean the dog’s name,” said bunny.

“oh, he has a long french name, which means, in our language, ‘the little dog who brings the milk bottle in every morning,’” said mr. brown, with a laugh.

“what a cute name!” exclaimed mrs. brown. “couldn’t the children call him that?”

“i’m afraid it’s too long,” said her husband.[19] “that name would be a regular tongue-twister. they had much better call the dog some simpler name.”

“and did he really bring the milk bottle in every morning?” asked bunny.

“yes, so the frenchman said,” answered mr. brown. “the dog was taught to do that. every morning, when his master opened the door, the dog would go out and lift in the bottle of milk. it was only a small bottle, and he could easily get the top in his mouth. then he would lap some of the milk out of a saucer.”

“oh, i wish we could see him do it!” cried sue.

“he will do that and many other tricks,” her father explained. “the frenchman was very sorry to part with his dog, but he did not want to sell him to some one who might not be kind, and so he gave him to me, and now he does not owe me any more money.”

“i know what we can do with this trick dog,” said bunny, after thinking it over for a moment.

[20]“what?” asked his mother. but before bunny could answer sue broke in to ask:

“where is the frenchman now, daddy?”

“he has gone away,” mr. brown replied. “why do you ask, sue?”

“’cause i thought maybe he might come back and take our trick dog away.”

“oh, no, he wouldn’t do that,” said mr. brown. “this frenchman is honest. after he gave me the dog to pay his debt he would not take the animal back. now i must show you what tricks the dog can do and you can practice putting him through them.”

once again the dog marched around and danced. then mr. brown gave him a stick which the dog carried like a gun, playing soldier. after that the dog rolled over, he turned a somersault, he “played dead,” and he “said his prayers,” by crouching in the seat of a chair and putting his forepaws on the back, with his head down between them.

“he can do other tricks,” said mr. brown. “but now, children, what are you going to call him? i think you had better take some other name than the long french one.”

[21]bunny thought for a moment and then said:

“we can call him patter!”

“why?” asked his mother.

“’cause his feet patter so on the floor when he dances,” said bunny. and truly the toenails of the dog did make a queer little “pattering” sound as he waltzed around.

“i think that’s a nice name,” said sue.

“then we shall call this trick dog patter,” decided mr. brown. “i’ll have a collar made for him with his name on it.”

sue clapped her hands in delight and bunny looked pleased. they made patter do more tricks, and really the frenchman’s dog seemed very smart.

“i’ll teach him more tricks,” said bunny.

but just then, when patter was doing the trick of pretending to be a soldier dog, there came another ring at the doorbell.