“Bossy-cow frow water on Trouble. Make Trouble all wet!” and he laughed joyously.
“Oh, look!” gasped Jan.
Ted, who by this time had taken off his shoes and stockings and rolled up his knickerbockers, looked and cried:
“Oh, he’s soaking wet! He might just as well have gone in swimming!”
Trouble was certainly wet. The cow, in stamping her front legs to get rid of some biting flies, had splashed water from the brook over the little boy standing in front of her, still holding out the “posy-tree” of watercress. Trouble was splattered from his head to his waist, which was all of him that was out of the brook, his fat, chubby legs, far past his knees, now being sunk deep in the water and mud of the brook.
“Get him out quick!” ordered Jan. “The cow might bite him!”
“Cows don’t bite,” declared Ted. “I’m not scared.”
“Well, get him out anyhow,” went on Jan. “Oh, Trouble!”
Ted waded in, and, putting his arms around Trouble, pulled out his baby brother, who tossed the greens to the cow. Then, laughing and kicking, thus splashing mud and water on Ted, Trouble was dragged to dry ground and hurried into the house.
“Oh, my dear Trouble!” cried Mother Martin, who was just coming out to look for him, “you are such a sight! As if there wasn’t trouble enough without this!”