ked him if he would like to be in the
big circus, and he said he would. I asked him if he could do any acts."
"What'd he say?" Sue wanted to know, while the Italian balloon peddler
stood looking at the two children, as if wondering what they would do
next.
"Well, the hired man said all he could do was milk a cow, and plow up
the ground. He wanted to know if they were circus acts, and I said I
guessed not," replied Bunny. "So maybe he'd be glad to sell lemonade and
peanuts."
"I think he would," said Sue. "You needn't do anything except blow up
your balloons and sell 'em," she went on to the Italian. "Never mind
about the peanuts and the pink lemonade."
"Alla right," said the man, with a smile that showed what nice white
teeth he had. "Me sella de balloon!"
He and the children walked on a little longer. Then the man turned to
Bunny and asked:
"How much farder now--to de circus?"
"Not far now," said Bunny. "The circus isn't quite ready yet, but you
can stay at our grandpa's house until it is. You see we don't get many
balloon peddlers out this way. You're the first one we've seen, so you'd
better stay. It won't be more than a week, or maybe two weeks."
"Circus last all dat time?" asked the Italian. "Sella lot de balloons.
Buy more in New York--sella dem! Mucha de money!"
"We've an aunt in New York," said Sue. "Her name is Aunt Lu. If you sell
all these balloons she'll buy some more for you in New York, so you
won't have to go away."
"Yes," said Bunny, "that would be best. We'll get Aunt Lu to send you
more balloons. And when you haven't any to sell, while you're waiting,
you could help the hired man sell pink lemonade and peanuts. 'Cause,
anyhow, maybe the hired man sometimes would have to go to milk the cows,
and you could take his place."
The Italian shook his head. He did not quite know what Bunny and Sue
were talking about. All he thought of was that he was being taken to a
circus, where he might sell all his balloons, and make money enough to
buy more to sell.
"There's grandpa's house now," said Sue, as they went around a turn in
the road.
"Where de circus--where de tents?" the Italian wanted to know.
"Oh, they're not all up yet," said Bunny. "The big boys are doing that.
You just come with us."
And so Bunny Brown and his sister Sue walked up the front path, followed
by the Italian with the many-colored balloons floating over his head.
"Mercy me! What's all this?" cried Mother Brow
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