you remember that nip, the big dog, had carried away the stuffed elephant when archie set his christmas toy down on the barn floor for a moment. and, coming back, after having gone to look for the nest of a cackling hen, archie did not find his elephant awaiting him as he expected to.

"oh, elsie!" exclaimed the little boy. "didn't i leave my elephant right here?" and he pointed to the place where he had set it.

"why, yes, i think you did," elsie answered. "i saw you put it there. i was going to leave my doll there, too, but she isn't feeling very well, and has a little [pg 103]cold, so i carried her in my arms. i have her here now," she added, as she held up her christmas toy.

"well, my elephant is gone!" exclaimed archie. "and i know i left it here! yes, you can see where his feet stood," he added, as he pointed to some marks in the dust of the barn floor.

elsie, holding her doll, stooped down beside her brother and looked at the dust.

"there are lots of marks," said the little girl. "your elephant must have been walking around. oh, archie!" she cried, with shining eyes, "maybe he came to life and walked away!"

"nope! he couldn't do that!" archie said. of course he knew nothing of what the toys did after dark—how they made believe come to life, talked, and had fun among themselves.

"but now i know what has happened!" archie exclaimed. "i can tell by the marks in the dust."

"what did happen?" asked elsie.[pg 104]

"nip has been here," went on the little boy. "i can tell his paw marks in the dust. it wasn't my elephant walking around, it was nip! and nip has carried off my elephant!"

"oh, just as he did once with my old rag doll!" cried elsie.

"that's it!" her brother said. "nip has carried away my elephant. come here, nip! where are you?" called archie.

now nip was always ready to come when archie called, for he and the little boy had many good times together, romping and playing tag in the yard. so, when he heard his name called, nip came running into the barn to where elsie and archie were standing.

"nip!" sternly said archie, as he shook his finger at his big dog, "did you take my elephant? did you carry him away?"

now nip understood a great deal that was said to him. he knew when he was being scolded for having done wrong, and [pg 105]he knew he was being scolded now. he also knew that he had taken away the elephant. so, when archie talked this way, nip hung his head and put his tail between his legs.

"nip!" went on archie, "where is my stuffed elephant? go get it! bring back my elephant! go on, nip!"

nip gave a little bark. he sprang up, barked again, louder than before, and off he ran to a dim and distant part of the barn.

"is he going after your elephant?" asked elsie.

"i hope so," her brother answered. "we'll follow him and see where he goes."

but nip ran too fast for the children to follow. down the stairs, into the dark corner of that part of the barn where the garden tools were kept, ran nip. he knew he had been found out, and that he must bring back archie's elephant.

so, just as the shovel, the rake and the pick had hurried away to look for the [pg 106]prize, and while the wheelbarrow, the hoe and the lawn mower were fussing to see why they couldn't have a chance to win, nip pounced down on the elephant, lifted him up, and started back with him to archie.

"oh, i'm so glad you came to get me!" said the elephant. "i was just going to try to find my way back myself, for i have had a most dreadful time trying to settle a dispute among the garden tools. oh, i never should like to be a judge!"

nip did not answer, because he had the stuffed elephant in his mouth.

"i hope we are going to be friends, mr. nip," went on the elephant. "please don't carry me away again."

nip wanted to say that he would not, for he felt sorry because of the trick he had played. but just then elsie and archie came running up, and the dog could not talk, nor could the elephant pretend to be alive, for the eyes of the children were upon them.[pg 107]

"oh, he has my elephant!" joyfully cried archie. "i guess you must have hidden him, nip, for you knew where to find him! bring my elephant here!"

nip put the elephant down on the barn floor at archie's feet, and then the dog wagged his tail.

"he's asking you to forgive him," said elsie.

"and i will," promised archie. "but don't do it again!" he added, shaking his finger at nip.

"bow wow!" barked the dog, and perhaps that meant he would not.

"oh, i'm so glad to have my elephant back!" said archie, as he began playing with his toy.

"and i'm glad to be back," thought the elephant. "that judge business was a great trial!"

through the spring and into the summer archie had fun with his christmas elephant. then one day something very exciting happened. archie was playing [pg 108]out in the back yard, near a little brook, with his elephant, when along the front road came a hand-organ man and a monkey. archie and his sister ran to hear the music and see the monkey, and archie left his elephant in the grass.

soon after this it began to rain very hard and the children hurried into the house. going up the steps archie fell and bumped his head, making his nose bleed, and there was so much excitement for a time that the elephant was forgotten. he was left out in the storm, and the rain came down harder and harder, making little puddles and tiny brooks in the yard; brooks that flowed into the large one.

"oh, this is dreadful!" thought the poor elephant, as the rain pelted down on him. "of course if i was real i wouldn't mind the rain, for real elephants like water. but i'm getting soaking wet! it's beginning to come through my stuffing. i'm feeling like a sponge!

"oh, why doesn't archie come and get [pg 109]me, or at least give me an umbrella! i think i'll try to walk under a toadstool to keep out of the wet. if i can only find one large enough."

as no one was watching him, the elephant had a chance to move about and make believe come to life. but he had waited too long. the rain had soaked into his cotton stuffing making him so heavy that now he could not move.

"oh, what is going to happen?" he thought.

he tried to lift first one leg, then another, but it was hard work. the water was beginning to rise about him. his feet were in mud puddles. he struggled hard to pull them out, and then, all at once, he lurched to one side, and fell over flat—right into a pool of water![pg 110]