Part 17 (1/2)

”And a real human bear, 'Teddy'?” suggested Jack.

”Then a cage of pigeons,” went on Harry.

”Let's get them all in training,” said Tom, jumping up suddenly, anxious to begin the sport.

”I tell you!” Harry planned. ”We can each train our own animals and then we can bring them together in a well-organized circus.”

”When will we have it?” August asked impatiently.

”About next week,” Harry thought, and this was decided upon.

During the interval the boys were so busy training that they had little time for other sports, but the girls found out-door life quite as interesting as their brothers did, and now made many discoveries in and about the pretty woodlands.

”Oh, we saw the prettiest little rabbits today,” Nan told her mother, after a trip in the woods. ”Flossie and Freddie were sitting on an old stump when two rabbits ran right across the road in front of them.

Freddie ran after them as far as he could go in the brushwood, but of course no one can go as fast as a rabbit.”

”And the squirrels,” Flossie told them. ”I think the squirrels are the prettiest things that live in the woods. They have tails just like mamma's feather boa and they walk sitting up so cute.”

”Oh, I think the rabbits are the nicest,” lisped Freddie, ”'cause they are Bunnies, and Bunnies bring Easter eggs.”

”And we have made the loveliest fern garden up back of the swing,” said Flossie. ”We got a whole basket of ferns in the woods and transplanted them.”

”In the center we have some lovely Jack-in the-pulpits,” Nan added.

”Some are light green striped, and the largest are purple with gold stripes. The Jacks stand up straight, just like real live boys preaching in a pulpit.”

”Don't you think, mamma,” asked Flossie, ”that daisies and violets make a lovely garden? I have a round place in the middle of our wild flower bed just full of light blue violets and white daisies.”

”All flowers are beautiful,” their mamma told them, ”but I do think with Flossie that daisies and violets are very sweet.”

”And, mamma, we got a big piece of the loveliest green moss! It is just like real velvet,” said Flossie. ”We found a place all covered with it down by the pond, under the dark cedar trees. Nan said it wouldn't grow in our garden, but I brought some home to try. I put it in a cool dark place, and I'm going to put lots of water on it every day.”

”Moss must be very cool and damp to grow,” Mrs. Bobbsey replied. ”I remember how disappointed I used to be when I was a little girl and tried to make it grow around my geraniums. It would always dry up and turn brown in a few days.”

”Oh,” called Freddie from his garden under the cherry tree, ”come quick! Look at the funny bugs!”

Nan and Flossie hurried to where their little brother had dug a hole in the earth.

”They're mice!” exclaimed Nan. ”Oh, aren't they cute! Let's catch them.

Call Bert or Harry.”

While Flossie ran to tell Bert, Nan watched the tiny mice so that they would not get away.

”It's a nest of field mice,” Harry told them.

”We'll put them in a cage and have them in our circus.”

”But they're my mice,” cried Freddie, ”and I won't let anybody have them!”

”We're only going to help you take care of them in a little box. Oh, there's the mother--catch her, Harry,” called Bert.