Mr. and Mrs. Walter Brown lived with Bunny and Sue—their only children—in the eastern city of Bellemere, on Sandport Bay, not far from the ocean. Mr. Brown owned a boat and fish dock, and Bunker Blue, the red-haired boy, was one who helped run it. Sometimes Uncle Tad, who had fought “in the war,” as Bunny told his chums, worked down at the dock, and often the old soldier would go on little trips with the children.
Mr. Brown rented boats, and he sold fish when the men he hired were lucky enough to catch any. He also sold clams, crabs, and lobsters. Bunny and Sue knew how to catch crabs. But to get lobsters the boats had to go far out to sea, and the children were not allowed to do this unless daddy was with them.
In the first book of this series, called “Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue,” I related to you some of the many adventures of this pair. After the happenings related in that book, Bunny and Sue went to Grandpa’s farm, they played circus, they went to their Aunt Lu’s city home and to camp. After some adventures in the big woods, the children were taken on an automobile trip, and when they came back, to their delight, their father bought them a Shetland pony.
Having a pony, Bunny thought it would be a good idea to give a “show,” so he and Sue did that, and on their next vacation they were taken to Christmas Tree Cove. A trip to the sunny South was taken just before the children helped Mrs. Golden, who owned a little grocery, and in the book just before the one you are now reading—a book named “Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue Keeping Store”—I told you all the children did to aid Mrs. Golden.
And now we come to the present time, when Bunny and Sue were given a glad surprise by their father.
Around and around the room waltzed and danced the funny little chap in his red, white and blue clown suit, and Bunny and Sue kept asking:
“Who is he? What is he?”
Bunny was just going to guess that it was a monkey dressed up like a little dwarf when from beneath the cap came a sharp:
“Bow-wow!”
“Oh, it’s a dog!” cried Sue.