"So am I!" exclaimed Flossie, who wanted to do as many things as did her brother.
"Oh, I wouldn't," their mother said. "Leave the balloons here until morning."
"And then we'll have a balloon race," proposed Bert.
"What's a balloon race?" Freddie wanted to know.
"No more talk to-night, little fat fireman!" said his mother. "Off to bed you go!" and he and Flossie were "packed off," the other children coming soon after.
Freddie and Flossie were up bright and early next morning, out playing with their balloons before breakfast. They tied long threads to them, and let them float above the trees.
"When will we have the balloon race?" asked Freddie.
"Whenever you like," Bert answered. "Only to have a race you have to let your balloon sail off, without any string fast to it, and you will not get it back again."
At first Freddie would not hear of that, but finally he and Flossie became tired of the toy circus balloons, and came to Bert to beg him to make a race for them.
Bert cut the string off both balloons. Freddie's was red and Flossie's blue.