“Yes, Snoop’s all right. He jumped. But don’t you jump!” called Nan.
“I—I won’t,” Bert answered.
Then his father and Sam raised the ladder up into the tree, and a few minutes later they had rescued Bert, helping him so that he could put his feet on the ladder and climb down.
“What made you go up?” asked his mother, when the excitement was all over.
“I went up after Snoop,” said Bert. “A strange dog chased him up the tree.”
“Well, of course, you meant to be kind,” said his father. “But you must be careful when in a tree. Very often a branch may look sound and strong, as though it would hold you up. But when you step on it or pull on it, it breaks. It is always a good plan, if you climb a tree in the woods—or anywhere else—to pull on a limb to test it before you bear your full weight on it. If you hear a cracking sound it means that the branch will break.”
“I heard a cracking sound,” Bert said. “But that was after I got out on the limb with my feet.”
“Then it was almost too late,” his father said. “But remember always to test a branch before you trust yourself to it.”
The Bobbsey twins and the others went back into the house, and the rest of the Thanksgiving day passed pleasantly. Snoop and Snap had been given especially good dinners in honor of the occasion.
In the morning, when Flossie and Freddie awakened, which generally happened at the same time, the little fellow ran to the window and looked out.