Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue Playing Circus

by Laura Lee Hope

"Now we'll give them a fine ride!" cried Sue. "Aren't they cute, Bunny?"

"Yes," said Bunny. He steered the raft, while Sue picked up one of the little ducks and petted it in her hand.

"Oh, you dear, cute, sweet little thing!" murmured Sue. "I wish I had you for a doll!"

On and on sailed Bunny and Sue, and I think it was the first time the old hen mother ever went sailing with her family of ducks. She seemed to like it, too, Bunny and Sue thought.

Finally, when the raft was in the middle of the pond, the little ducks gave some quacks, a sort of whistle and into the water they fluttered one after the other.

"Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!" went the hen mamma, fluttering her wings. "Cluckity-cluck-cluck!"

I suppose that meant, in hen talk:

"Come back! Come back! Stay on the boat and have a nice ride!"

But the little ducks wanted to swim in the water. And they did.

"Never mind," said Sue. "We'll keep on sailing, Bunny, and we'll sail right after the little ducks, so the hen mamma can watch them."