Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue on Grandpa's Farm Part 21

"Oh, we have lots of them," said Bunny. "Don't we, Sue?"

"Yes, Bunny. But I don't like turkey adventures."

The next day the two children went after wild strawberries. Grandpa Brown told them of a place, not far from the house, on a little hill, where many berries grew.

"And you won't have to go near the turkey to get there, either," he said. "Though I see you haven't your red dress on, Sue, so even if the gobbler did see you, I don't believe he would chase you this time."

"I only wear my red dress when I go visiting," said Sue. "But I'm not going to visit turkey gobblers any more."

Bunny and Sue found many berries on the hill their grandpa had told them about, and soon their pail was half full. A little way off were some woods, but before one came to the place where the trees grew thick, with green moss beneath them, there was a field, and in this field Bunny saw some bushes with deep, purple berries growing on them.

"Oh, Sue!" he cried. "Let's pick some raspberries! There's lots on those bushes, and grandma can make raspberry jam, and put it in tarts, like Aunt Lu did. Let's pick raspberries! We've got enough strawberries!"

"All right," answered Sue, for she was always ready to do what Bunny wanted her to.

The two children were soon in the field, picking the purple raspberries.

They walked on and on, from one bush to another, and by the time their pail was full, with the raspberries on top of the strawberries, they were close to the woods.

"Let's go in and rest in the shade," Sue said. "I'm awful tired and hot, Bunny."

"All right, we'll go in," and in they went. It was nice and cool beneath the trees, and the children found a spring of water where they had a drink, for they were thirsty.

"And I'm hungry, too," said Sue, after a bit. "Bunny, do you s'pose we could eat some of the berries? We can pick more before we go home."

"Yes, we'll eat some, Sue."

Seated on the green moss, in the shade of a tree, Bunny and Sue ate the berries, getting their faces and hands stained red and purple.

"But we can wash in the spring before we go home," Sue said, "so it will be all right."

"Yes," agreed Bunny.

After resting a while the children washed at the spring, and took another drink. Then they saw a big frog hopping along. He must have been having a bath in the spring, which was almost as large as a washtub.

"Let's see if we can catch that frog!" cried Bunny. "We won't hurt him, though."

So he and Sue followed the frog. But the frog was a good jumper, and led the children quite a chase. And then, just when Bunny thought he was going to put his hands on him, the big green fellow found another spring, and into that he went with a splash, grunting as he did so:

"Ker-ugh! Ker-ung!"

"Oh, he's gone!" cried Sue, quite sadly.

"Never mind," replied Bunny. "We'll find another."

But they did not, though they waited around the second spring for some time.

"I guess we'd better go home," said Bunny.

"Yes," agreed Sue, looking around at the trees on every side of them.

The children started, but going home was not as easy as it seemed. They walked on and on, and soon Sue began to get tired.

"Aren't we at the place where we picked the berries?" she asked, after a bit.

"Almost," answered Bunny. But though he looked and looked through the trees he could not see the field and the little hill that was not far from Grandpa Brown's house.

The children went on a little farther, until, all at once, Bunny stumbled over a stone and fell.

The pail flew from his hand, and the berries spilled all over the ground.

"Oh, dear!" cried Sue. Then she added quickly: "But I'll help you pick them up, Bunny."

Bunny sat up and rubbed his knee. He wrinkled up his nose in a funny way.

"Does it hurt?" asked Sue.

"My leg does, a little, but not my nose," Bunny said. And then he laughed.

The children picked up the scattered berries. Their pail was only half full now, for they could not find all the berries that had spilled.

"We'll have to pick a lot more," remarked Sue.

"Yes," said Bunny. "We will when we find the bushes."

On they went again. But it seemed that they would never get out of the woods. After a while Bunny stopped, sat down on a log and said:

"Sue, I know what's the matter!"

"What?" asked the little girl. "Does your leg hurt? Is that what's the matter?"

"No," answered Bunny. "The matter is--we're lost. That's why we can't find the berry-bushes. We're lost, Sue!"

CHAPTER XV

THE OLD HERMIT

Bunny Brown and his sister Sue had been lost before, several times.

Maybe that is why Sue was not so frightened now, when Bunny spoke as he did. As for the little boy, he seemed more tired than worried.

"Yes, Sue," he said again. "I guess we're lost. I've looked all over, and I can't see the hill where we picked the strawberries, nor the field where we got the raspberries."

"I can't either," said Sue. "And I wish we had some berries, Bunny."

"Why?"

"'Cause I'm hungry right now again."