ell dressed. Of course
that was not their fault, they were poor, and did not have the money.
Perhaps some of them did not even have money enough to get all they
wanted to eat.

"I--I don't like it here," whispered Sue to Wopsie. "Let's go home."

"There's more children here than on our street," said Bunny. "Look at
those boys wading in a mud puddle. I wish I could."

"Don't you dare do it, Bunny Brown!" cried Sue. "You know we can't go
barefoot in the city. Mother said so."

"Yes, I know," Bunny answered.

The three children walked on. As they passed a high stoop they saw a
number of ragged boys and girls sitting around a box, on which were
some old broken dishes and clam shells. One girl, larger than the
others, was saying:

"Now you has all got to be nice at my party, else you won't git nothin'
to eat. Sammie Cohen, you sit up straight, and don't you grab any of
that chocolate cake until I says you kin have it. Mary Mullaine, you
keep your fingers out of dat lemonade. The party ain't started yet."

"I--I don't see any party," said Bunny, looking at the empty clam
shells, and the empty pieces of broken dishes on the soap box.

"Hush!" exclaimed Sue in a whisper. "Can't you see it's a _play_-party,
Bunny Brown. Same as we have!"

CHAPTER XXI

THE REAL PARTY

The poor children on the stoop (I call them poor just so you'll know
they didn't have much money) these poor children were pretending so hard
to have a party, that they never noticed Bunny Brown, and his sister
Sue, with Wopsie, watching them.

"When are we goin' to eat?" asked a ragged little boy, who sat on the
lowest step.

"When I says to begin, dat's when you eat," said the big, ragged girl,
who seemed to have gotten up the play-party. "And I don't want nobody to
ask for no second piece of cake, 'cause there ain't enough."

"Is there any pie?" asked a little boy, whose face was quite dirty.
"'Cause if there's pie, I'd just as lief have that as cake."

"There ain't no pie," said the big girl. "Now we'll begin. Mikie Snell,
you let that ice-cream alone, I tells you!"

"I--I was jest seein' if it was meltin'," and Mikie drew back a dirty
hand he had reached over toward a big empty clam shell. That shell was
the make-believe dish of ice-cream, you see.

"Say, dis suah am a funny party," whispered Wopsie to Sue. "I--I don't
see nuffin to eat!"

"Hush!" whispered Sue. "You never have anything to eat at a
_play_-party; do you, Bunny?"