"
They must think it's Candy"
BUDDY JIM AND THE HARVEST MICE
The golden glow was waving
Her pom-poms in the sun,
And the click of busy reapers said
That harvest had begun;
The Sumac trees were dressing up
In gowns of crimson hue
But there didn't seem to be a thing
A little boy could do.
BUDDY JIM sat on the top step of the porch and didn't know what to do! He had fed the rabbits and chickens, and everybody else was busy! He had been told that he must not go to the harvest field because the men didn't want little boys around machinery; and nearly he was lonesome! Then Old Bob the gardener came by with his cheery whistle and his "Hello, Buddy, old scout, what's doing today?" "Nothing," said Buddy. "Why, Bob?" "Well," said Old Bob the gardener, "I'm pretty busy, myself, today, and I was wondering if perhaps a little boy about your size wouldn't be so kind as to go down to the far pasture and salt the sheep for me."
"Why, of course I will," said Buddy Jim. "But, Bob, how do you salt sheep?"
"Oh," said Old Bob the gardener, "you just take some salt along and sprinkle it on the ground. I always put it near the big flat rock just inside the five barred gate. The sheep will come and get it. They will be there by the time you are most likely, because they can smell salt a long way."
"Shall I take Old Dog Sandy along, Bob?" asked Buddy. "Better not," advised old Bob the gardener, "he wouldn't hurt them, I know, but the sheep would not understand. They think all dogs are their enemies."