After dinner the six little Bunkers started to have some fun. Mun Bun
and Margy went to have their afternoon naps, but Rose and Violet took
their Japanese dolls, which had been unpacked, and found a shady place
on the porch where they could play.

"What are you going to do, Russ?" asked Laddie, as he saw his brother
with some sticks.

"I'm going to make a tent," was the answer. "We can make a tent and live
in it same as the Indians do. It's more fun to live in a tent than in a
house when you're out West."

"Oh, yes!" cried Laddie. "I'll help you. But where can we get the cloth
part?"

"Well, I got the sticks," Russ went on. "I guess Uncle Fred will let us
take a sheet off the bed for the cloth part."

But the boys did not make the tent that day. Just as they were thinking
about going to ask for the cloth Uncle Fred called:

"Come on, Russ and Laddie, and you, too, Rose and Vi. We're going to
look at the ponies. I started to take you to them when we found the
spring was going dry, and that made me forget. Now we'll go."

"Oh, what fun!" cried Russ.

"Dandy!" exclaimed Laddie.

"I love to ride a pony!" added Rose.

"So do I!" ejaculated Violet.

Uncle Fred led the children to a small corral, which they had not seen
before. In it were a number of Shetland ponies, some no larger than big
Newfoundland dogs. And some of the ponies came to the fence to be petted
as soon as they saw Uncle Fred.

"Oh, aren't they cute!" exclaimed Rose.

"I'd like to ride that black one!" shouted Laddie.

"He's a little too wild," said Uncle Fred. "Better try one of the more
gentle ones first. I'll get the men to saddle 'em for you."

In a little while the four little Bunkers were riding about on the backs
of four gentle ponies. The little animals seemed to know children were
on their backs, and they did not run fast, nor kick up their heels.

Rose and Russ could soon manage their ponies by themselves, but as Vi
and Laddie were younger Uncle Fred and one of his cowboys led their
ponies about by the bridle. The children rode in a big field, with a
fence all around it.

"Now I'm going to ride fast!" cried Russ as he took a tighter hold of
the reins and shook his feet in the stirrups. "Gid-dap!" he called to
his pony. "Go fast!"

Maybe the pony was surprised at this. Anyhow, he started to gallop. Now
Russ was not as good a horseman as he supposed, and the first he knew he
had slipped from the saddle and fallen off.

"Ther