daddy
and mother.

"Yes, he can dance when I play the mouth organ," answered Mr. Black.

"Oh!" exclaimed Sue. "We heard the darkies on the cotton plantation play
the mouth organ and banjo and we saw 'em dance!" she went on.

"Well, I don't claim that my dog can dance as well as a plantation
darky," laughed the switchman. "But Bruno does pretty well. I'll get my
mouth organ."

Bruno barked and leaped about when he saw his master come out with the
mouth organ, and no sooner had the first few notes been blown than the
dog, without being told, stood up on his hind legs and pranced around.
He almost kept time to the music, and for a dog, he danced very well.

"Oh, I wish we had a dog like that!" sighed Bunny, when the dancing
animal, wagging his tail, came to Mr. Black to be petted after the
switchman stopped playing the mouth organ.

"Maybe I can teach Nutty's cat to dance," Sue said.

"I'm afraid not," said Mr. Black. "It is very hard to teach cats to do
tricks. I've tried more than once, but I never had any luck. But Bruno
is one of the smartest dogs I ever saw."

The children thought so, too, and after Bruno had done a few more
tricks, such as turning somersaults, and lying down and rolling over,
Mrs. Black came to say she thought it time for Bunny and Sue to go to
bed.

"I only have one spare room," said the switchman's wife. "That has a
large bed in it big enough for both of you. Don't you want to go to
sleep now?"

Bunny looked at Sue and Sue whispered something to her brother.

"What is it?" asked Mrs. Black, seeing that something was "in the wind,"
as she remarked afterward.

"Sue says we can't go to bed without saying our prayers," replied Bunny,
"and mother isn't here--and--"

He faltered a moment, and it sounded as if he might be going to cry.
There was a trace of tears, too, in Sue's eyes, and Mrs. Black, guessing
that the children were beginning to feel lonesome and homesick, laughed
and said:

"Bless your hearts! I can hear you say your prayers as well as your
mother could. I used to have children of my own, but they are grown up
now. When they were your size I heard them say their prayers every
night. And I've got some night dresses for you, too!"

"You have?" exclaimed Bunny. He wondered where Mrs. Black could get
those, when she had no small children of her own.

"I have," said Mrs. Black. "While you were on the porch, watching Bruno
do tricks, I went next door and borrowed two clean ni