bunny brown was so surprised by what his sister called, about toby the pony coming back, that the little boy let go of patter’s hind legs, which had been raised in the air to try to make him walk on his front legs.
down fell patter’s legs, so suddenly that if patter had been a little boy or girl i’m sure he would have grunted, or perhaps he might even have cried. but as he was a dog, though a trick dog, patter whined a little and then barked:
“bow-wow-wuff!”
perhaps that meant he didn’t like to be treated so. but bunny did not stop to think about the new trick dog just then. bunny ran after sue, who was heading for the gate, outside of which stood a man with a pony and a cart.
[34]the man had gotten out of the cart and was now looking at bunny brown and his sister sue and their trick dog.
“if mr. brown lives here,” said the man, “i reckon this is his pony, for it’s where i was told to leave it.”
“it’s our pony,” said bunny, “and thank you for bringing him back to us. his name is toby.”
“so i was told,” said the man. “well, here he is,” and he led the tiny horse in through the gate that bunny and his sister opened.
“is he all cured?” sue wanted to know. “his hair won’t fall and come out any more, will it?”
“no,” answered the man, “his hair won’t fall out any more. he has been boarding at our farm for some time, and now he’s cured. your father told me to leave him here for you. i just stopped at the office and he told me to bring the pony up. so here i am.”
“and we’re glad of it!” cried sue. “now we have a pony and a trick dog, and we’re going to give a show, maybe.”
[35]“is that a trick dog?” asked the farmer’s hired man, for he it was who had brought toby home.
“yes, he does lots of tricks,” and bunny held his arms in a circle so patter could jump through them.
“oh, i didn’t know he could do that!” exclaimed sue, as she watched this trick.
“i didn’t, either,” admitted bunny. “but splash used to do this trick, and i thought i’d try it for patter. and he did it.”
“yes, indeed, little man, he did!” said the farmer’s man, with a laugh. “and now, if you’ll just call your mother, so i know it’s all right for me to leave the pony with you, i’ll be getting back.”
mrs. brown was on her way out to the yard, for she had seen the man driving up with the pony and cart. she now spoke to him and learned that he had already seen mr. brown at the dock office, where the children’s father had gone after breakfast.
“may we take a ride in the pony cart?” asked bunny of his mother, when the farmer’s man had gone and it was afternoon.
[36]“yes,” was the answer. “toby is well and strong again, more healthy than before, the man said, and i guess he can pull you in the cart. but don’t go too far away.”
“we won’t!” promised bunny and sue. “may patter come with us?” asked bunny.
his mother said the trick dog might go, and soon the little boy and girl, with patter sitting between them, were driving down a quiet street near the brown home.
“we mustn’t run toby too much at first,” said bunny, who was holding the reins.
“no, ’specially after he just got over the falling-out-hair sickness,” agreed sue. “can i drive a little now, bunny?” she asked.
“yes,” replied her brother. “oh, wouldn’t it be fun to teach patter to hold the lines in his mouth and drive toby?” he asked.
“lots of fun!” agreed sue. “but we’d better not do that until patter and toby get to know each other better,” she added. “let me drive now.”
so bunny gave his sister the reins on a quiet street where automobiles seldom came.
“that’s one of the tricks i’m going to teach [37]patter for the show we’ll have,” said bunny, after a while.
“what show?” sue wanted to know.
“oh, we’ll get up a performance,” said bunny, as if nothing could be easier. “maybe it’ll be a circus like the one we had once, or maybe we’ll give a show in the opera house. but we’ll do something to show off patter, and i’ll teach him to drive toby.”
the children had a good time riding around in the pony cart, and toby seemed so fresh and strong, as if willing to trot for miles and miles, that bunny and sue really didn’t want to turn around and go back home. but they did at last, and to their surprise they saw their father at the gate.
“oh, daddy!” cried bunny, as sue guided the pony and cart through the gate, “what makes you come home so early?” for it was not time for supper yet, and the boy knew his father did not close the office on the boat and fish dock until nearly supper time.
“i came home to ask your mother if she had anything good to eat that she wanted to send the poor man in the hospital,” answered mr.[38] brown. “the old man who wants to find a circus,” he explained.
“are you going to the hospital?” asked sue. “may i come?”
“i want to go, too!” cried bunny.
“well, perhaps i’ll take you both,” said mr. brown. “as long as you have the pony cart out and while toby seems so fresh and strong, i’m sure it will do no harm if i ride with you to the hospital in the cart. it isn’t far and it’s a level road the whole way.”
“oh, we’ll all go to the hospital!” cried sue, clapping her hands in joy. of course, for a well person to go to the hospital is not as bad as when a sick person has to go. i think if sue had been ill or hurt and had to go to the hospital she might not have been so jolly. “we’ll all go!” she said. “bunny and daddy and i and patter!”
“no, patter mustn’t go,” said mr. brown, with a shake of his head.
“why not?” asked bunny brown.
“he might make a disturbance,” said mr. brown. “besides, patter is a bit strange yet, and when you drive down the main streets of[39] the town he might jump out of the pony cart and run away. you wouldn’t want that to happen, would you?”
“oh, no!” cried bunny and sue.
so patter was made to get out of the pony cart, though he did not want to. patter was shut up in the woodhouse for a time, and mr. brown took the place left vacant by the dog. then with his two children mr. brown drove to the hospital where the old man had been taken after the accident.
bunny and sue would have gone right into the rooms where the sick and injured patients lay in their white beds, only their father thought it unwise. there are sad sights to see, and sad sounds to hear in a hospital, and it was not good for bunny and sue to see and hear them.
so they waited outside in the pony cart while their father went into the big red brick building, carrying the basket of good things mrs. brown had put up for the unknown man.
as it happened, however, mr. brown could not see the patient, who was badly hurt and out of his head, not knowing what he was saying.[40] so the basket of good things was left until such time as the dainties could be eaten.
back home in the pony cart rode daddy, bunny and sue, and toby was so strong from his long rest on the farm that he easily pulled the man and children.
“hello, bunny!” “hello, sue!” called some boys and girls on the street, not far from the brown house as the children were driving back. “is that a new pony?” asked one boy.
“no, it’s just old toby,” answered bunny, and his father waved his hand at george watson and harry bentley, who were playing with mary watson and sadie west.
“he looks fine!” said harry.
“looks as if he’d just been painted!” and george laughed at the idea of painting a horse.
mrs. brown was waiting for her family when they returned in the pony cart, and at once asked about the old man.
“i’m sorry, but he was so ill i couldn’t see him,” explained her husband. “i’ll go again, however.”
mr. brown got out of the pony cart and[41] went back to his dock, but as it was yet early bunny and sue were allowed to ride around a bit longer, before it was time for supper and then bed.
“we’ll let patter out now, as long as we are going to ride only around the block,” explained bunny, and he opened the shed where the trick dog had been shut so that he wouldn’t follow after the pony cart.
with joyous barks patter rushed out ahead of bunny. reaching the pony cart the dog began racing around it, barking excitedly. the dog did not like being shut up when the children went off to have a good time.
“be quiet, patter! please be quiet,” begged bunny.
but the more the boy talked the more excitedly the dog barked.
“what makes him so noisy?” asked sue.
“i don’t know,” answered bunny.
“do you think he smells that frenchman who might be sneaking around to get our dog away?” asked the little girl.
“oh, i don’t believe so,” said bunny.
“bow-wow!” barked patter.
[42]he stopped racing about and stood for a moment at the side of the pony, while bunny and sue sat in the cart. suddenly the trick dog made a spring, and leaped into the air.
“oh, look! look!” cried sue. “what’s he going to do?”
