Part 21 (1/2)
The two girls saw the sand house, all caved in, and they guessed that Buddy and Billie and Johnnie were under it.
”We must dig them out!” cried Sister Sallie.
So she and Brighteyes got some pieces of s.h.i.+ngle, and my goodness me, sakes alive! how they did make that sand fly! Percival, the old circus dog, helped them, and pretty soon Buddy and his friends were safely rescued. They were pretty well scared, I can tell you, but they were soon all right again, and then it was time to go to dinner, and after dinner they all went in bathing and had lots of fun.
Now, I'm going to tell you next about Buddy helping Sammie Littletail, that is if the man comes to cut our gra.s.s and lets our puppy dog hide under the door-mat to scare the parrot next door.
STORY XXIX
BUDDY HELPS SAMMIE LITTLETAIL
When Johnnie and Billie Bushytail went home, after having paid a visit to Buddy Pigg that time when they built the sand house that fell in on them, they told Sammie and Susie Littletail, the two rabbits, of what a nice time they had had.
”Oh, I am going over to see Buddy some day, and go in bathing,” declared Sammie.
”You had better be careful about bathing in salt water,” said Susie, his sister, ”it might take all the color out of your eyes, or out of your fur, or your fur might even fall out.”
”Oh, I guess not,” answered Sammie. ”I have heard that salt water keeps hair from falling out. Anyway, if there's any danger of such a thing, Percival, the old circus dog, doesn't need to hold the bag of salt in the water when we go in bathing.”
”That's so,” agreed Susie, and just then along came Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old gentleman rabbit, and he was eating some peppermint-flavored cabbage, and he gave Sammie and Susie some.
Well, it wasn't very many days after this before Sammie asked his mamma if he couldn't go over and play with Buddy Pigg, and, as Sammie had been a very good rabbit boy lately, his mother allowed him to go.
”I am so glad you came, Sammie,” said Buddy, ”what shall we do, go in bathing, or build a sand house?”
”Let's do both,” answered Sammie. So first he and Buddy went in bathing and, for fear the salt water would make the red color fade out of Sammie's eyes, Percival didn't hold the bag of salt in the pond when he made the waves. Sammie and Buddy had a good time splas.h.i.+ng around, and then they built a sand house. But they took care to make it strong enough so that it would not cave in. They played together for a long time and then Buddy asked: ”What shall we do next?”
”I know,” replied Sammie, as he looked at the pond of water which was sparkling in the sun, ”let's play soldier, and we'll make a plank bridge across the pond and run over it and have lots of fun.”
”All right,” agreed Buddy, ”come on, and help me lift the plank.” So they placed a long board across one end of the pond, where it was quite deep, and began to play soldier, while Percival went to sleep in the shade.
Buddy got a tin can, and tied it around his neck with a string. That was for the drum, and when he beat upon the tin can with two sticks, believe me, it did sound just like a drum in the army, when the soldiers beat it softly.
Then Sammie got a long stick, pretending it was a gun, and the two of them marched around and around, and sideways, and up and down, and through the middle, and across the plank, and back again, several times.
Then, Sammie would fire the gun, yelling, ”Boom-Boom!” as loudly as he could, and shooting maybe a dozen bad Indians or pirates or robbers, or maybe more, for all I know, and Buddy would beat on the drum louder than ever, and he would cry:
”Charge! Charge on the enemy! Hurrah! Hurrah! The victory is ours!” and he would wave a flag he had made out of a piece of white cloth, red flannel and a bit of Brighteyes' blue hair ribbon, that she had lost.
Oh, it wag great fun, I tell you! But the best of all was rus.h.i.+ng across the plank over the deep part of the pond, for then it sounded exactly as if horses and cannon were coming over the bridge, and the plank teetered and tautered up and down, and sometimes Buddy and Sammie almost fell off. But they didn't mind this; they only thought it all the more fun.
Then, at last, something did happen. Buddy was ahead, waving the flag with one hand, and beating the drum with the other, and Sammie was firing his wooden gun as fast as he could fire it, with ever so many ”Boom-Booms!” real loud ones, too, and shooting, oh, ever so many make-believe Indians, when, all of a sudden, poor Sammie Littletail slipped off the plank, and fell into the deep part of the pond!
”Oh, save me; save me, Buddy!” cried Sammie, splas.h.i.+ng around.
”I'll save you!” cried Buddy, and he got so excited that he threw away his drum, and the drumsticks and the flag, only he tossed the flag safely on sh.o.r.e, where it wouldn't get wet, for he loved the flag, even if it was only a make-believe one. ”I'll save you,” he cried. ”Can you swim any, Sammie?”
”A--a--lit-tle--bit!” gasped the rabbit boy, as he floundered around in the water. ”But I could swim more if nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was here to show me,” and then he couldn't talk any more, for his mouth was full of water.
Well, Sammie was terribly frightened, as he floundered around in the pond, with his wooden gun, and so was Buddy frightened, up on the plank bridge. Buddy looked all around, to see if there was any one coming to help him save Sammie, but there wasn't. Percival had gone in the house, and Brighteyes and her mother had gone berrying. Then Buddy made up his mind that he would have to save Sammie all by himself.