"Well, you're missing them, too," retorted Toad.
"I guess I'll let you off this time," relented Chuck, "but if you ever do it again," he threatened, "I'll hold you down for a week, cakes or no cakes."
"You'd starve to death in that time," argued Toad, with a laugh as he commenced to hurry into his clothing.
The boys were seated at the table, a half hour later, and had just eaten the last of the griddle cakes, when Reddy's whistle was heard. Toad, jumping up from the table, ran over to the window and beckoned to Reddy to come into the house.
"What are you going to do this morning?" was Reddy's first remark as he entered the room.
"We're going for Christmas greens and Dad's going to cut our tree from away up on the hillside," Toad told him, "and," he added, "we're going to take one of the horses with us to drag it home."
"Oh, that's great!" replied Reddy. "Do you start soon?"
"Don't you want to go, too?" asked Chuck. "And maybe we can get Fat and Herbie, too," he added.
"If such a crowd goes, and everybody gathers greens," laughed Toad, "what will we ever do with all of them?"
Mother Brown answered him from the doorway.